Letting Off Steam

Posted on Thu May 10, 2018 @ 6:09pm by Captain Madelina Weisz & Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Barnes

Mission: Falling Star
Location: Gymnasium
Timeline: MD 33 || 2000 Hours

Maddy stood in the empty gym doing a few stretches. It felt good to finally be off duty, and now she wanted to let her hair down (figuratively as it was pulled back into a pony tail). Something... no... someone was missing, and she planned to remedy that. She pulled the hem of blue fitted tank she was wearing down, then moved over to the bench where her bag was settled, reaching inside to pull her combadge out.

She tapped it once and smiled. "Weisz to Barnes... meet me in the gym as soon as you're able to," she said, waiting to get a response from him. He had absolutely no idea what was going to be waiting for him, but she did, and that made her smile widen even more.

Tom had been off duty for an hour, sitting in his and Maddy's quarters as he read through some reports for the day. His end of day report was nearly complete, and he was pulling together some of the last details on the performance of the gravity wave generators when Maddy's call came through. Her request wasn't at all unusual other than they'd never been to the gym together. What had she prepared.

"On my way," he replied to her. Though he'd shed his uniform jacket long ago, he still wore his yellow undershirt and trousers. He quickly traded them for a pair of red athletic pants and a white t-shirt from his collection that read "I braved the slime pits of Deneb" and left the room.

It was not long before he arrived at the gym, and he was rather surprised to see it empty. "A bit of late night exercise before bed?" he asked Maddy, spotting her from behind.

When she heard his voice, Maddy grinned. The two of them hadn't really gotten to spend any time together lately, and that was about to be remedied. "Computer... lock down the gym," the redhead woman said, giving her authorization code. It was just the two of them inside, and if anyone else chose to try to use it, they'd find themselves unable to. Slowly, she turned toward him. "That all depends on what ones schedule has looked like, and ours has been pretty crazy, wouldn't you agree?"

Tom chuckled, approaching her, taking note of her ponytailed hair and tight clothing as she turned. "Our schedule? Crazy? And here I thought this was a walk in the park."

"If it's a walk in the park, I'm really Nausicaan by birth," she said with a laugh. "We both know that's not the case. So, tell me what your workout routine normally consists of. I've got a few hours before I'm going to have to get back to work, and I want to spend all of them with you."

He laughed again. "I don't know about that, Red," he joked. "I've seen you in action. I'm pretty sure Nausicaans couldn't keep up with you if they tried."

"Am I really that scary?" Maddy found herself asking. If rumors were anything to go by, she did strike fear in most people, but not everyone felt that way. She seriously doubted it was going to change much even it it was the truth. Things seemed to get done faster that way.

Tom realized instantly that he'd struck a nerve, but he acted quickly to not himself show it through nonverbal response. "I didn't mean it that way, and no. You're not scary at all. You're just a squishy, lovable teddy bear who knows how to hold her own no matter what's up against her."

"Only to you," she said, moving over to him so she could slip her arms around his waist with a smile. "Not everyone gets the side of me that you do, nor will they. You're special like that."

He kept his smile, wrapping his arms around her. "Fine by me," he said before kissing her. Tom kept it short and sweet, after all, this was the gym, not their bedroom. "So, what'd you call me down for again?"

Maddy returned the kiss and took a step back. "I never said," she answered, gesturing around them. "We're going to workout, of course. What? Did you think I called you here to have my wicked way with you? One day that will happen, but today isn't the day. We'll head home afterward for that magic to happen."

Tom chuckled. "All right then," he said, letting her go and taking a look around the well-equipped room. Where shall we start? Lifting? Boxing? Treadmills?"

"I'm willing to bet you've never participated in hand to hand contact before," she said, moving over to a part of the gym where the floors and part of the walls were padded. Maddy had a feeling her statement was true, but didn't want to vocalize that thought. Tom had managed to surprise her before, and even she knew he would do so again. "I thought maybe we could do a little sparring, hence my attired. It's harder to use my clothes against me if they're practically painted on."

"Only in practice," Tom replied, imagining for a brief second what Maddy might look like with blue skin. That thought was quickly discarded, no matter how enjoyable it was. "I've had an unfortunate scuffle or two with a Ferengi and an Orion, but then again, who hasn't? Though, I'm not sure how I feel about hitting a girl, much less my girlfriend."

