round 17 COL Waltus/MAJ Pavlova: No Country for Old Women

[+ Irina Pavlova]

::As Irina practically flew out of her seat and Katya screamed, the blue

light of the transporter faded and she found herself face to face with the

man who, just over one year before, had arrived on Kjenta II and started a

chain of events that led to this moment. Of course there was the small

matter of him holding a sword.::

::Tyr raised the katana in a defensive stance, knowing that Irina was

probably armed to the teeth, and the blue haze of the transporter faded

Just in time to see her using none of them except her own body. She fell

on him with all of the focus and determination of someone 220 years held

captive and now with freedom in sight. She didn¹t want to kill him, just

to get the sword out of his hands and then delay him for the two minutes

and twenty-four seconds it would take to hit breakaway speed.::

::She slammed into him with the full force of her almost 200lb weight

simultaneously delivering a punch to his gut with the full strength of a

male Klingon or female Vulcan, one of the benefits of 219 years hazardous

duty on a high-gravity planet. While outwardly thin, Irina¹s bone density

and muscle mass were off the charts for humans, and the resulting hit was

so strong that in addition to doubling over from the punch, Waltas dropped

the sword which Irina promptly kicked away. The blade slid across and to

rear of the runabout's cabin, out of reach.::

::Irina didn¹t wait. She knew that he was likely a more experienced melee

fighter than she was mainly on account of her having little beyond what

she learned at Marine academy. She was a sniper, not a boxer, and while

she desperately wanted to go home, she wasn¹t willing to kill the man who

made such a voyage possible to do so. Still, she had the initiative on

account of the powerful punch, now all she needed was time.::

::Before he could recover, she closed in again, tackling him and wrapping

her powerful arms around his waist and across his chest.::

Pavlova: Kirk went back in time twice, why not me?

::Tyr was stunned both by the trip through the transporter and the sudden

attack once he'd materialized, but most disturbing of all was Irina's

strength. His ribcage, seemingly the target of all of his foes, hurt like

hell, and now she was trying to squeeze the breath (life?) out of him. He

was trained in Judo and Aikido, and knew what to do.::

WALTAS: Kirk had to...to save the planet and the Federation. You're doing

it.. GAH! ::He winced as the grip grew tighter:: Because you're a coward.

::This distracted her just long enough for him to grab the inner muscle of

her underarm and squeeze with thumb and forefinger. The pressure point had

the desired effect as Irina's arm went numb to the wrist, which he then

grabbed and snapped the vice-like hold. He then pulled the arm toward him

and turned his back, hurling her over his shoulder and sending her

sprawling to the deck.::

::Irina crashed hard into the passenger seats, and her momentum combined

with her weight destroyed the seat back and ripped the entire seat out of

the floor. What the impact did not do, however, was slow her down in the

slightest, and she was instantly back on him. Her left shoulder slammed

hard into his chest sending both of them forward under her momentum into

the opposite wall while she simultaneously delivered a powerful right to

his left shoulder. Her right arm quickly came back for a powerful rabbit

punch to his face, which he easily dodged.::

::He dodged the second punch, standard Starfleet-issue, and grabbed the

arm as he did so. Slamming his foot into her ribcage he pulled hard and a

distinct pop echoed through the cabin as the shoulder was dislocated. With

nerve damage to one arm and a dislocated shoulder on the other, he knew

what would come next. A hard kick he barely was able to deflect, and the

Ba'ku dropped to the ground and swept her feet out from under her.

Gripping her ankle he turned it in a direction it wasn't meant to turn, to

the breaking point. He glanced at the viewscreen as the sun grew ever

closer.::

WALTAS: Dammit Irina stop! I can help you! This place is my home and it

can be yours too. You can't live in the past forever! It's worse than

death.

::From the ground, Irina slammed her right shoulder had into the floor,

popping the shoulder back into the socket just as audibly and even more

painfully than its exit, but as she did so he tightened his grip on her

ankle.

PAVLOVA: Don't you see, it isn't the past for me, it's my home. ::Tears

started streaming down her cheeks:: : They are all waiting for me.

WALTAS::gently:: No, Irina. They're dead and gone. I could go back and

save my father, or all the people that died on my homeworld when the Son'a

attacked. Or all my shipmates who perished when I was assimilated by the

Borg. The past is the past but it makes us who we are!

PAVLOVA: Katya and I, we have nobody.

WALTAS: You've got the Corps, and you've got me. And if you try, I think

you'll have plenty of people. ::turning to Katya:: You want to see Bolt

again don't you Katya?

PAVLOVA: And the people who took Thomas and Moore. They've already made a

play for me once, what happens to Katya when they finally succeed?

WALTAS::Relaxing his grip a bit and lowering his voice:: Let me help you.

Please.

PAVLOVA: You can't guarantee that they won't get me. Katya needs me.

::He let go of her ankle and backed toward the console, tapping in codes

to disengage the warp drive and shutting down the warp core for good

measure. If Irina had any further treachery in mind it would take several

minutes to repower the core. He saw Katya curled up in a fetal ball and

gently touched the top of her head, then walked back to Irina, still on

the floor. He extended his hand to help her up.::

WALTAS: As I said before, there's a difference between living in a moment,

and getting lost in one. For both our sakes', let me help you.

PAVLOVA: How exactly would you do that? There is no going back, and

whether they come for me or not, I can't survive in a cell.

WALTAS: They'll have to go through me and the entire crew to get to you.

And you're not going to a cell.

Pavlova: What other option is there?

WALTAS: I didn't come here to throw the regs at you, Irina. You should

know me better than that. You're alone, and scared, and you're a prisoner

of the past. And you're talking to the one person who understands that.

Come home with me and we'll forget this.

PAVLOVA: And what happens when we get back?

WALTAS::shrugging:: You're the strategic ops chief. You're new. I took you

on an escort flight to teach you the ropes.

PAVLOVA::Sitting down in the pilot's seat:: : They, he calls me every

night. Its always the same, him sitting at the window and looking out the

night sky, wondering when I'll come home.

::Irina powered up the impulse drive and set course back for Duronis

embassy.::

PAVLOVA::Wiping the tears from her eyes:: : I guess its time to take Katya

home.

WALTAS::smiling, tapping the console:: I'll escort you back. Just stay on

my wing.

PAVLOVA: Don't worry, I won't try to run.

Jointly Submitted

Colonel Tyr Waltas

Marine CO

Duronis II Embassy / USS Thunder

And

Major Irina Pavlova

Chief of Strategic Operations

Duronis II Embassy / USS Thunder