...But here's what really happened

Posted on Mon Nov 11, 2019 @ 3:14am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Commander Cullen Walker & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

2,228 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: Camille's & Nicole's Quarters
Timeline: 12 hours before "Let's get Physical"

The time it took for the doors to open to their quarters felt like an eternity to Nicole. She pulled one deadened foot in front of the other and hauled herself into her safe haven. She spotted Camille on the couch and angled herself that way, collapsing in front of her.

Camille sat up promptly and moved to help Nicole. She gently took the Doctor by the shoulder. “Mon Dieu, are you okay? What’s happened?”

Nicole's workout suit was ripped in several places, she had bruises where broken ribs had healed and in general looked like she'd been run over. "Remember how I said I was going for that hand-to-hand recert early?" Nicole groaned. "He decided to see how I did full spar."

“What?!” Camille wasn’t sure if she should be more worried for Nicole or the XO, but seeing her girlfriend like this made her worry for both. “Tell me what happened!”

"Bottle first," she said, pointing in the general direction of her elixir on the shelf.

“Bien sur.” The flask sat exactly where they agreed it would go when not on her person, next to the tray where Camille never remembered to put her glasses. She retrieved it easily enough, uncapped it, and passed it over.

Nicole took three hearty swigs and recapped the decanter, then breathed a bit easier. "Thank you," she said.

“Now, come up here.” Camille sat back on the couch and patted the cushion next to her. “What happened?”

"Oh, let me tell you..." Nicole moaned, curling up with her.

---

Nicole adjusted the sleeves of her workout suit, a simple one-piece that allowed her freedom of movement. She'd wanted to get her paperwork out of the way, and with a new XO on board, he'd seen fit to handle hand-to-hand recerts himself for the senior staff. She shrugged it off, fairly confident she'd pass, and as she stepped into the holodeck, she looked around politely at what he'd set up.

Walker was in the holodeck. There was an elevated platform in the middle. The ends were elevated higher. It was a very wide, shallow U shaped platform. His gi and belt were black and very worn. It was shiny in place. The black had almost turned grey. His belt was the same way. "I enjoy fighting in this type of arena. It reminds me of what I have lost and monsters I have defeated. It is a place of honor now." He jumped down off the platform and landed on bare feet. There was a council of judges to watch and a referee in a silk gi. The program was paused. "I'm a Jujitsuka, a practitioner of Jujitsu. In the beginning, this tournament was used to test Samurai and Shinobi, outside of war. Different clans adjusted their training techniques based on the reports of martial artists who came back. It was designed to make them better. When Japan modernized in the 19th century, samurai were ordered to give up their swords and cut their hair. The Koga Ryu ran the tournament in secret, inviting martial artists from around the world. Most of the time, we fight, then we laugh, talk, and crosstrain afterwards. Occasionally, those without honor use this for their own means. One of those killed one brother, broke the jaw of another brother, and broke both my arms. It took me five years, but I got him in cuffs. It reminds of defeat and victory, and drives me to be better." The difference between the brother that died, the other one, and himself, is that he and his other brother fell off the platform. "Warp technology and First Contact gave us the ability to crosstrain in other worlds. A martial artist is more than a fighter or thug, we get to learn more than just violence. Today, we learn science."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Interesting history lesson," she said. "You and Arashi must have so much to talk about." She looked around the room again. "I was under the impression this was for my hand-to-hand recertification. I assumed we'd be following standard Starfleet arrangements. Did I misunderstand?"

Walker nodded, "This is where I prefer to do it. Kumite rules. There are four ways to win. 1. Knock someone out. 2. Make them say Mite (mi tay), like saying Uncle. 3. Throw them off the platform. Those are the only four ways to win. Martial Artists who are good enough to come here shouldn't employ the fourth way. Starfleet Officers should do the best to succeed without employing that method as well." He pointed to the board above the Judges. "Computer. Resume program." A crowd appeared and they were cheering. The board had a section in it that spun. It said, Anderson Rigel V. Another section spun, it said Walker - Earth. "You have to make good decisions, even among distractions." He walked over, climbed up, and rolled onto the platform.

Nicole looked around and took a step back towards the archway. She keyed in a request and a small bundle appeared at her feet. She unwrapped it, revealing a pair of goggles, which she quickly put on, the black lenses completely obscuring her eyes. She tied her hair up into a tight bun and used a small strap to tie it off. She took a running start and leaped up, landing on the opposite side. "Any other rules or restrictions?" she said.

Walker grinned, "No weapons, tools, or outside help." The referee signaled the beginning of the match. Walker took off his gi top and tossed it off the platform. He took a defensive stance and waited for her first strike.

Nicole jumped off the plinth on her side onto the center of the dais, her foot rolling hard and she let out a cry of pain, falling to the mat. She grabbed her ankle and breathed through clenched teeth. "Damnit," she said.

Walker spoke, "Computer, pause program." He approached her, ready for the possibility of a trap, "Do you need to reschedule and get medical attention?" He knelt down to assess her ankle. "How does someone like us, twist her ankle walking?"

"Effort," Nicole said. As he knelt down to look, her legs snapped out, wrapping around his neck. She twisted her hips, superior muscles working and flipped him sideways off the dais. She rolled backwards and onto her feet. "So...point for me?" she said, smiling.

