When Words Fail, Use Your Fists, part 1

Posted on Tue Jun 27th, 2023 @ 7:18am by Lieutenant Commander Savin & Lieutenant Didrea Zade

Mission: Character Development
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD6 :: After 'I've Never Wanted to Punch a Commodore Before'
2942 words - 5.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Still mostly irritated, but now feeling a small pang of guilt for taking her frustrations out on Savin's desk, Zade followed the counselor to the holodeck. Savin hadn't given any indication as to what they were doing, just for her to follow. Perhaps he was passing her off to a holographic counselor who could listen to all of her frustrations, someone who didn't have to worry about what was said. A hologram wasn't going to testify, so it might be better for her. "Can you tell me what we're doing yet?" She asked, as the two approached the holodeck.

Since she was walking slightly behind him as he led her to the holodeck, the question went unanswered. Until the doors open and they walked in to what could be perceived as an outdoor dojo of a sort. He took off his jacket, boots and socks before stepping onto the mat and turned to face her. "I believe you need more than just someone who listens," he explained, "I sense a great deal of pent up frustration flowing from you, and often there is only one real means to deal with that."

The second she saw the setup, Zade had a good idea of what he was going to have her do. Go punch away the frustrations like a good little security grunt. She didn't quite expect him to volunteer himself as the punching bag, and paused several steps from the mat. "Respectfully, counselor, of course I'm frustrated. I can't say what's on my mind without legal repercussions. It's one thing to take that out on a hologram," the Trill began, briefly glancing at the items he left near the mat. "... but on a crewmate?"

"Does taking it out on a hologram provide a means of satisfaction?" The counselor countered as he moved further onto the mat, beckoning her, "or would a live opponent be more satisfying? I promise lieutenant, I am not as easy a target as you may think."

Even if she weren't irritated, Zade would have taken his words as a challenge that poked at her stubborn self. She paused for another moment before removing her uniform jacket, finally relieving herself of the excessive formality she held onto for the trial. "I don't have to worry about hurting a hologram," she pointed out, slipping her feet out of her shoes and socks. She placed her items next to his, then removed her locket and left it on top of the jacket before stepping to the edge of the mat. Before stepping onto the mat, the Trill gave a slight bow, a habit or perhaps a ritual she picked up from her martial arts training. Aside from showing respect to the mat and to the art, the action also helped her focus on what was to come. "So what did you have in mind, counselor?"

"What holds your preference ?" It was a simple question but could have consequences if she picked something that wasn't in his line of experience. While having some experience in a wide variety of martial arts, he was trained, like all Vulcans -or at least most- in the art of suus mahna as well as traditional Vulcan weapons as used in ritual combat.

"Mixed hand-to-hand is fine," Zade responded, opting for something that allowed for more flexibility when it came to style. As she spoke, she rolled her shoulders to try and loosen them up. Perhaps a mindset clouded by her frustration, but she held an assumption that she'd still hold back on the counselor until she truly knew his skill. But even then, she didn't want to hurt him.

Going through a quick warming up as well, Savin ultimately returned to face her. "I will be insulted if you hold back," he warned her, "because I will not do so. I know you are well trained." He shifted, feet slightly apart as he studied her, wondering what she would do first.

Zade slightly clenched her jaw, feeling like she was being told what to do and not liking it. "Being well trained inherently means holding back," she countered. Seeing that he was waiting for her to make the first move, Zade obliged by closing the distance and threw some punches. They were in rapid succession, but their contact was light, no harder than a friend slapping someone's back in greeting.

"Do not hold back," he warned her as he easily parried what he could only classify as being slapped lightly. He sidestepped the last one then threw a few of his own that were considerably more effective in their attempt at contact. Heeding his own warning, he was not holding back. The only area he was careful about was her upper chest area, but otherwise he was aiming to draw a reaction from her.

His counter made her refocus, realizing that his idea of not holding back included power, not just speed. She didn't want to hurt Savin, that was the reason Zade was holding back her own power. The Trill went defensive after the first couple punches. The attack didn't necessarily catch her off guard, but it did make her think more about defending herself. She took some of his hits, trying to ignore the sting of their impact as she blocked others, and she started to back up as she tried to find an opening. After blocking a punch that would have met her face, she countered with a fake hook with her left hand before using her right hand to actually punch him.

