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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jun 28, 2018 19:09:15 GMT -6
There was little time to lick their wounds before a message came in from their superior, one Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Cortaine. He had given its recipients– Linnea Fletcher and Elmyra Shirdel– only one day for rest and relaxation, having urged the crew to return to a well-regulated sleep schedule as soon as possible. Those two in particular had little choice.
The text felt like a slap across the face. Myra released the spoon from her grasp, letting it drop into her egg drop soup. She had hoped to spend the next couple days sleeping in to make up for her rude awakening last night, but there was no way she could afford to show up late with a hot mug of coffee in hand. Might as well turn in early tonight, she thought, polishing off the last dumpling on her plate.
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The next day…
Jack stood upright with his gloved hands leaning against a tall wooden cane, patiently waiting for the others to arrive. He stood out among the gym shorts and a-shirts, still dressed in a well-pressed set of Dress Blues, his sword the only piece missing from his uniform. He gave both Myra and Lin a salute as they arrived, motioning for them to follow him into an empty room near the back of the gym. A soundproof glass wall separated it from the weights. The hardwood floor was polished so thoroughly that they could nearly see their own reflections in it, marred only by thick lines of yellow tape that marked off lanes across the room.
“It’s good to see your bright and beaming faces so early in the morning,” he said with a sly grin. “You already have an idea of what you’ll be doing here and why I chose the two of you, I’m sure? Due to… pressing circumstances, pilots have been left to their own devices these past few weeks. Unfortunately there are limits to what a simulator can teach.”
Jack glanced over to the machines that stood in the opposite corner of the gym, then back to the lanes drawn up beside them. “The two of you share a common interest in swordplay, something I happen to know a little about myself. I’d like to help you transition those skills from here to the battlefield.”
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moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Jul 2, 2018 13:10:00 GMT -6
The entire time Jack was speaking to them, Lin’s eyes kept nervously glancing towards the person she’d been paired with. Elmyra was one of the more intimidating members of her squad, and the situation was even worse with Jonathan Cortaine being the one to oversee it. “… so we’re… going to be sparring with each other…” Lin raised a palm to the healing scars on her cheek, feeling her face grow hot despite her best attempts to keep composure. Here she was, with two professionals… this was her chance! She straightened her back and gave Jack and Myra a determined (and way too energetic) salute. “Right! I’ll try my best!”
Clearly, someone was jumping the gun.
Not to be outdone, Myra stood tall at attention. Her back was rigid and her pose was firm. When she saluted, her hand practically smacked her across the forehead, leaving a light red blotch where it met skin. If there was any question as to whether this was sincere or a thinly-veiled jab at her partner, she continued.
“Lieutenant Commander! I will make absolutely sure to give this one-hundred-and-ten percent!”
Jack shot her a knowing glare.
“At ease, officers. If the two of you have so much energy I might consider assigning you more work around the ship,” he cautioned. Jack tapped his cane against the ground. “Three days a week you will train with me here. I will keep watch and give pointers as needed, but otherwise keep my hands free. On your ‘off’ days, I want you to take those skills into the simulation machines and test what you’ve learned in melee combat against one another. You may decide when to schedule these matches so long as you save the recordings for me to review on my own time.”
He paused as if to open the floor for questions. Before they had the chance, however, he continued. “Well, what are you two waiting for? Your uniforms are already in the locker rooms. I’m a busy man you know.”
“… o-oh.” Lin might have had questions, but she supposed they could wait. Maybe he really, sincerely thought that they had no questions. She could accept that explanation, but it gave her the same sort of off-ness she felt when Myra spoke up, too. Still, Lin wouldn’t dwell on it. As the duo made their way into the locker rooms, she spoke up again. “I didn’t know you practiced fencing, Elmyra.”
“Just… call me Myra. Only my mother still keeps the first part, and even then only when she’s in a bad mood.”
