round 16 Lieutenant Kaitlyn Falcon - "Holo-Spar"

[Jack Stavins]

((Holodeck 2; U.S.S. Darwin-A))

::The holodeck doors opened with their customary drone, admitting one red-haired offered through. Kaitlyn stepped several paces in as the door droned shut behind her. She allowed the end of her training staff to slide to the floor, maintaining a loose grip on it.::

Falcon: Computer, activate program Kaitlyn Spar 1.

Computer: Acknowledged.

::The room around Kaitlyn shimmered, floor replaced with a hard white surface as the room faded into darkness all around her. A spotlight illuminated the center of the room, a black ring marking the floor. A similar light remained over her head, showing a table and chair form nearby. Atop the table were a line of bottles of chilled water and a number of hexagonal weights for her staff.::

::Kaitlyn stepped over to the table, testing a number of weights before deciding on the ones she wanted. She attached a pair of them to her staff, one near each end, then leaned her staff against the table.::

Falcon: Computer, reduce ambient temperature to 18.3 degrees Celsius.

Computer: Working.

::The room chilled as she removed her jacket and started stretching out. A slight shiver a few minutes later told her that the room was ready. Kaitlyn grabbed her staff, walking to the center of the ring and holding the staff in a two-handed ready stance. From there, she gave a few practice swings to get the feel of the additional weight, and nodded to herself.::

Falcon: Computer, begin round one.

::The computer gave its acknowledging beep, Kaitlyn adjusting her stance back to ready. The listened to the darkness, watching for what the computer would be throwing at her first.::

::Points of light manifested; eyes in the darkness. Two figures entered the light; Orions in patched leather jackets and tan pants. Each had one of the Syndicate’s symbols on their shoulder. One cracked his knuckles, the others his neck. Then, both charged.::

::Kaitlyn spun away from the charge, bringing her staff low to knock the feet out from under one Orion. In a smooth motion, she brought the other side down hard toward the fallen Orion’s face. Impact… and the Orion vanished. The second came back in for another attack, moving more cautiously. Kaitlyn allowed him to come in, then took him out with a combination of hits to his flanks and head. He, too, vanished.::

::This was a program Kaitlyn had asked a friend to make in her time on Earth after leaving the Nova, before she’d applied to the Academy. It was also made when her hatred of the Orion Syndicate was at its highest. While the anger had faded, the program itself still served as excellent stress relief. It would throw waves of Syndicate fighters at her with increasing difficulty, each attacker disappearing once sufficient damage had been caused to incapacitate them.::

::Sometimes, practice dummies were enough of a workout. At that moment, though, she needed something that could fight back. Safely, mind you. She wasn’t about to turn off the holodeck’s safety protocols. She was just practicing, not suicidal.::

Falcon: Computer, begin round two.

::Kaitlyn took her place at the center of the ring as four assailants emerged from the darkness. They stayed in two pairs, moving around the ring attack from two directions. Kaitlyn rotated, keeping the pairs at her left and right.::

::The two groups charged. Kaitlyn saw just enough separation between the pair on her left to get her staff between. She took a step back, putting one end of her staff against the back of one Orion, then twisted hard to send him careening into the second pair. At the same time, she brought the other end of the staff into the other Orion’s back, knocking him onto his face. A sharp strike to the back of the fallen Orion’s head removed him from the program.::

::The remaining trio got back to their feet, Kaitlyn swinging around to the ready once again. One came in first, Kaitlyn swinging around for a strike. He managed to grab hold of her staff, a smirk on his face. Kaitlyn immediately wrapped her hand around the close end of the staff, shoving it hard against him. The staff struck, knocking the wind from him and making him crumple to the deck for a few moments. The other pair advanced, Kaitlyn giving the fallen Orion a shove toward them to trip them up briefly. She fell back a few paces, remaining in the circle.::

::One managed to get freed quickly, rushing her. She saw a vulnerability and exploited it, swinging her staff up hard between the Orion’s legs. He fell over in an almost comedic fashion, then vanished.::

::The other two got back to their feet, advancing on Kaitlyn. She sidestepped, getting her staff against one Orion’s back and swinging him around to collide at high speed with the final opponent. A fast one-two combination to each took them down.::

::Kaitlyn took a moment to catch her breath, her staff making for a convenient support.::

::That was enough of pure attack. She decided it was time to throw in a bit more defense. Once more, she returned to the center of the ring.::

Falcon: Computer, round three, one-on-one.

::Another acknowledging beep, and the lights came up around the room. A single Orion stood near the corner, holding a staff similar to Kaitlyn’s. She resumed her ready stance, nodding to the Orion.::

::The Orion approached, entering the ring and hefting his staff. He took his first swing, Kaitlyn deflecting it and countering. The Orion was fast enough to block her, taking a few steps back. His next attack came as a flurry of strikes, Kaitlyn focusing on blocking or deflecting him without worrying about countering. This was where the real work-out was, forcing tired muscles to continue performing.::

::Kaitlyn saw an opening and went for it, bringing one end of her staff against the Orion’s chest and shoving him away. Contact was broken, for a moment.::

Falcon: Computer, remove movement restriction.

::The black ring on the floor vanished as the Orion charged again. Kaitlyn rolled to one side, popping back to her feet and falling back as the Orion continued his attack. He struck furiously, Kaitlyn having to bob and weave along with deflect and block. The computer was throwing a more difficult challenger than usual at her. Kaitlyn needed to get past his staff.::

::She turned and ran to the wall, the Orion following at a slower pace. Kaitlyn jumped at the wall, planting her foot against it and shoving off hard. She got both hands at one end of the staff, bringing it into a hard overhead swing. The Orion brought his staff up to block.::

::Kaitlyn’s staff struck the Orion’s at dead center, and the Orion’s staff snapped in two.::

::Kaitlyn pressed her advantage, the Orion now having to fend of her attacks with his two shorter sticks. He was forced to block each of her strikes with both pieces of former staff, which she could see was starting to tire him. She swung upward, the Orion stopping her staff with both his sticks in a scissor-block. Without hesitation, she reversed her swing and brought it down into the Orion’s temple. One hard hit to that vulnerable spot, and he was down.::

::This time, Kaitlyn leaned a bit more heavily into her staff as she caught her breath. THAT had been a good one.::

::However, before she could do something silly like going for round four, the computer beeped.::

Computer: Your quarter’s terminal has received a message. Would you like to read it now?

Falcon: Yes, I would.

::The text appeared before her in mid air, Kaitlyn reading over the message. Operations admin stuff… Figured. It wouldn’t take particularly long, but it did need to be completed sooner rather than later.::

Falcon: Well, duty calls…

::She returned to the prep table, removing the weights from her staff and grabbing a bottle of water. She took a long swig from it, feeling the water starting to cool her down.::

Falcon: Computer, end program.

::The room faded out, returning to the usual grid. The table, weights, and water bottles faded likewise. Thankfully, the water bottle in her hand remained. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was thankful that whoever designed the holodeck included some replicator technology for whenever food or drink were requested.::

::She started for the door. It was time for some paperwork and a shower.::

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Lieutenant Kaitlyn Falcon

Chief Helm/Comm/Ops Officer

USS Darwin-A

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