The Tournament

Posted on Mon Jun 6th, 2022 @ 4:44pm by Ensign Kateyo Fenn & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Lieutenant Kevan Dash & Ensign George Paxton & Senior Chief Petty Officer Mason Malone

Mission: Shore Leave
2313 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The locker room was empty when George arrived bright and early. It was the first day of the tournament and his stomach was in knots. Stellager was a relatively new team-based game compared to more ancient sports. The name itself derived from the Latin words for stars and field since it was first played on one of Earth's early space stations. Yet it drew on concepts from many of the different sports humans once played in earlier centuries. George loved a good match just as much as anyone else, but the idea of playing in front of such a large crowd was a bit nerve-wracking.

He walked over to the replicator and found the pattern for the uniform which had been designed for their team. A sleek-looking black and gold jersey with 'USS Athena' embedded on the front, black shorts, and a matching pair of golden socks. George replicated a set in his size and changed in the corner of the room before starting some casual stretches.

"Looking good there Pax," Teyo said as he entered the room and made his way over to the replicator. He got dressed in the middle of the room, not caring who entered or saw him in his birthday attire. "I think black and gold is my colour, what do you think?"

Savin on the other hand felt like he looked ridiculous in the wide fitting shorts and short. He would've preferred longer pants and a wrap around, much like he used in his regular work-outs. He tugged at the shirt in the hopes of getting it to fit more comfortably. "Who designed these?" he muttered, to no-one in particular.

Mason smirked as he observed the other men, then touched the counselor's arm to draw his attention. Probably someone without fashion sense, he signed, smiling as that drew an equal smirk from the counselor. He purposefully ignored Teyo as the Betazoid got changed, settling his eyes on George instead. "It does suit you," he agreed, "and I think black really isn't my colour... I do prefer green still."

"I beg to differ, Mason. I think you look rather good in that uniform," George smiled, but quickly continued so as to not draw too much attention to his fondness for the security officer. "Has anyone seen Lieutenant Dash?" He asked, looking at the clock. They only had ten more minutes before the game started and George wanted to get on the field sooner rather than later. At least partially due to the fact that the locker room was somewhat small and the last thing he need before a game was to be hit with a bout of claustrophobia.

"KOBE!" came the perfectly-timed yell. A balled-up Starfleet uniform landed on George's head and shoulder, dangling at an angle across his face. Kevan skidded into view just a half-second before it landed, fist-pumping at the 'hit'. "Need to think fast if you're on this team."

"Looks like we have another pro on the team," Teyo said to the other Trill. "We're gonna kick some ass right? I'm only playing if we destroy them!"

George picked the uniform off of his face, not hiding the slight annoyance in his expression, and threw it back towards Kevan. "I guess now that we're all here we can run some team warm-up drills on the field before the game starts?"

"Pfft. Warm ups. Those are for chumps, right?" Kevan grinned, offering Teyo a fist-bump.

Teyo accepted the bump, a huge grin on his face. He knew that if he and Kevan could get past the Mason drama, they would actually be good friends.

"I daresay that depends greatly on how many pieces you'd like your supraspinatus tendon to wind up in."

The voice from the door, though undoubtedly unfamiliar to most assembled, carried with it the gentle disdain of someone who was already second-guessing the wisdom of certain accommodations. Alexis, already dressed in team uniform and leaning her weight against the doorframe, wouldn't have been able to adequately explain how the hell she'd wound up on the roster for this. She certainly hadn't volunteered herself. Hair-pulled back tightly and her custom-made visor perched atop the strands, the Lieutenant raised her eyebrows. "So this is team-building, is it?"

Mason turned his head towards the newcomer. "Should be," he answered, nudging the Romulan beside him to draw his attention to the newcomer. "Hi, I'm Mason." He deliberately didn't mention his rank or position, since this was supposed to be a fun time, not a work time.

Savin hadn't been able to follow most of the conversation around him, though he wasn't wholly unaware of the tension that was building in the room. He turned his head as he was nudged, and offered a small nod. "Welcome," he said pleasantly, "I believe you are just in time for warming up? Though I am not quite certain in which manner we will achieve this, as I have no real information on the purpose of this game."

"I'm George," the engineer waived at Alexis as he processed what Savin had said and wondered why the counselor had signed up for the team if he knew nothing of the game. "The rest of you can stay down here if you want, but I think I'm going to head out to the field and do some stretching in our last few minutes before the game starts."

"Lieutenant Ryan." There was a ghost of something about the woman's features that nearly resembled amusement, not making it far enough past a glint in Alex's eyes to be easily conclusive. "Though, for the purposes of the game, Alex is a better choice." First-name basis so early grated and Alexis was tempted to enforce surname only but she'd signed on promising to repair the crew's connection to the Science department. Her gaze, mostly centred on the pair of irreverent Trill, eventually switched to consider George and Alex pushed off the wall. "I'll join you."

"Savin," the counselor belatedly introduced himself, "and I will join you as well. Also...a little more information on the rules would be appreciated...as well as someone remaining in my line of sight for communication purposes." He paused. "Or perhaps I should remain as...reserve?"

"Maybe grab some pom-poms and a mini skirt and you can cheer for us," Teyo said turning to the Counsellor. "Just remember that Fenn is two N's."

"How about you assist me... you look strong enough to flip me up for a somersault," Savin smirked back.