"Then, let's put that aside for the time being. Right now, I'm not your girlfriend... I'm just someone who wants to hurt you. Badly," Maddy said with a smile. It was one he may have never really seen before. One that others had been privy to just before she went for the throat. Without warning, she spun around and brought her leg up, stopping it just before she connected with the side of his head. "Hand to hand combat is definitely something that will help you in the future, and I want to make sure you're prepared for anything." With that being said, she lowered her leg back down and hoped he'd find a way to get on board with their training.

He'd flinched when her foot had nearly connected with his head. These next few minutes would prove more than interesting. "You must have a few devious things in mind," Tom said, moving over towards the sparring mat. "First, Lieutenant Rho has me install some spy-gear on the bridge, and now you're prepping for hand-to-hand." Tom wasn't ignorant by any means. Ignorance would have prevented him from rising through the enlisted ranks to Master Chief. It was his ability to observe and interpret that helped him get this far.

"I wouldn't say it's devious exactly, but yes, I do have a few things in mind. It's no secret that I don't like what's going on as far as our mission goes, and I feel it's best if we're prepared for anything," the redhead Captain stated. "I have a feeling you could hold your own in a fight, but I want to be absolutely sure that's the case. Because... if something happened to you..." She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about it. "I don't know what I would do."

No pressure. The Operations Chief nodded his head, trying to think back to some of his basic training and other things. "Let's not think about loss today," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Where shall we start?"

Maddy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Not that you're going to really be comfortable with any of this, how about you tell me where you feel would be easiest to start?" she offered as she began stretching, hoping he would follow suit. "The basics are always the best, but I'm not sure if you know those or not. I mean... we've never sparred before now." That was definitely something she needed to remedy in the future. They both needed to keep on top of their game.

"I'm already uncomfortable enough," Tom observed. "But I don't think there's room for comfort in conflict. Let's just start from the top. I'm sure I know the basics, but now's as good of a time for a refresher as any."

"The basics it is. First, we'll start with blocking. Throw a punch at me," she said, falling back in a defensive stance.

This was it, Tom's chance to turn away. He never relished the thought of violence, even thought it was occasionally needed to resolve situations. And now, here he was, about to throw a punch at his girlfriend. He could pull it, sure, but she'd see he wasn't taking this seriously. Mentally sighing and worrying about the worst that could happen, Tom assumed an offensive stance, balling up both fists. Placing the right one near his chin and the extending the left ahead of him, Tom also spread his legs apart a bit and bent them at the knee, preparing himself for action.

His eyes locked with hers. Tom tried not to let his panic and uncertainty show, though he was more than certain that he was unsuccessful. And, as soon as he thought that his stalling had been quite enough, he lunged forward, lowering his right fist and swinging it upward, hoping to deliver an uppercut to her abdomen.

One thing was for sure, he definitely knew how to throw a punch. Maddy doubled over the second his fist connected with her stomach and closed her eyes, pulling in a shaky breath. She was impressed, but the pain radiating from her midsection prevented her from speaking just yet. And even though he was likely going to freak out for letting her allowing the hit to connect, she lifted a hand in an effort to let him know she was fine as she let herself move to settle on the floor. One thing was for certain, it was going to take her a couple moments to recover, but she definitely wasn't going to stop.

Tom was glad he only aimed at her stomach, and not her face. "Are you okay?" he asked, dropping his guard and disregarding her message as he approached her, ready to catch her as she dropped to the floor.

"I'm... fine," she managed to get out, allowing herself to be caught by him. Maddy truly was okay. Perhaps there would be a bruise there later, but that wasn't anything she couldn't get taken care of once they were done. "I wanted to see how hard you could hit, and I'm definitely impressed. Throw a right hook toward the temple, and you'd knock your opponent out with ease." Now, she had to wonder if he really needed to brush up on his hand to hand.

"I really thought you were going to block that," Tom said, easing her descent. "Maybe, once you've caught your breath, we can skip the rest of the basics."

She shook her head and rubbed the spot on her stomach. "I considered it, but it would have defeated the purpose. I'm not sure what I can show you after that. I definitely think you're capable of holding your own."

Tom hated to think that she'd set this all up for nothing. "How about we reverse it then?" he asked. "You try to hit me, and I have to defend."