As soon as she attacked, "Computer, resume program." He flew towards the edge. Hedrug his nails into the platform as he slid and almost completely fell off . He had to get some effort to get back up. The referee came over and watched Walker climb up. Officially, Walker didn't fall off, so the referee didn't call it, but Walker had to put in effort to get back up. He walked over and grabbed Nicole by the right wrist and pulled her towards him. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up so she was sitting on his right shoulder. Then he slammed her into the dais. He punched her in the femoral artery and then in the sciatic nerve on the back of her leg. Then he backed away, "This match isn't judged in points."

Nicole coughed and groaned. "Good to know," she said and rolled to her feet. She stretched out a bit and squared off with him, backing up slightly. "So what qualifies as 'thrown off' then? Whoever touches the ground first?"

Walker grinned, "Completely on the floor. Last time I lost that way, both of my arms were broken." He ran at her, stopping. He did a back tuck in front of her. When he landed, he spun with a very blatant and obvious sweep to her legs, which she jumped easily, but that wasn't his real attack. He was using a similar ploy she had used. He came up fast and hard, going for his next attack. He liked to grapple and it started with a shoulder spear to her gut with a double leg drop. He mounted her. He was breathing hard, not out of breath fatigued, but something else. He stopped himself and rolled off of her. He stood up and offered her his hand.

Nicole lashed out, grabbing his arm and swinging herself bodily off the floor and around him, her claws ripping through his back as she growled, holding onto him from behind before flipping off, kicking him forward and off balance on the way. She landed and then stood up, charging as well, leaping up delivering a swift kick to his chest, knocking him back.

He was knocked back and stumbled, but stayed upright and grinned, "Computer, Freeze program." The program was frozen, he spoke, "Computer, Kanabo." He swung it at her chest.

She twisted and it tore her garment, cutting her skin, but she covered it with her hands before he could see it. She opened her mouth to get a weapon of her own, but he beat her to the punch.

"Computer lock out commands for Anderson and Levesque." He wasn't playing at this. He kicked her legs out from under her, and rolled her over with his foot as she caught her breath. He smacked her on the ass hard with it before making short work of the back of her garment as well. "Computer, remove Kanabo. Resume program."

Nicole didn't appreciate the tap on the rear, nor did she appreciate looking half dressed, nor did she appreciate a weapon in a weaponless match. She got up quickly and rushed him and as he lashed out, she tried to dodge, but his fingers struck her abdomen, hitting a nerve that left her screaming and she tumbled to the mat.

That tears it, she thought. She stood up slowly and turned around, her hair curled, her mouth tightly closed to hide her teeth and blazing red eyes hidden behind her goggles. She growled slightly and squared off again.

She charged at him and as he grabbed for her, she slid down, sliding between his legs, letting her fist strike a tender spot. She jumped to her feet and grabbed him by the waist, lifting him bodily off the ground and falling backwards off the dais. She twisted them in midair and he landed on ground on his back, her straddling him.

"I threw you off the platform," she said, breathing hard. "I win." She rolled over onto her back and groaned, feeling her cracked ribs still sore as they healed. "Next time, remind me to bring a phaser," she said.

As Walker landed on his back, straddled by her, the look in his eyes wild. He grabbed her by the hips and lifted off off of him, "OFF!" He was very excited by this turn of events. A woman should be strong, a challenge. He kicked to his feet. His biometric readings would show all of his endorphins increased. However, it was obvious he was excited, across the board. His greatest strength was self control. He was briefly losing that battle. He jumped straight up and landed on the platform, something a normal human, Vulcan, or Klingon could do easily, but he was all of them. "You won. I want more."

Nicole groaned and got to her feet. "While I admire your stamina, I'm going to have to decline. I've had a long day already, and I have ribs to heal."

He closed his eyes and fists. He rotated his hands into a common martial arts ready position. He forced his breathing to normalize. His heart rate lower. "Allow me to thank you for the fun. I can cook."

"Okay...." Nicole said. "Well right now food is not remotely on my mind, so if you will excuse me, Commander, I hope this was sufficient for what is required." She stood up straight, holding her head up and ignoring how much of her was exposed as she walked out of the holodeck. As the doors closed behind her and she got into a turbolift, she sank against the bulkhead and let out a groan, dragging herself back to her quarters.

Walker spoke, "Computer, recognize Dr Nicole Anderson she passed hand to hand combat at a SRT level. If she she uses phasers as well, I will give her a SRT Ribbon and Commendation. Shit." He fell off the platform. "Oww." He pushed himself back up. "Computer, end program." He grabbed his gi top and limped to his quarters.

---

Nicole yawned and crawled up over her partner, kissing her gently. "I'm going to shower, and then I'm going to beg you for a massage, just a heads up."

Camille stayed quiet, but smiled and nodded. That was quite the story. She was glad she didn’t have any hand to hand combat levels to recertify, and hoped that no one thought she needed any.

Nicole stood up weakly and groaned. "Oh, also a heads up...I think he invited us to dinner. I didn't accept, I thought we should discuss it," she said, limping her way towards the shower.

“One thing at a time, chère,” Camille replied. When she heard the sonic shower activate, she replicated fresh towels and massage oil. She lay the towels on the bed, changed into a robe, and waited for Nicole to finish in the shower.

 

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