Posted May 27, 2022, 12:34 p.m. by Civilian Astrid Rousseau (Chief Justice) (Amber DeSadier)
Posted by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) in IKS Kvaar’ton - Throw Back A Drink, Throw A Punch (Tag Chief Justice)
Posted by Civilian Astrid Rousseau (Chief Justice) in IKS Kvaar’ton - Throw Back A Drink, Throw A Punch (Tag Chief Justice)
Posted by Civilian Urg’tohn, Son of the House of Duroc (Klingon Warrior) in IKS Kvaar’ton - Throw Back A Drink, Throw A Punch (Tag Chief Justice)
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>“PAUSE!” Urg barked and the instructors froze. Sven was panting and was holding his side, a large smile on his face. K’Letn’s cheek was already swelling, and she regarded the Chief Justice with predatory eyes. Urg stepped into Astrid’s line of sight. “That. That right there. That feeling of the warriors inside you. That is where your strength lies. It may come from hate… fear… pain… it doesn’t matter. That is the part of your soul that you fight with, Justice. I don’t mean spar. That is not a feeling for fall-mats and technical joint locks. That, my friend… that is for when you must win. Do you understand? That feeling is the one weapon you can always draw. No one can take it. And that is where you train from here.”
Lord Duroc’s voice rose and everyone freezing in place caused something to click in Astrid. For a long moment, her primal urges could not catch up to her rational brain. She was ready to fight, attack, destroy… but soon enough she blinked and was once again in complete control of herself. She was breathing hard and noted there was pain in several places on her body. Mentally, she let those be for the moment as she took in Urg’s words. She finally looked up at him and then at the others, each in turn. Sven’s large smile made her giggle a moment before she regained composure.
He stepped away, and then crossed his arms on his chest. “K’Letn. Sven. Did you see it?” K’Letn nodded and snorted, looking like a bull about to charge. Sven slowly stood and said “Ja, Lord Duroc. This one has fire.” He looked at Astrid and said “My Lord is correct, that is where you fight from. But that is also a dark place, and that fire in your belly can quickly consume you if you aren’t careful. You have to be able and turn it on and off, like a switch. Now… take a breath. Let it go. And then.. we go again. And you find it again, yes?”
Lord Duroc and Trainers
She took in a deep breath and let it out, letting out the tension that had grown in the absence of action. “I can.” She replied but shook her head. “But it’s just chaos, primal, feral. How do I use it to fight effectively? How do I combine it with the training I received so that I am effective?”
Rousseau, HotJ
It was the Romulan Dri’hul who spoke up finally. “Muscle memory and practice, Justice. Your martial movements should not be conscious… more like water flowing naturally as it will. That comes from practice. Daily. At least two hours. As for the dark place that Master Harmussen and Lord Duroc speak of… that is the engine to power your movements. It is the drive to win that you must have. Win at all costs, and to cause as much pain as you can, as quickly as you can. That place is what will cause your fists to hit harder, your joint-locks to move your opponents appendages past their normal limits, and you to survive your contest.” Dri’hul moved to stand directly in front of Astrid. She was tall, lean, and had an air of subtle malevolence about her. She looked directly into the Chief Justice’s eyes and said “You must learn that there is a time to be you… and a time to be the animal from whence you came. That time is when you raise your hand to engage another in combat. Then is not the time to waste thought on form, on stance, on technique. Then is the time to put all of those into action… and fueled by the desire to hurt your opponent. Many cannot… or will not… allow themselves to feel such emotions.” and she took a small step back from Astrid and moved smoothly into a fighting stance.
“We call those people ‘victims’.”
Urg and Co.
Practicing for two hours everyday was going to be a challenge. She practiced every other day and did mindfulness and yoga style stretching the other days but not for a full two hours. Her schedule was hectic as the Chief Justice and mindfulness exercising was also imperative for her mental health given what she dealt with every day. Then too was the dark place she hated to go to within her. How was she to dig deep into that pit and still come out as herself at the end. When she used the survival instinct of fight to enable her just now, she felt like the flood gates were attempting to open on a place within her that scared her deeply. At the very least, she had much to contemplate when they were done with this training session today. And at the most, she was going to have to recover emotionally should this continue down a path that hurts her in a more than physical way.
Dri’hul’s movement to stand before her brought her attention back to the task at hand. She shoved away all the thoughts running through her mind for later consumption. Her eyes locked with the other woman’s and the energy that came off of her foretold of danger. Astrid didn’t want to be a victim again; not from her would be kidnapper, and not from her step brother, and not from anyone else who viewed her as small and weak. Whether or not that would be good for her was yet to be seen. As Dri’hul took her fighting stance, Astrid made an opposing stance, let out a slow breath, let her senses stretch through the room for other attacks and then attacked.
Her left hand shot out to grab her opponent’s right hand as her own right hand went out and upwards towards the nose aiming to break it.
Rousseau, HotJ
Bump
Dri’hul moved like languid water. It seemed almost impossible that someone moving seemingly so slow could have the back of their own hand simply lift and gently move the Chief Justice’s attack harmlessly out of the way, and her other hand… the one whose wrist was clasped in Astrid’s grip… was smoothly turned, twisted, and pulled free. Dri’hul then moved gracefully forward, stepping between Astrid’s arms and putting her left foot behind the ankle of Astrid’s right, hooking it, and then with equal amounts of power and grace…
She pushed Astrid’s shoulder’s backwards while simultaneously pulling her foot (and by default Astrid’s leg) forwards.