She peeked into the empty locker rooms, a pair of fencing uniforms hanging from two stalls near the back. Myra approached the uniform labeled ‘M’ and flipped it around to inspect it. “Not like I’m some accomplished duelist or anything. Practiced a little at West Point, but never competitively. My shining achievement was placing third in a school-wide tourney… should still have that dime-store medal around here somewhere.”
“Ah. Sorry. Myra, then.” At least Lin’s cheeks couldn’t burn any more than they already did. She moved to her own uniform, looking down at it but doing little else. “But that’s still really good! Especially at West Point. And from what I’ve seen, you’re a lot better at AA melee combat than I am, too…” She let out a small, nervous laugh. “I know the Lieutenant put us together so we can both get better, but you’ll probably just kick my butt… I apologize in advance.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Myra replied with a playful smirk. “So don’t think I’ll go easy on you… I expect the same treatment in return.”
She unzipped her olive green military jacket, revealing a necklace that had been hidden underneath. A jade lion hung from the silver metal chain. Hanging both on a hook outside the stall door, she walked inside. “As much as I’d like to strut my stuff in the middle of the locker room, I wouldn’t want to waste a good stall.” She closed the door behind her, locking it as she changed into her fencing uniform.
Before Lin could respond with a rebuttal, her eye caught a glimpse of the jade lion necklace. She couldn’t stare at it for too long, though, as Myra moved on to one of the stalls. Who would she be strutting to…? The locker room is empty. Lin shrugged off the comment, focusing back on her gear. Being dressed for working out made it easy to put on the uniform – she could just slip most of the clothes on over her outfit, and she didn’t really mind if someone walked in on that. Except… she couldn’t help but glance at the necklace again. Is that what she thought it was? It couldn’t be, but how many lion necklaces were in the Menaulion? Not many, but they were in Shanghai— No amount of brain logic could quell the urge: she had to know if it was the same one. Linnea tiptoed closer, half dressed in the uniform pants and the under armor with the jacket slung over her shoulder. She made sure to approach from the side, wisely standing close to one of the adjacent stall doors. And against her better judgment she reached forward, gently lifting the jade lion with the tips of her fingers, observing how the light glinted off it as she moved it. This was it! This was the one! The necklace she stole had temporary possession of had that cool dark stripe across its nose! … probably! Which brought up another question: how the fuck did Myra have it?
There was the telltale click of a lock being undone. Lin could do little to react but move her hand away from Myra's belongings, clenching it into a fist, and bringing her arm out further as if trying to stretch. Poorly.
“Still changing? Here I thought I was the one taking my time,” Myra teased. “Rather not keep Cortaine waiting long.”
It took all of Linnea’s willpower to stop herself from jumping.
“Oh, uh. Yeah! I was just… stretching. Pre-bout workout. Work… bout.”
With that awful line done with, Lin slunk back into the stall she was in front of. She emerged no less than four minutes later with the rest of her ensemble on, her expression carefully forced into a neutral one.
Mostly. She stole one more lingering glance towards the necklace before making her way out of the locker room.
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jul 2, 2018 14:16:36 GMT -6
Myra was already waiting by the fencing lanes, helmet tucked under her arm. An electronic scoreboard was propped up against the nearby wall.
0 - 0
She held her sabre in hand and nodded towards her opponent as she neared. “Was starting to worry you’d chickened out. Hope all those ‘work-bouts’ pay off, hmm?”
“… well, we’ll see.” Behind the helmet, Lin’s voice seemed calm but unsure. She stepped up to the lanes, holding her sabre out. “En garde!”
0 - 1
0 - 2
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Sweat dripped across Myra’s temples as she removed her helmet, wayward strands of hair sticking to her face. The match had only lasted about ten minutes, yet she felt like a wet towel being slowly rung out. As soon as she began to catch her breath, she shot a combative glare back at her opponent.
“So this is… what it feels like… to be hustled, huh?”
Jack cleared his throat as the match came to a close, giving a subtle nod to the victor, Linnea. The match had unfolded almost exactly as he had predicted. While the two were evenly matched in terms of speed and strength, Lin far surpassed Myra in form and technique.
