Sal Taybrim Posted June 3, 2017 Posted June 3, 2017 (( Starbase 104 - Yirath Jorg Memorial Gym, Parrises Squares Court 3 )) oO Never make a bet with a Tellarite. Oo ::This was the decision Ji-hu came to when he was sweating through a tight, spandex suit, gasping for breath with a two-hundred pound Klingon security officer barreling down at him from the top of a red and black pyramid.:: ::It had all started earlier in the week when the ESPO crew was divvying repair and diagnostic tasks for the day. Ji-hu had made an off-handed comment about Berenez and Frag needing to complete fourteen repairs by the end of the week to keep up with their workload, which had been slow going. Frag had puffed out her chest indignantly.:: Frag: I bet you we can finish TWENTY, and if we do you have to come to my weekly cardio exercise in a yellow spandex suit. ::Tor had snickered, and Berenez’d given Ji-hu a challenging look. He’d waved his hand dismissively and uttered a single, ill-fated word: “Fine.”:: ::Berenez and Frag completed 22 tasks that week. That’s how Ji-hu had ended up outfitted, to his utter horror, in a tight, yellow spandex suit that left little to the imagination for Frag’s “weekly cardio exercise,” his first ever game of Parrises Squares.:: Frag: EYE ON THE BALL, JITTERS! ::Frag, outfitted in a matching, yellow spandex suit, was the team’s keeper at the far end of the court, in the defence zone, brandishing her mallet like a warrior. His fellow teammates were two other Constitution Tellarites, an older Tellarite woman from HCO he’d briefly served on the bridge with, and a younger Tellarite security officer. They were playing against a recreational Starbase 104 team… if one considered bloodlust and bone fractures recreational.:: ::Attempting to remember his dojo training days with Colleen back at the Academy, he tried to lower his centre of gravity and plant himself as the Klingon charged at him, but the hulking security officer easily knocked him out of the way, down into the pit on that side of the court. The Klingon received the ball from the top of the pyramid, where an opposing Bolian was grappling with their Tellarite HCO officer. The Klingon made a running leap up their goal ramp as Frag swung the large mallet to knock him off course, but he spun through the air, dodging her and slamming the ball through the hoop, earning the opposing team ten points.:: Klingon: ::arms raised:: tlhIngan maH! ::Ji-hu gasped for breath, having had it knocked out of him for the fourth time that day, not to mention the simple fact that he wasn’t the most physically fit person in the quadrant. Frag walked over to the side and grinned down at him.:: Frag: Almost had him there, Jitters! You’ll get him next time! ::When he found out exactly what her version of “cardio” was, Frag was disgusted that Ji-hu had never been in a Parrises Squares court. She would not accept his begging and pleas. She threatened to give Ix and Te permission to dismantle the entire ESPO, that she would ensure no one in the office would never listen to a word he said ever again until they rectified the oversight. When he saw the hungry look in the Bynars eyes, and Tor and Berenez’s sly glances he decided to play along as a substitute player.:: ::Their usual fourth player had, conveniently, been unavailable on game day, so Ji-hu was brought in from the first quarter on.:: ::They were well into the fourth and final quarter now, and Ji-hu had been knocked down the pyramid three times, thrown into the pit seven. He’d been body-checked, tackled, tripped, and beamed in the head with the ball twice for reasons he thought were entirely against the rules. But nothing was against the rules in Parrises Squares except for common decency. The entire court was padded, but that didn’t make the hits and falls any less painful, and he had the feeling he’d be one sentient bruise tomorrow.:: ::The buzzer rang and his two fellow offensive teammates scrambled up the pyramid as the opposing Bolian made the top and grabbed the ball. The Tellarite security officer took a running jumpkick off the top of the pyramid and caught him off guard, tumbling them both down the pyramid and sending the ball rolling down Ji-hu’s side. In a moment of stupidity, Ji-hu grabbed it just as the Klingon and an opposing human made for him. He tossed it to his fellow HCO officer and, miraculously, it connected. He was body checked off the side once again, but as he climbed up the side ramp there was a struggle at the top before his teammates broke through over the pyramid and into the opposing team’s side.:: ::Panting, feeling on the edge of collapse, he climbed the side of the pyramid and saw the HCO officer wrestling with the Bolian as the opposing human advanced on her. She managed to throw it to the Tellarite security officer on the opposite side of the court, but then the Klingon and the opposing Keeper gunned for her. She glanced around desperately, then saw slight, young, much-abused Ji-hu just at the top of pyramid, and the ball came sailing for him.:: ::He caught it, somehow, and half-fell, half-ran down the side of the pyramid straight for the opposing goal ramp.:: ::The opposing human Keeper had broke off from the Klingon-Tellarite grapple and made for Ji-hu as his feet hit the defensive zone. He saw a delighted spark in her eye as she spun her mallet expertly. He had already recognized her at the start of the game, but this was the first time he had come face-to-face with Ensign Jenny Jordan.:: Jordan: Oh no you don’t, darlin’. ::He tried to go around her as he neared the goal ramp, since she was a few paces away from him, his feet hit the springy, padded ramp and with every ounce of strength in his body he launched himself diagonally through the air, sailing towards the goal post, until…:: ::THWACK.:: ::The end game buzzer went off as the world started to come into focus again. Ji-hu felt a warm liquid dripping over his mouth, and he blinked a few times, though his left eye felt weird. Frag and his other teammates stood over Ji-hu from above, and they were grinning down at him.:: Frag: What’d I tell you, Jitters?! You did it! You scored! Choi: ::blinking:: I did?! Did we win? Frag: Not even close! They were fifty-five points ahead, but what an end! And look! ::she reached down and touched his nose with her hair paw, which came away bloody:: YOU POPPED YOUR SQUARE-Y CHERRY! ::His teammates helped him up and he started running diagnostics on his face. His nose was tender and bleeding, but Frag assured him it was just a simple bloody nose. His left eye was swelling up, and Frag gave him the thumbs up as the team grabbed some water and collapsed off the court.:: Frag: No going whining to Sickbay for anything less than a broken bone! You wear your Parrises shiners as a badge of honour! ::Ji-hu was just starting to get his breath back, a towel clutched to his bleeding nose, when he felt a clap on his back. He looked up to see Ensign Jordan smirking down at him as she passed, heading towards the showers.:: Jordan: ::calling back over her shoulder:: That’s for startin' a riot on our starbase! ::Ji-hu was half-tempted to file some sort of report against her, but Frag beat him to the punch by simply launching a dozen colourful Tellarite terms that the translator matrix didn’t pick up after Jordan, who laughed. Frag helped him up to clear the court for an oncoming competitive league.:: Frag: That was a great first game, Jitters! You didn’t get a concussion or nothin’! Next week we’ll have to work on your defensive plays! We’ll see you back here next week, right? ::The others looked to him and after a moment’s thought Ji-hu surprised them, but himself most of all.:: Choi: Yeah… I g-guess you will. END PNPC Ensign Frag, USS Constitution Engineering Officer as simmed by: Lieutenant (JG) Choi Ji-hu Engineering Officer USS Constitution-B C239402CJ0
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