"I think that might be a better idea," Maddy said as she began to get to her feet. While her midsection still smarted a bit, it wasn't as bad as it was right after she'd taken the blow. His idea definitely made a bit more sense, and that was how she should have handled it before now, but after such a long day (that wasn't even over yet), her brain was close to being fried.

He beat her to a standing position and reached a hand out to help her up. Tom could tell she was still winded. Part of him wanted to ask and see if she was still up for this, but he knew part of her pride had to be at work here. Therefore, he couldn't just let this impromptu sparring session end like this.

"Okay... let's do this," she said, falling into an offensive stance. She was going to throw that punch at him and hope he actually blocked it, and while he was preparing himself, the redhead gave thought to what she wanted to target.

Tom, remembering a shred of his two boxing lessons from his childhood, raised both fists up and held them close to his face. He kept his eyes locked with Maddy's, hoping to catch a glimmer or other hint of where she'd strike first.

Maddy took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for what could happen if he didn't block her. Her blue eyes flicked to his midsection, then back to his face. Was she going to aim there, or would there be another target? The latter was definitely the answer as she pulled back and swung, going for a right hook across his jaw. The entire time her first flew, she prayed he'd block it.

He'd almost missed her lunge forward. The instant Tom looked down to see if she would mirror his earlier attack, he spotted her right arm come at him from the side. He barely had time to move his left arm outward and redirect the hook.

Instead of waiting to throw the next punch, she threw another after he blocked the first, trying to remember that this was a training exercise without the intent to injure. She pulled the hit at the last possible second in case he couldn't block the blow heading toward his side.

Not only was Tom unable to block the blow in time, he flinched and jumped six inches to his left. "Okay," he said, taking a step back and keeping his guard up. "I can land them, but blocking I could use some work on it seems."

The redhead took a couple steps back and nodded. "Okay, I'm not going to hit you this time, but talk you through the basics of blocking. It's about speed... especially if there are a flurry of attacks coming your way, which is what I was trying to do just now. I probably should have held off on that for a bit," she said, bouncing from one foot to the other in an attempt to loosen up. "Let me know when you're ready to give it a try."

"There's little time like the present," Tom said, trying to keep an eye on her, and not her feet. It was his hope that by keeping a lock on her gaze, and not so much on her actions, that he'd be able to adjust for whatever came his way.

"I feel," she began, closing the distance between them again. "Would be to go through the actual motions without me hitting you, then showing you how to block. Like this..." She moved her arm like she was going to throw another punch to his side, but used her free hand to reach over and bring his arm up in a position meant to block. It wasn't easy, and definitely looked a bit awkward on her side, but the effectiveness was there.

He studied her movements as best as he can, trying to memorize it through a systems approach, rather than memory itself. Tom played the event a couple times in his mind before repeating the motions on his own and replying, "That seems simple enough."

"I think it would be the best way to do it. Go through the motions, then try it out," Maddy stated as she threw another pulled punch, then moved his arm to right place to block it.

Tom nodded, following the motions again. "All right," he said. "Let's try this out for real." With that, he reassumed his defensive stance and prepared for the onslaught.

Maddy nodded her head and got back into her offensive position. She didn't want to give him too much time to get comfortable, and threw her first punch. This time was different, though. This time, she threw them both in rapid succession, hoping he'd be able to react quickly enough to block them both. If she were an enemy, there was no way she'd give him any time to think about what was going on.

Time slowed down for Tom as he dealt with the intensity of the moment. The first punch, like before, he anticipated and easily deflected it. The second punch, however, he wasn't totally prepared for. He shifted his arm, like she showed him, as quickly as he could, barely deflecting in it time. As soon as he was clear, his mind replayed the entire event in fast motion, pleased with his performance.

"Good job," Maddy said, giving a nod of approval. "We'll keep practicing that, but how about using your assailant's movements to throw them?"

"Can't say I've done that before," Tom stated. He knew from experience he'd have no trouble lifting her, but he was more worried about accidentally injuring her or himself in the process. At least there was a shock absorbing mat beneath their feet. That took a lot of the dread out of his mind.