“Officer Shirdel, need I remind you that the tip of your blade can also score points? I am aware that the sabre counts strikes with the edge of your sword, but thrusts remain a valuable tool in your toolkit. I suggest you use them.”
He paused, the edge of his lips betraying his amusement as he turned to Lin.
“Officer Fletcher, need I remind you to take this seriously? Yawning while parrying is considered very poor form.” His brows furrowed. “Speaking of which… your swordplay was sloppy. This match would have concluded much more quickly if you had been more aggressive. If you have any personal hang-ups, I suggest you leave them hanging by the door.”
“… understood.” She lowered her gaze to the ground, her tone bitter. Linnea opted to take off the helmet and breathe, keeping any further comments to herself until she finally turned her head towards Myra. “I’m not hustling you – you’re still pretty good! It’s just, err…” She floundered, not knowing what to say. Lin didn’t have a good enough justification for beating an opponent she’d built up, intentional or not. Woops.
“… perhaps the potency of workbouts is something we both may have overlooked? Hehe… heh… ehhh...”
“Mm, I’m sure.” Watching her opponent squirm was almost worth failing for. “Hope you’re ready for me to even the score in the simulators.”
“It’s... not like I had much of a choice in the matter, but. Regardless…" Lin met her glare. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Well as much as I’d like to stand here and watch you two banter,” Jack interjected, “I’m afraid I have business to attend to. You’ve all kept me very busy these last few days.”
Giving them a measured nod, he marched towards the exit. His hands reached into the inside of his jacket and removed his PDA. Jack fiddled with it for a moment before bringing it to his ear, whispering something inaudible as he left the room. The other two were left in silence.
“Can’t even spare more than twenty minutes, huh?” Myra grabbed a small white towel from a nearby rack and pat down her forehead. “That’s alright, I was getting a little anxious having him watch me like a hawk. Mind keeping this rolling for a little while longer?”
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moo!!
Cosmic Kiddie
Posts: 63
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Post by moo!! on Jul 3, 2018 22:21:56 GMT -6
Lin remained standing where she was, mulling over her options. Her squad mate proved to be a tad more easygoing than Lin thought. Myra’s shit-talking didn’t seem malicious. Maybe. Hopefully. At least they had a common ground in that they were both unnerved by Jack’s presence. See? Progress. “Of course I don’t mind. It wouldn’t be much of a practice if we only did a couple of bouts.” That seemed like the end of that, for Lin went quiet again… until, after another series of glances, she spoke up. “… and I’m curious. Do you practice anything else? Your style felt… off.”
“Been a while since anyone picked up on that,” Myra confessed. “Started practicing with swords in college, but when I was a girl my mother taught me to fight with sticks. Always said it was more practical than carrying around a blade. Think she was just happy to have someone to teach because my sister was too much of a pacifist to learn her style. Used to joke about me opening up a gym like my uncle, said the two of us were cut from the same cloth.”
She sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Which was, of course, another seamstress pun. I think you’d like her.”
The earnest response was surprising, but it brought a smile to Lin’s face. And the pun, even if Lin only got a quarter of the context. … actually. “With a pun like that, I’d say it seams like it.”
“Yeah, you’d like her…”
Lin looked very pleased with herself. “… still, sticks… I’ve never heard of that before. Makes sense why you didn’t focus on thrusting; you don’t really stab people with sticks. You’re just out of your element!” She’d exclaimed that with such vigor, that it took a hot second for her to realize. “Er—no offense! It’s just hard to keep separate styles apart, especially if you were trained when you were little...”
“Nice detective work, Sherlock Holmes. For your next deduction could you tell me what I had for breakfast?” Myra paused, her smirk slowly transforming into a frown. “That’s a trick question. I forgot my cereal bar back in my room and forgot to eat this morning. Would explain a few things…”
The taunt wasn’t lost on Lin, and she opened her mouth to say something… and closed it when Myra continued, lips pressed into a thin line. She was clearly dissatisfied, but whether it was at the taunt or the fact that she wasn’t given a chance was unclear. “… we can do one or two more rounds, then. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all, and you shouldn’t skip it.”
