STF

Sparring in the Gym (Kastarak/Dawson)

Posted May 24, 2023, 6:42 a.m. by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kastarak (Doctor / Counsellor) (Richard A)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Quentin “Q” Dawson (Chief Weapons Officer) in Sparring in the Gym (Kastarak/Dawson)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Kastarak (Doctor / Counsellor) in Sparring in the Gym (Kastarak/Dawson)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Quentin “Q” Dawson (Chief Weapons Officer) in Sparring in the Gym (Kastarak/Dawson)
Posted by… suppressed (19) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Thursday had come. A few minutes before the appointed hour of Kastarak’s and Quentin Dawson’s sparring, Kastarak arrived early to inspect the empty gym room that he had booked for them.

He had after some bureaucratic difficulty with Dawson’s department (that would be a conversation for another time) managed to get clearance to take a lirpa from the ship weapons cabinet (why did it even have a lirpa) to the gym for training after some paper-pushing petty officer had been convinced that Kastarak was indeed trained to use a lirpa and that he was not going to use it either “ceremoniously” or “violently” on other people, but rather use it for physical exercise. Had he not suppressed his emotions at this stage (it was quite necessary!), he might have been tempted to use the lirpa on the actual petty officer in question instead.

In any case, here Kastarak was, in ship-issued gym wear – dark blue sweatpants and that hideous-looking dark-nlue t-shirt imprinted with CHRNV (why lose the vowels?) in silver.

He did some warming up exercises while waiting for Dawson.

– Kastarak

Dawson came in with a long gym bag slung over his shoulder. He had been pleased to find that Chernov gym wear was already issued to his quarters when he arrived. When he entered the gym, he found Kastarak already there, doing warm-ups. “Well hello there!” Dawson said stepping over to a table that sat against one of the walls. He laid down his bag and began unpacking the various swords from it. “Any trouble getting the Lirpa?” Dawson asked absently as he took out a rapier from the bag, followed by a bastard sword, a saber, and a broadsword.

“I am impressed with your office’s scrutiny of who uses weapons and for what reasons and when,” he said flatly. “It is a testament to safety on board this ship.”

He looked over the Lirpa a bit and decided on the saber. The blade was thicker than the rapier so it could better handle parrying the lirpa, but also wasn’t as heavy as the broadsword or bastard sword, so Dawson hoped it would grant him a dexterous advantage. He took the saber and headed to the center of the floor around where Kastarak was warming up and went into Meyer’s Square, a drill of strikes based on diagonal strikes.

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

So it was sabre versus lirpa.

“What are the rules?” Kastarak asked. It suddenly dawned on him that combining two fencing arts would require a compromise in rules.

– Lt jg Kastarak

Dawson paused in his drills a moment. He had actually forgotten to consider how the sparing session would go. “If we suit up,” He began, we can work off of a points system, as used to be done in historic duels. Each successful strike leads to a point, after each we reset, and the first to reach a preset number of points is the victor.” Dawson looked over the Lirpa and considered unarmored combat, but since he was unused to the weapon and was unsure of Kastarak’s familiarity with his own saber, he thought better of it.

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

“Agreed,” he said hesitantly. “I am not sure what kind of suit we should be wearing though. I have not brought anything. Have you?”

– Kastarak

Dawson headed for one of the equipment closets in the gymnasium and began rummaging through, “I thought I saw some sparring gear in here, ah!” He said pulling out a few items of padded clothing, “These should do well to protect us from stray blades and limit our trips to Symar.” he said with a smile. I think these should fit you. I have my own in the bag back there. Next time we’re at a starbase we can see about getting you your own but till then these should do well.” He handed Kastarak a padded Jerkin and a padded hood that seemed to cover the whole head and shoulders with a grated piece of metal over the face. It seemed to resemble a cooking strainer. “These’ll go over your clothes so don’t worry about having to change.”

