Post by Lt. Commander Alyssa Jenison on Oct 31, 2014 15:31:40 GMT -8
The clang of metal upon metal reverberated through the cavern. It was not the sound of an object accidentally falling upon the deck plating, or even of a tool in the process of building, but rather the sound of one deadly instrument clashing with lethal intent upon another. One instrument began to rise, forcing the other father into the air. In their place came the face of what had become the most irritating depiction of a Klingon warrior Alyssa had ever encountered.
“Should I forgo the rest of our foreplay,” Kraag began with innuendo lacing his tone. “And show you what a Klingon is really made of?”
Alyssa’s expression only vaguely changed—mainly because the look of disgust had become a temporary companion throughout this fight. She’d known Klingon’s were obnoxious, but this one was determined to demonstrate how vulgar they could really be.
“Trust me,” she spat back. “If I wanted to know that, I wouldn’t be fighting you.”
Kraag let out a bellowing howl, thrust his weight upon their bat’leths, and forced Alyssa backward. She reestablished a defensive stance and prepared for her opponent’s onslaught. As she predicated, he flung himself towards her. With a simple combination of timing and agility, she side-stepped his swing, and allowed his own momentum to work against him. He nearly crashed into the wall, saved only by the fortunate of space. All the same, a crooked smile formed on her face. She derived a full sense of satisfaction in seeing Kraag undo himself.
She looked towards a nearby boulder on which sat Kaypok, whom, for all intents and purposes, served as her trainer. He’s expression betrayed nothing about his opinions of the battle thus far, except irritation that she had turned her attention to him rather than to her opponent.
Taking Kaypok’s admonishment to heart, Alyssa returned her full attention to Kraag. He swayed back and forth with his bat’leth ready for the first available strike.
“What’s the matter, woman? Afraid to get close to me?”
“Afraid?” Alyssa asked while allowing a small chuckle. “No; I just can’t stand your stench.”
His laugh echoed through the room. “Don’t worry about my ‘stench. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to appreciate it when the Klingon Empire takes its inevitable place as master over the Federation.”
Kraag launched at her with surprising speed. She positioned her weapon as Kaypok had taught her: “Do not fight power with power against a Klingon. Use your agility. Deflect then engage.”
Her technique, unfortunately, was amateur at best. Her attempt only succeed in forcing the blade away from her body, but at the cost of her position. She found herself several steps back towards the cavern walls. He pressed his attack, forcing her into a corner. With another forceful application, Kraag pinned Alyssa against the wall, with her hands pressed against her chest, and her bat’leth only serving to keep his blade from her body.
With the satisfaction of his attack evident, Kraag leaned in so that his breath was all she could smell. “And when that day comes, my delicate human. And every Klingon claims their rightful spoils.” Alyssa turned her head to face away from him. Kraag brought his nose to her cheek. “I shall claim you.”
Though the very thought of looking Kaarg in the eye was enough incite vomiting, Alyssa forced her head to turn towards him. The reward she gained from that action came when she gathered the saliva from her mouth and spat it in Kraag’s face. He recoiled. She spared no time taking advantage of his divided attention. With all the force she could muster, Alyssa rammed her knee into his groin. Though his armor protected him from the brunt of the blow, the assault was enough to weaken the force of his pin. She thrust her bat’leth upwards, causing the handle of Kraag’s weapon to bash against his head.
The moment he stumbled backward, Alyssa repositioned herself to further her assault. She swung her bat’leth around, but before she struck Kaarg’s shoulder, he recovered his defense. The metal was barely in contact, before Alyssa pulled back and continued her attack. Each time Kaarg blocked her, she’d swing again. The ferocity of her assault pushed him back, but her technique began to slip through each swing. She didn’t care. Kaarg was pissing her off, and she wanted nothing more right now than to see her blade in his chest.
But fortunate did not smile upon her.
Kaarg, though crude, was not lost at the blind simplicity of her assault. As she struck, he analyzed the pattern of her assault, and determined an appropriate counter. As Alyssa’s blade fell towards him one more time, Kaarg met her blade with his, and twisted his bat’leth. Before Alyssa realized what was happening, her weapon was ripped from her hands.
Alyssa stumbled backward startled by the suddenness of her impotency. Kaarg wasted no time, and immediately thrust the end of his bat’lath to meet Alyssa’s neck.