Though primarily left-handed, he missed her right handed punch and it landed on his jaw. He staggered back a few paces, flexing his jaw as he tried to regain his footing. "Very good," he praised, taking a few seconds to recollect himself as well as study her for a moment.

After the punch, Zade took a step back to create space between them and let him recover. Despite the praise, she suspected that he knew she was still holding back, albeit not as much as before. The punch was enough to jerk his head to the side, but he was still standing. But as long as her opponent was a crewmate, holding back was instinct. The narrative she told herself was that she held back because it was her job to protect the crew, which conflicted with the current demand to use full force. It was stressful, trying to think of Savin's safety while also trying to manage her irritation. The spar was supposed to help her relieve her emotions, not add stress on top of them. While her mind was processing, her physical guard dropped slightly, but she was still watching Savin, trying to identify any tells.

He gave her no further pause once she chose to step back. He stepped out and threw a few punches at her before ducking aside and trying to sweep her legs from under her.

The Trill thought she got far enough away, but Savin's abrupt presence in her space proved her wrong. She blocked the attacks and tried to counter, but he ducked at the last second. Zade felt pressure behind her knees, followed by the brief sensation of falling before her back slammed into the mat. The whack! filled the silence otherwise occupied by a peaceful rustle of leaves. Even if Savin couldn't hear it, the vibration caused by the impact surely would have alerted him to his own strength. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and as she was trying to get her lungs working again she saw Savin come in for another attack. Instinct kicked in and she rolled out of the way before he could make contact. A gasp only audible to her signalled her ability to breathe again, and she scrambled to her feet.

If there was any doubt in Zade's mind about whether he was using full force, it vanished when she hit the mat. He was forcing her to abandon her desire to hold back, to keep things in. She couldn't play defense for long with him using full force. If she didn't want to eat the padded mat for dinner, she'd have to stop holding back. Perhaps she could override her hesitation by imagining Babanin's stupid face on Savin's body. When she took the moment to attack, she imagined she was wiping that condescending smirk off his face. As a result, the punches that did make it to Savin's body were harder.

The Romulan managed a smile when he sensed a change in his opponent though the smile didn't last long. Something he had done, obviously triggered the change and he was forced back a few steps as she attacked. A soft 'ow' escaped him when she managed a good punch to his right side, which for obvious reasons he was protecting more than the rest of him. He sidestepped another punch and used her charge to his advantages, grabbing her tunic and tossing her over his shoulder towards the mat.

Whack!

Whatever curse Zade sputtered out in her native tongue cut short when 'Babanin' threw her onto the ground. The momentum nearly made her flip over but left her legs comically splayed in the air before they thumped onto the mat. She walked right into that one, and she knew it. She was letting anger guide her moves. Between her using more energy to add power to her attacks and hitting the mat, again, she was slightly out of breath. Her frustration was reaching a peak. "What's the point of this??" She suddenly asked, sitting up. "I can't use full force without worrying about hurting you." Zade, of course, couldn't tear doors open or bend a phaser in half, but she knew how to focus her strength into a small area, which she knew could break bone if she gave it her all. She wanted to avoid sending someone else to sickbay, though.

"You do not need to worry about me, whereas currently I need to worry about you. And right now I believe you need an outlet so this is what it is. I can take care of myself, I need you to trust me." Steeling himself, he offered her a hand up.

Zade watched him for a moment, waiting to see if the friendly gesture was genuine or if he would use it to attack. It would be fair game, after all. Seeing no obvious indication of deception, she accepted the hand and stood. His words repeated in her mind as she looked him over. She needed to trust him. He wouldn't have offered to spar if he didn't think he could handle it. The deja vu from when she did the same thing to Fenn was not lost on her. Taking a step back, she gave him a nod, a sign that she was ready to continue, before she closed the distance again. This time, she didn't let her anger guide her actions, rather she tried to convert that emotion into power when she punched.

He could sense the refocus of her emotions which was exactly what he had intended. He could even feel the increase of power when a strike he failed to block hit home. He was true to his word, he could handle it and showed a skill of his own that his generally kind appearance hid very well. "Very good," he praised, rubbing his arm when a particular kick had been such he'd been unable to counter due to his own last move. He managed to avoid a following strike, but only just and he shifted, trying to sweep her legs away again. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked, though an answer might go unheard unless she waited for him to have line of sight again.