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

Kastarak looked at the padded jerkin and hood handed over to him. Odd-looking pieces of clothing. He was unsure how would he was supposed to put them on.

“Would you help me put this on? I don’t quite understand,” he confessed softly.

– Lt (jg) Kastarak

“Oh certainly,” Dawson said grabbing his own jacket and heading over. “It generally goes on like any other jacket, once you have it on, there are fastenings on the side here to secure it. Mine here has traditional loop fastenings, but I think yours there has buttons to snap it together.” Dawson demonstrated as he spoke, putting his own jacket on as he was directing Kastarak to do. “As for the fencing mask, that should just fit over your head like so.” He put the hood over his head made some adjustments. Having gone so long without a physical opponent, Dawson had forgotten how uncomfortable these outfits could be. But, safety first.

The Jerkins: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sWHf_zNqoF6uO5aKlFH-oQAODqFm4hX1/view?usp=sharing / https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B_7ZMpvpaBhOhAqWwNpIpAG4IV97_rxx/view?usp=sharing
The Mask: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SSP5vltzLLo5qnwnsUxCi48EzRRx43yG/view?usp=sharing

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

OOC: Thanks for pics, this is a whole new world – not only for Kastarak – but for me too :) – Ric

Dawson’s voice felt safe. As he instructed Kastarak on how to put on the clothes, helping at the same time, Kastarak travelled again in his mind to his childhood, when his mother taught him how to tie his shoes. It was complicated, and there were many steps to consider at the same time, but the softness and patience in her voice helped him put the shoe on properly, and thus, he was protected from the ground… It was strange for Kastarak that his mind would wander there now, as he was about to exercise with this new colleague of his. There was a genuinity with Dawson that Kastarak felt, and he wished to explore that more. Perhaps they would become good friends, their differences aside.

“Alright,” he said once everything was on, “is it all fitted properly? I find my mobility restricted.”

– Kastarak

Dawson gave a bit of a shrug and said, “Unfortunately can’t be helped. One sacrifices mobility for defense, as it were. But hopefully, it shouldn’t restrict you too much.” With that Dawson fastened his mask on his head and grabbed up his saber. “Ready to begin?”

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

Kastarak nodded.

“Yes sir!”

He took two steps back, and lifted the lirpa over his head, taking aim as if he was going to chop wood – Dawson being the piece of wood. Kastarak came to a sudden realization, the weight alone of the lirpa might crush the poor weapons officer. Kastarak needed to play nice, not kill his opponent.

He lowered the lirpa and held it more as a spear, holding it out from his stomach, with the blade pointing toward Dawson.

– Kastarak en garde

Dawson noted the shift in stance for Kastarak and thought Is he holding himself back? Perhaps if I press him, I’ll get him to open up. Dawson did a quick inward step and brought the sword around to attack Kastarak’s right. He anticipated a deflection and had a counter ready for it.

Lt. Q Dawson CWO

It was a miss, but closer than Kastarak wanted. He tried to calculate quickly. If he used his lirpa to deflect the attack, he would not be able to go on the offence. Sometimes, offence was the best defence. Vulcan–Klingon first contact was a testament to that, as he was taught in school. Kastarak jumped forward and to the left so to attack Dawson on his right. Being right-handed, he would have preferred to go on Dawson’s left. But he had to adapt the circumstances.

– Kastarak

Dawson expected a deflection to get the meter of the fight right. Kastarak’s sudden dodge and strike through him off and Dawson just managed to bring his sword back around to parry the incoming lirpa. The thick blade of the cavalry saber struck the shaft of the weapon just below its own curved blade and knocked it to the side. Dawson used the movement to square himself up again to Kastarak. He may have underestimated the Vulcan, so now Dawson paused to allow Kastarak to attack.

-Q Dawson

With that, Kastarak propelled the lirpa forward, holding it 90 degrees horizontally from his body, pushing the blade toward Dawson’s abdomen.