“MEVYAP*!” Kaypok yelled out from his vantage point.
Kaarg’s blade stopped a second before it made contact with her skin. Alyssa remained still, as her she eyed the anxiety-inducing closeness of the weapon. Her eyes returned to Kaarg, whose entire body—nauseating smile and all—was frozen in place. She had an intense urge to take his own blade from him and re-position it in his gut. But she knew it would be such a hollow victory and poor show of sportsmanship. As much as she hated to admit it, Kaarg had beaten her.
Though she knew she was not going to enjoy the following conversation, she turned to Kaypok. He was a far classier model of Klingon than Kaarg, and far more intimidating. She’d worked with Kaypok enough to value his opinion, as harsh as it often was. Judging by the look on his face, harshness was exactly what she was going to expect.
“That was…” Kaypok searched for the appropriate word. “…pathetic.”
“I thought I did better,” Alyssa softly replied in her defense.
“You did worse than ever!” Kaypok challenged.
Her temper flared up again as she met the Klingon face to face. “How can you say that?! I was winning until he pulled that move.”
“You weren’t winning, Lieutenant,” Kaypok countered, his voice firm and level. “You were having a tantrum.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he replied. “He pissed you off and you fell for the bait.”
Alyssa eyed Kaypok with clear offense to his analysis. “Of course he pissed me off. He was vulgar.”
“Yes, he was,” Kaypok conceded with nod. “Which is exactly why I chose him.” Noting the mixture of confusion and anger from Alyssa, Kaypok walked over toward Kraag, and ripped the bat’Leth from his hands.
“This is a tool, and like any tool it must be wielded with precision.” He began to circle Alyssa. “If you allow yourself to succumb to petty emotions than it becomes no better than you!”
“That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” She interrupted, turning towards Kaypok once more. “It’s not like Klingon’s are known for their calm demeanors.”
Kaypok turned the bat’leth towards her in what normally would be an attack stance. “A Klingon warrior does not allow his emotions to rule him. He molds his anger and his ferocity into a weapon.”
Alyssa pointed towards Kraag. “That’s exactly—!“
“You did nothing of the sort!” Kaypok cut her off before she was able to finish. “You allowed your anger to rule you, and, as a result, you got sloppy. Kraag would never have been able to disarm you so easily if you had stuck to the techniques I showed you.”
“Fine!” Alyssa conceded as she moved to grab her towel. “I’ll be more focused next time.”
Without warning, Kaypok clutched onto Alyssa’s arm, and drug her towards him. She resisted, but he held firm. “This isn’t a game, Alyssa, and this isn’t some fluke mistake of yours. I’ve watched you, observed you, seen how you fight and how you act—you are ridden with dark emotions.”
“Let go of my arm, Kaypok,” Alyssa warned with lethal intent. “Now!”
Growing weary of her struggle, Kaypok released her. Alyssa stepped back out of his arms reach. Wrath burned in her eyes. “First of all, you will call me by my rank. Don’t ever use my name like that again.” Kaypok remained unphased by her directive.
“Second of all, I did not come here to be psychoanalyzed by a Klingon! I started this program to learn how to fight and defend against Klingons,” she continued. “You are a hologram, designed to train me in the Klingon arts. You are not my friend or my counselor.”
She stepped closer. “Never forget that.”
Kaypok said nothing. Instead, he silently scrutinized her. Alyssa’s patience wore out, she stepped towards her towel, and whipped it off its resting spot. “That’s it. I’m done for today. I have better things to do than deal with this. Computer! Exit!”
As the wall of the cavern dematerialized, the holodeck doors replaced them, and opened, revealing the pristine corridors of the Talon. She made her stride over towards the exit, but before she was able to end the program, Kaypok put in one final word.
“Lieutenant, heed me!”
Alyssa stopped, and turned towards him.
“If you don’t master your emotions,” he continued. “They will be your undoing.”
Her stare locked with Kaypok’s as a moment of tense silence ensued. It galled her to admit it, but she knew there was truth to Kaypok’s words. Her life had never been the same since…that day…and she doubted that they ever would be. But was Kaypok right? Would the burden she had carried these past years eventually be her undoing?
“Computer,” Alyssa calmly began. “End program.” The cavern, Kraag, and Kaypok all vanished into oblivion, but she knew that Kaypok’s warning wouldn’t be dealt with so easily.