This time, Zade saw the sweep coming. She paused just outside of his leg's range until his foot passed, then she quickly closed in. Getting a leg behind the one he was putting all of his weight on, she pressed her arm across his chest and pushed, intending to make him trip over her leg.

The move was unexpected and he grabbed at her arm in the hope of keeping himself upright. Instead he landed flat on his back, taking her down with him. He gasped for air as she landed on top of him and for a moment, he remained motionless in order to regain control of his breath.

There was no intent to shove her elbow into his chest, but when his grasp on Zade's arm tipped her balance, she moved to try and catch herself, and his chest happened to get in the way. He was only fortunate that her arm was mostly extended, which helped soften the blow. For a moment, Zade remained still as her mind caught up to what just happened, then she quickly got off of Savin and kneeled next to him. "Are you alright??" she asked, forgetting about the sparring as concern took over.

He had turned his head to follow her move just in case and he have her a minute nod. "Just winded," he breathed, wincing visibly as he tried to sit up. "Perhaps not," he added, easing himself back down. Did he land harder than he remembered? He wasn't entirely certain he had, and while not holding back he was certain he had kept a close watch on their safety. Had he failed? "Are you hurt?" He asked instead, trying to divert her attention while he struggled to catch his breath.

Zade was quick to help him back down in case he lost control, hands gently under his shoulders for support. "I'm fine," she half-lied. The pause in their sparring was just long enough for a dull ache to settle into her joints. When she moved, several areas where Savin had made solid contact made their presence known, and she knew that they would hurt a lot more later. She ached and most certainly had bruises, but she wasn't the one on the floor struggling to breathe. In comparison to Savin, she was just fine. "Don't try to get up yet."

"I will not," he told her, while slowly regaining some control over his breath.

She asked the computer for a tricorder and barely gave it time to materialize before she picked it up and opened it. Hovering the device over his chest, the Trill looked for obvious signs of anything broken. Her basic first aid training helped her identify that much, at least. "I don't see anything broken," Zade told Savin, angling the tricorder towards him so he could see the result. As the resident member of the medical department, he could understand the readings far better than she could.

"There is not," he confirmed, "merely bruised." He gave her a brief nod. "And you forget that lying to me is a useless endeavour. I can sense you are not 'fine'. Help me up so I can scan you as well."

There was momentary relief on Zade's expression when he reported that it wasn't serious. Now the attention was back on her. "I'll live. I'm just sore," she insisted. Not wanting him to try and get up on his own, she put her hands under his shoulders again and helped him up into a sitting position. When she moved, her body protested, but it was hardly anything more than muscle aches. If it hurt, it wasn't apparent in her expression. "To answer your earlier question, I do feel better, less frustrated."

"If one is not sore after a decent workout, one did not do it right," Savin commented as he took the tricorder from her and scanned her. "Beyond strained muscles and several bruises of varying severity, I see no injuries that warrant further medical attention. Nothing a hot bath will not cure." He closed the device and handed it back to her. "Perhaps a trip to the holodeck is in order after all? I do not know about you but my quarters are not equipped with a hot tub."

Suspecting he wouldn't take no for an answer, Zade let him take the tricorder out of her hand. Her gaze focused on him as he scanned her, fighting her stubborn urge to insist she was just fine and he didn't need to scan her. Accepting the device back, she glanced down briefly to set it aside on the mat. "You sure you're getting enough oxygen? We're already in the holodeck."

"Indeed we are..." How could he have forgotten? "Perhaps I did hit my head after all," he admitted slowly, "would you care to change the program? As long as it contains something akin to a shallow hot pool, I do not care about the setting." A somewhat apologetic smile followed. "I do not know how to swim..."

Zade looked at him with mild confusion. "I thought swimming was an Academy requirement," she thought out loud. While encountering bodies of water wasn't as common in space, it did happen sometimes. Not knowing if he was comfortable answering that, she dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. "No matter, I know of a good program. Computer, load the Mount Venar Hot Springs program and set maximum water depth to..." she glanced to Savin, "what do you prefer?"

"One meter, and with ledges to sit," the counselor suggested. "I have tried to swim and I am able to float but due to my disability I get disoriented under water." Despite the question not being asked, he still felt a need to clarify. "And in our current conditions, it is too much exertion."