George chuckled as they walked towards the field. "To be honest, counselor, it will be difficult to have someone maintain line of sight during the game. Have you ever heard of an old earth game called 'capture the flag'? Or 'soccer'? Though I've heard that the latter was also sometimes referred to as 'football'."

"I might take you up on that offer," Teyo replied, winking at the Romulan. He lightly punched Kevan on the arm, "come on, let's go show Mason how real men get ready for a match."

"With or without skirts," Savin commented dryly.

Mason just shook his head, choosing not to be baited. He knew the importance of warming up, especially with his still not fixed shoulder. There just hadn't been any time but he would consider it this shoreleave, while actually did have time. "C'mon George... let's get warmed up." He looked towards the newcomer. "Coming?"

Without a word, Alexis responded with a singular nod and then wove her way between the scattered offerings that apparently represented her team and headed up onto the pitch.

She had, whether or not it would prove to be an advantage, spent a considerable amount of time whilst waiting for the Athena to arrive watching matches in this very arena. Of course, not having predicted being thrust into the competition herself, Alex hadn't attempted to take notes on the potential opposition and was left now to dredge up recollection of the team composition and general skill level of the other teams in the league. Shielding her eyes, the Lieutenant surveyed the stands and then cast her gaze towards the locker room entrance for the opposition. No one had emerged yet.

"I think we have a mixed level of experience," Mason said, nodding towards the counselor, who had already indicated he'd never played before. "How about we go over the rules once more during warm-up?" He brushed past George, giving him a quick if not slightly covert kiss "for luck," he whispered, only for him to hear.

On the other side, Kevan shoulder-barged George in passing as he spotted the kiss. Not hard, but he left just enough on him to leave enough doubt. Mason had claimed innocence before. Now he was just shoving it in his face.

"The rules are simple: we win," he announced, standing alongside Teyo as if to make a point of his own.

George lit up as Mason planted the quick kiss. Even the shoulder hit from Kevan wasn't enough to dampen his boosted mood. He turned to the counselor and, realizing he hadn't been in eyesight before, he made sure to catch his attention. "The game is a bit of a mix between various ancient sports. Each team has its own ball, which is currently housed next to the scoring goals. At the start of the game we'll be focused on both obtaining our ball from our opponent's side of the field and defending the ball on our side from the other team. It's a lot like capture the flag in that sense. Following so far?"

Savin nodded. "Perhaps I should defend our goal," he suggested, "that way I can keep track of all of you."

"Makes sense," Mason said, smiling as he noticed George's lit up expression. "Kevan and Teyo will probably want to go and grab our ball?"

"I don't mind grabbing balls," Teyo said as he looked at Mason. It took every bit of self-control to not break out into his usual toothy grin, but he managed it.

"You'll need someone on field coverage to replace tag-outs." It was a position that required speed, and a sense of hyper-awareness of the state of play. Alexis had reservations about trusting any of the rest of them with it. Eyeballing them each in turn, she relented and did her very best to hide an eye roll as she concluded, "I guess I'll do that."

"Why doesn't that surprise me at all," Mason quipped towards the Trill. "So I guess we got things covered? With our new arrival as tag-guard?"

"Sounds good. We can all shift into different positions as needed also. Just yell if you need help. Communication is key," George noted before looking back to Savin. "The tag-outs that Lieutenant Ryan mentioned have to do with that patch-like object on the shoulder of your jersey. If someone from the opposite team taps it, then you're frozen until someone from your own team can free you. Whoever has the most goals at the end, wins. With any luck, that'll be us," George did his best to summon a confident smile.

Savin nodded slowly. "I will guard the goal, it is the best position to keep track of all of you," he said.

"Right, am I the only one who's going to say it?" Teyo asked as he looked around at the group. He was met with blank faces staring back at him and he sighed with pure indignation. "How is a deaf guy, no offence," he quickly added in Savin's direction, "going to play a fast pace game of Stellager, where communication is key?"

Saved by the bell, George thought as the whistle blew signalling that they should all take their places on the field. "Looks like it's time to get out there. Good luck, everyone." He turned from view and rubbed his forehead in frustration. This team makeup would either prove to be an unexpected success or a complete disaster and with what he had witnessed so far, he was leaning towards the latter.

Savin moved over to the goal, keeping an eye on everyone. "It is not to late to cheer the team on Teyo," he called out to the Trill, "I will if you do too."

Teyo rolled his eyes at Paxton and then at Savin. "I look amazing in a skirt," he said back to the Romulan. "Bring back the skant, I'd rock that look all day, every day. Now, let's play some ball!"

Having held her tongue and committed instead to studying each face in turn as the potential for bickering broke out, Ryan eventually reached a point where the only natural conclusion was to shake her head and turn away. On balance of preference, she'd prefer to win. If that wasn't likely, then the next best thing was not to lose so decisively that the entire stadium erupted into hysteria. At the moment, getting her way on either front seemed increasingly unlikely.

Rather than weigh in, the redhead took the gloves tucked into her waistband and snapped them on as she jogged towards the centre field. From there, it took a series of side-steps to measure in paces the amount of distance she was going to have to cover in both directions. It doubled as an opportunity to watch the opposing team filter onto the field. There was no way of knowing for sure until the first whistle blew, but Alexis suspected they had some sort of synergy that wouldn't erupt into best-tits-in-a-leotard competitions.

As the opposition team, a mixed group of Toramite men and women, paraded themselves onto the field, the Athena crew took up their own places, ready to see what they had to offer.

"All right." Kevan clapped his hands together. "Remember our motto: 'First is first. Second is nothing'."