Shaking her head, Alyssa tucked it away with all the other issues swirling around in her psyche. Despite Kaypok’s tone, she was hardly crumbling. Until then, she had today’s agenda to concern herself with.
Which included her date.
End Alyssa
*'stop', or 'enough already'
“Should I forgo the rest of our foreplay,” Kraag began with innuendo lacing his tone. “And show you what a Klingon is really made of?”
Alyssa’s expression only vaguely changed—mainly because the look of disgust had become a temporary companion throughout this fight. She’d known Klingon’s were obnoxious, but this one was determined to demonstrate how vulgar they could really be.
“Trust me,” she spat back. “If I wanted to know that, I wouldn’t be fighting you.”
Kraag let out a bellowing howl, thrust his weight upon their bat’leths, and forced Alyssa backward. She reestablished a defensive stance and prepared for her opponent’s onslaught. As she predicated, he flung himself towards her. With a simple combination of timing and agility, she side-stepped his swing, and allowed his own momentum to work against him. He nearly crashed into the wall, saved only by the fortunate of space. All the same, a crooked smile formed on her face. She derived a full sense of satisfaction in seeing Kraag undo himself.
She looked towards a nearby boulder on which sat Kaypok, whom, for all intents and purposes, served as her trainer. He’s expression betrayed nothing about his opinions of the battle thus far, except irritation that she had turned her attention to him rather than to her opponent.
Taking Kaypok’s admonishment to heart, Alyssa returned her full attention to Kraag. He swayed back and forth with his bat’leth ready for the first available strike.
“What’s the matter, woman? Afraid to get close to me?”
“Afraid?” Alyssa asked while allowing a small chuckle. “No; I just can’t stand your stench.”
His laugh echoed through the room. “Don’t worry about my ‘stench. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to appreciate it when the Klingon Empire takes its inevitable place as master over the Federation.”
Kraag launched at her with surprising speed. She positioned her weapon as Kaypok had taught her: “Do not fight power with power against a Klingon. Use your agility. Deflect then engage.”
Her technique, unfortunately, was amateur at best. Her attempt only succeed in forcing the blade away from her body, but at the cost of her position. She found herself several steps back towards the cavern walls. He pressed his attack, forcing her into a corner. With another forceful application, Kraag pinned Alyssa against the wall, with her hands pressed against her chest, and her bat’leth only serving to keep his blade from her body.
With the satisfaction of his attack evident, Kraag leaned in so that his breath was all she could smell. “And when that day comes, my delicate human. And every Klingon claims their rightful spoils.” Alyssa turned her head to face away from him. Kraag brought his nose to her cheek. “I shall claim you.”
Though the very thought of looking Kaarg in the eye was enough incite vomiting, Alyssa forced her head to turn towards him. The reward she gained from that action came when she gathered the saliva from her mouth and spat it in Kraag’s face. He recoiled. She spared no time taking advantage of his divided attention. With all the force she could muster, Alyssa rammed her knee into his groin. Though his armor protected him from the brunt of the blow, the assault was enough to weaken the force of his pin. She thrust her bat’leth upwards, causing the handle of Kraag’s weapon to bash against his head.
The moment he stumbled backward, Alyssa repositioned herself to further her assault. She swung her bat’leth around, but before she struck Kaarg’s shoulder, he recovered his defense. The metal was barely in contact, before Alyssa pulled back and continued her attack. Each time Kaarg blocked her, she’d swing again. The ferocity of her assault pushed him back, but her technique began to slip through each swing. She didn’t care. Kaarg was pissing her off, and she wanted nothing more right now than to see her blade in his chest.
But fortunate did not smile upon her.
Kaarg, though crude, was not lost at the blind simplicity of her assault. As she struck, he analyzed the pattern of her assault, and determined an appropriate counter. As Alyssa’s blade fell towards him one more time, Kaarg met her blade with his, and twisted his bat’leth. Before Alyssa realized what was happening, her weapon was ripped from her hands.
Alyssa stumbled backward startled by the suddenness of her impotency. Kaarg wasted no time, and immediately thrust the end of his bat’lath to meet Alyssa’s neck.
“MEVYAP*!” Kaypok yelled out from his vantage point.