– Kastarak

Dawson stepped out to the left, bringing his saber across to connect with the lirpa below the curved blade and parrying it aside. He used the momentum of the parry to swing the sword back over his head to attack Kastarak’s right shoulder.

-Q Dawson

Dawson’s manoeuvre worked. The sparring sword is an elegant and “light” weapon compared to the more clumsy and heavy axe-like-sword-hybrid that constituted a lirpa. In this case, lightness and elegance had won. Dawson had won this round, not the battle itself – Kastarak was sure to remind himself.

As the sword hit Kastarak’s shoulder, Kastarak ducked (a millisecond too late, as he was hit). From the position on the ground, he leaped the lirpa forward, 30 degrees (as seen from the floor), reaching thus for Dawsons lower abdomen. If Kastarak’s calculations were correct, he would manage to hit Dawson’s lower abdomen before Dawson could strike him with the sword downwards, at which point he had strategised to move the lirpa upwards to protect himself from the assault from top. It was a risky position Kastarak was in – he was not experienced with a lirpa – and Dawson was a skilled swordsman, but he thought these situations could – at the very least – provide him some insight into his own weak spots.

– Kastarak

Dawson felt the saber’s blade strike Kastarak and saw him drop down. Dawson pulled back the saber to swipe again at Kastarak, but saw that the Vulcan had not dropped due to the blow but for a tactical strike. As the lirpa shot forward, Dawson tried to move his saber to intercept and his waist out of reach, but the lirpa’s length gave it the advantage and Dawson was unable to escape its jab. Dawson’s saber struck the shaft of the lirpa just as it connected with him, guiding the blow off of his abdomen and off to the side. Had it not been for the protective gear, Dawson would have found himself disemboweled. Instead, he knew he would at most carry a bruise. With the parry he backed off of Kastarak hoping for the Vulcan to attack in a way for Dawson to get back under his guard, and hopefully keep himself better protected this time. They were currently point for point.

-Dawson

Kastarak realized that the force he used was heavy – Vulcans have greater explosive muscle power than humans, by a significant degree. Had he managed to injure Dawson? Had he been too rough?

He took three steps backwards quickly, lifted his visor, and signalled a time-out.

“Mr Dawson, have I injured you?”

– Kastarak

Dawson snapped and then gave a chuckle. He removed the headgear and said, “No, not really. Jacket did its job. So far we’re point for point. Ready to continue?”

-Dawson

Kastarak noted. Dawson was ‘not really’ injured. What did that mean? He was injured, but not serious? He was not injured at all, but it hurt?

“No, not yet,” replied Kastarak, now stuck in his thoughts as a physician. Dawson needed to be assessed. “Please clarify. What did you mean by ‘no, not really’?”

He had wanted to continue with Are you hurting? Is there pain? If so what is the nature of the pain? Sharp, dull? Can you pinpoint where it is? Should I inspect? Do we need to go to Sickbay but decided not do flood the poor opponent-turned-patient. Not yet, anyway.

Kastarak wished he had brought his medical tricorder with him. It would have been prudent, sparring could be dangerous after all…

– DOCTOR Kastarak

Dawson chuckled again and said, “Kas, I’m fine really-” then caught himself, as Kastarak probably wouldn’t approve of the informal use of a nickname, especially one Dawson made up on the fly. “Apologies, Kastarak, I am fine. I’ll likely have a bruise there, but I figure so will you,” Dawson said pointing to where his saber had struck Kastarak earlier. “If I get injured in any serious way, I’ll be sure to let you know straight away.”

Dawson hoped the informality wouldn’t ruffle the Vulcan’s feathers, so to say. It was a common thing Dawson did with most everyone he spent long enough with, and not everyone appreciated it.

-Dawson

“Mr Dawson, why are you apologising, and what for?” Kastarak did not understand. “I am content, however, that you are not injured, and I trust you will inform me if your self-diagnosis changes.”

– Kastarak


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