"Okay, this is what I want you to do," she began, explaining to him what she wanted to happen. Maddy planned to come at him and throw a punch, to which she wanted him to hook her arm with his own, using her momentum to initiate a hip throw. Yes, it was definitely going to smart, but she was prepared.

"I think I can do that," Tom stated with a nod. The key was that he was just channeling her forward momentum, and it would require little effort on his part, so long as he just hit all the right notes in the right places.

There was no time like the present, and Maddy thundered toward him with the intent to hurt. She mentally braced herself for what was going to happen to her with a note to make a trip to sickbay to heal the bruises, but in the end, it would all be worth it.

Quickly Tom grabbed her arm, hooking it with his own. Once he thought his grip was secure, he twisted his hip enough to give her a push into the air.

How well he executed the move surprised her, and thus broke her concentration. Maddy flew through the air and hit the mat with an oomph. It wasn't quite enough to take her breath away, but it was definitely enough to let her know she was indeed human and couldn't take a beating like she used to. Perhaps, she'd spent too long out of Security and needed to train more. "Wow..."

Tom turned around and extended a hand to help her up. "You know," he said, "I can't say I enjoy seeing you fall on your ass out here, no matter how good this is for me to... do... prepare for whatever it is you have in mind for us."

And said derriere was quite sore and found herself rubbing it in the spot that took the more direct impact. "I'm preparing you for anything we may encounter as the future progresses. I can only speak for myself, but you've become a huge part of my life, and I don't want to imagine a moment of it without you. If taking a beating means you're safe during bad situations, I'd do it every single day of my life."

Tom laughed a little, still holding his hand out to her. "I survived the Dominion, a tour near the triangle, and a psycho that lived in a probe. I think a few Romulans are a walk in the park."

Maddy took the offered hand and got to her feet. "What do you think? Think we should call it quits for now?" she asked, knowing he was right about everything. Perhaps her paranoia was coming through.

He didn't want to make that call. Either he'd done a fair enough job of impressing her, or he'd hurt her more than she was letting on. "Only if you want, sensei."

"Sensei, huh?" the redhead asked with a grin as she leaned in to kiss him. "I think we're good for now. You've done incredibly well, and I'm proud of you. You could hold your own against nearly anyone you might come up against."

He chuckled, feeling better about himself the moment he heard her laugh. "It's only because I have a good teacher," he confessed before accepting her kiss. "Of course, I could do without seeing you fall on your ass again."

Maddy laughed a bit harder at his last statement. She could do without falling on it anymore, too. "You didn't really need any kind of teaching. You're quite amazing at defending yourself if you need to," she said, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "So... since we both seem to want to the same thing, how about we head some and grab some dinner... relax a bit until we're needed back on the bridge?"

Tom raised an eyebrow in jest as she brushed her hair back. "We're not working the night shift are we? Did the Commodore change the duty roster and not tell the crew again?" He did relish the idea of relaxing, especially a shower now that he'd worked up a bit of a sweat.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be on the bridge once we make it to our destination. Michael might call you to be there, too," she said, moving over to grab her things and unlocking the doors leading into the gym, giving authorization code again. Maddy moved back over to him and slipped her hand into his, ready to head out when he was. "I would absolutely love a night where I'm able to sleep the entire night in our bed."

Tom gathered his stuff and followed her to the door. "It'll come," he assured her. "We just have to get through this first." Whatever this was. Tom had a feeling they'd been warping into a trap the whole time. Even that attack they went through at the nebula seemed off. He was no tactician, but it had to be something designed to make the Triumphant crew think that this mission wouldn't be so bad. If that was the case, then surely the worst was to come.

Maddy slipped her hand into his and made her way out of the gym. "I know we talked about it before now, but this entire mission just doesn't seem right to me. None of them do anymore. Have a become a cynical old woman?"

"I'd call it experienced," he answered, almost too quickly. "We're on the frontier, Maddy. Things aren't as peachy out here as they are back at the core worlds."

"I know," she sighed, knowing the lives they lived professionally were anything but easy. "Enough about that, though. We can worry more when the time comes. Right now, there's a shower, dinner and relaxation in our near future."

Tom couldn't say no to that. "But not in that order, right?" he asked, brandishing a smirk on his face as he slipped an arm around her waist as they walked.

Maddy grinned. "We can do it any order you want to," she said as they continued to make their way toward what would prove to be a very promising evening.