Kaarg’s blade stopped a second before it made contact with her skin. Alyssa remained still, as her she eyed the anxiety-inducing closeness of the weapon. Her eyes returned to Kaarg, whose entire body—nauseating smile and all—was frozen in place. She had an intense urge to take his own blade from him and re-position it in his gut. But she knew it would be such a hollow victory and poor show of sportsmanship. As much as she hated to admit it, Kaarg had beaten her.
Though she knew she was not going to enjoy the following conversation, she turned to Kaypok. He was a far classier model of Klingon than Kaarg, and far more intimidating. She’d worked with Kaypok enough to value his opinion, as harsh as it often was. Judging by the look on his face, harshness was exactly what she was going to expect.
“That was…” Kaypok searched for the appropriate word. “…pathetic.”
“I thought I did better,” Alyssa softly replied in her defense.
“You did worse than ever!” Kaypok challenged.
Her temper flared up again as she met the Klingon face to face. “How can you say that?! I was winning until he pulled that move.”
“You weren’t winning, Lieutenant,” Kaypok countered, his voice firm and level. “You were having a tantrum.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he replied. “He pissed you off and you fell for the bait.”
Alyssa eyed Kaypok with clear offense to his analysis. “Of course he pissed me off. He was vulgar.”
“Yes, he was,” Kaypok conceded with nod. “Which is exactly why I chose him.” Noting the mixture of confusion and anger from Alyssa, Kaypok walked over toward Kraag, and ripped the bat’Leth from his hands.
“This is a tool, and like any tool it must be wielded with precision.” He began to circle Alyssa. “If you allow yourself to succumb to petty emotions than it becomes no better than you!”
“That’s a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” She interrupted, turning towards Kaypok once more. “It’s not like Klingon’s are known for their calm demeanors.”
Kaypok turned the bat’leth towards her in what normally would be an attack stance. “A Klingon warrior does not allow his emotions to rule him. He molds his anger and his ferocity into a weapon.”
Alyssa pointed towards Kraag. “That’s exactly—!“
“You did nothing of the sort!” Kaypok cut her off before she was able to finish. “You allowed your anger to rule you, and, as a result, you got sloppy. Kraag would never have been able to disarm you so easily if you had stuck to the techniques I showed you.”
“Fine!” Alyssa conceded as she moved to grab her towel. “I’ll be more focused next time.”
Without warning, Kaypok clutched onto Alyssa’s arm, and drug her towards him. She resisted, but he held firm. “This isn’t a game, Alyssa, and this isn’t some fluke mistake of yours. I’ve watched you, observed you, seen how you fight and how you act—you are ridden with dark emotions.”
“Let go of my arm, Kaypok,” Alyssa warned with lethal intent. “Now!”
Growing weary of her struggle, Kaypok released her. Alyssa stepped back out of his arms reach. Wrath burned in her eyes. “First of all, you will call me by my rank. Don’t ever use my name like that again.” Kaypok remained unphased by her directive.
“Second of all, I did not come here to be psychoanalyzed by a Klingon! I started this program to learn how to fight and defend against Klingons,” she continued. “You are a hologram, designed to train me in the Klingon arts. You are not my friend or my counselor.”
She stepped closer. “Never forget that.”
Kaypok said nothing. Instead, he silently scrutinized her. Alyssa’s patience wore out, she stepped towards her towel, and whipped it off its resting spot. “That’s it. I’m done for today. I have better things to do than deal with this. Computer! Exit!”
As the wall of the cavern dematerialized, the holodeck doors replaced them, and opened, revealing the pristine corridors of the Talon. She made her stride over towards the exit, but before she was able to end the program, Kaypok put in one final word.
“Lieutenant, heed me!”
Alyssa stopped, and turned towards him.
“If you don’t master your emotions,” he continued. “They will be your undoing.”
Her stare locked with Kaypok’s as a moment of tense silence ensued. It galled her to admit it, but she knew there was truth to Kaypok’s words. Her life had never been the same since…that day…and she doubted that they ever would be. But was Kaypok right? Would the burden she had carried these past years eventually be her undoing?
“Computer,” Alyssa calmly began. “End program.” The cavern, Kraag, and Kaypok all vanished into oblivion, but she knew that Kaypok’s warning wouldn’t be dealt with so easily.
Shaking her head, Alyssa tucked it away with all the other issues swirling around in her psyche. Despite Kaypok’s tone, she was hardly crumbling. Until then, she had today’s agenda to concern herself with.
Which included her date.
End Alyssa
*'stop', or 'enough already'