Dri’hul, Honor Guard of Kvaar’ton
Dri’hul’s hand was freed from Astrid’s grip and she saw the other woman move out of the way. It wasn’t as if she expected the hit to land, but now both hands were outstretched and Dri’hul was inside her personal space. She found herself falling from the complex move of shoulder push and leg hook but she wasn’t going down alone. Dri’hul was too close to pull away if Astrid grabbed her as she went down. This she did, with a teeth baring growl. She gripped the other woman’s collar and added a measure of power of her own, turned her fall into a roll backwards. She aimed to toss the woman up and behind her then possibly to land atop her if the roll continued its natural progression.
Rousseau, HotJ
The Chief Justice’s maneuver elicited a small smile from Dri’hul even as her body went momentarily airborne and Rousseau landed on top of her after the roll. “Good one.” the Romulan whispered softly… and then a soft buzzing noise was heard from lower between the two women.
Astrid felt a moment of triumph as her tactic worked, but it was short lived as she should have expected. The hum of the knife was definitely enough to grab her attention so she looked down.
A knife hummed in Dri’hul’s hand, the small blade almost invisible as it vibrated back and forth. “You know some tricks. That’s good. BUt there is one trick you must always have at the ready.” and she tapped the Chief Justice’s shoulder to indicate their sparring was at least paused.
She rolled back as their spar session was paused so that Dri’hul was free from their entanglement.
As Dri’hul stood up, she tapped a small stone near the base of the blade and it stopped humming. The blade was small, but wicked looking. Just looking at it made one think of bloodletting in dark alleys. Deftly she flipped the weapon and held it out to Astrid. “Cheat. Always and at every opportunity. Here, take this.” and she pushed the handle of the knife into Astrid’s palm. “Its called a salin’taer. Tal Shiar assassination blade. The vibrations will let it cut through Federation Marine armor. And it won’t show up on any scanners or detectors. Keep it with you always.” Dri’hul took a step back and she looked at Urg, who nodded.
Astrid took the knife but held it in a manner that had a mix of awe and uncertainty. She had practiced much with phasers and hand to hand, but knives had never been in her repertoire. IT would take some getting used to. It certainly wasn’t a cooking knife. The wicked blade made butterflies flutter in her stomach. Could she strike with this weapon? This was going to be another long and thought out battle with herself.
Stepping forward, the massive Klingon looked down at Astrid and smiled. “You did well. I expected more blood, if I am being totally honest.” and he grinned.
Urg, Lord Duroc
Attention drawn from the knife, she looked up at Lord Duroc and felt a small sense of pride in her fighting today. She smiled wide in answer to his grin. “I had no idea what to expect so you were ahead of me for certain. This has definitely been an eye opener Lord Duroc. Your people are incredible, and helpful.”
Rousseau, HotJ
Urg’s face took on a somber and serious look. “I want what is best for the people of Oed V. And I am willing to dedicate time, personnel, and resources to that. As you represent the line between lawfulness and chaos, you are important to the people. And so… you are important to me. When I learned of the attack on you, I knew that I could not stand by an do nothing. As I am sure you would disapprove of me and my associates finding the party who invaded your home, nor would appreciate a retinue of Warriors guarding you, it was decided that we would do the next best thing. Ensure that you were trained and equipped to deal with anyone who should deem it necessary to try and force their will on you. Now then…” and he took a step back and gestured at the room and everyone in it.
She practically snorted at the idea of having even more of a security entourage than she already had. The small retinue she had already made her feel like a spectacle. He was right though, she would not feel comfortable with vigilante justice and Astrid appreciated that he understood that about her.
“This is now yours to use however and whenever you like. And there will always be someone aboard who can take the time to spar with you, teach you techniques and train you to use any weapon you can think of.” He reached into his belt and pulled out a small metal disk with the House Duroc crest on it. “Take this.” and he held it out to her. “It is a two-fold gift. First, should you find yourself in the presence of anyone of my House, this will show that you are a friend of House Duroc. Second… it is a transporter beacon. Twist the top half to the left and it activates. When the signal is received, my Security teams know that you need aid. A shuttle, or indeed this vessel if need be, will be sent to your location and you will be beamed aboard. Your Police Commissioner has one as well… as does his wife. House Duroc holds it friends close, Justice. And no… there is no reciprocity expected. As a friend of this House, we will never put you in position to lose your honor.”
Urg, Lord Duroc
There were very few things that left Astrid speechless. Very few things touched her gentle heart hidden deep underneath a lifetime of skepticism, emotional discipline, and experience with duplicity. This did. She took the metal disk in hand and looked down at the crest. She held it reverently, understanding the deep honor he had just bestowed upon her. Had he not mentioned reciprocity, she would have never taken the gift but he had, putting her mind at least somewhat at ease concerning the hidden dangers behind such a gift. Her job demanded that she never favor someone or something to the detriment of the law she so carefully and studiously guarded. It seemed Lord Duroc understood this.
Slowly she nodded, returning her blue eyes to his. “I…” She cleared her throat and continued. “I am greatly honored by your friendship Lord Duroc. This is a mighty gift indeed. I will gladly count you as my friend as you count me as one of yours.”
Then she turned to the others gathered. “Shall we drink on it then?”
Rousseau, HotJ
© 1991-2024 STF. Terms of Service
Version 1.15.11
RSS Feed