“You would really, really like my mother.”
“I’m not entirely sure what that has to do with the current topic.”
“Nevermind,” Myra replied. She placed her helmet back over her head and moved her feet into position. “One or two more rounds it is. You ready for the comeback of the century?”
“Absolutely.” Lin donned her helmet once more, sabre at the ready. “Show me what you’re made of, Myra! Allez!”
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Post by Captain Ameijin! on Jul 3, 2018 22:23:37 GMT -6
0 - 1
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Another three wins. She considered some lighthearted taunting – give Myra a taste of her own medicine – but… Lin felt just the tiniest bit bad for her, even if she took the losses well. “If… it’s any consolation, most comebacks need a small build up before the actual event, so we’re getting there!” Lin let out a small, nervous laugh as she removed the helmet. “How are you holding up, though?”
Myra took several more moments to catch her breath, steadying herself against a wall with her arm. Sweat dripped like rain onto the floor. “About as well as I can be… after getting my ass whooped… back to back.”
“… oh.” Unable to figure out a proper response – she was starting to get the feeling she sounded like a broken record – Lin said little else. She was more than content to wind down in peace and quiet. That is, until her mind wandered. At least she was too tired to immediately regret her decision. “I know this is… kind of a weird thing to ask, but where’d you get that necklace?”
“Lame, don’t you think?” Myra laughed softly, idly flicking the lobe of her right ear between her fingers.
“Sean gave it to me last night, said it was a souvenir from Shanghai. Think he felt bad for spending a night on the town while I was stuck inside the Nemea.” She looked down at her feet before taking a sharp breath of air. “Sure seems like I ended up being the lucky one, didn’t I? Wasn’t stabbed or shot or kidnapped or… by the look of it, mauled by a mongoose.”
“It depends on how you look at it.” Averting her eyes, Lin’s hand made its way up to her scars. A [hopefully] neutral reply to a statement she didn’t want to get into. Ignoring the urge to scratch, Lin forced her hand back down to her side. “That’s… really nice of him, though.” The pause between her words was an obvious tell that Myra’s answer came as a surprise.
“He has his moments,” Myra admitted. “Between being a stubborn jackass and a loudmouthed fool he sometimes finds a way to be genuinely sweet. Sometimes. Hope he didn’t give you too much trouble back there?”
She decided not to linger on the subject of her opponent’s wound.
“… a little bit, but nothing without its due recompense. I also got to see him get drunk.” Despite the ominous words – or maybe because of them – there was a small smile on her face. “Does that mean you know him, then? It sounds like you know him better than most of us do.”
“You actually saw him drunk? How did you manage that?” Myra shook her head. A question for another time.
“Anyways, guess you could say that Sean and I go a ways back. Met him almost six years ago now,” she recalled. “Friend of mine dragged me along to watch his boyfriend play basketball with the team. Moment I stepped into the gym, one of the balls crashed into my face. Knocked me flat onto my ass and gave me one hell of a bloody nose. Sean was right there, offering to escort me to the nurse’s office… only later did I learn that he was the idiot who threw the damn thing in the first place.”
The story elicited a stifled giggle from Lin. “That sounds nice, actually. It’s a great story, and… well. Six years! I can imagine the surprise when you guys ended up on this ship together. It almost makes me kind of jealous.”
“Somehow I wasn’t as surprised as you might imagine. This is the exact kind of thing he would always prattle on about. Watches too many action flicks, I think.” Myra adjusted the helmet that rested under her arm. “... even so, I was happy to see him again. Trusting someone to have your back when things turn from bad to worse doesn’t come easily.”
She placed the helmet back over her head, adjusting her posture for their final bout. “Third time’s the charm?”
Lin followed suit, stepping into position. “You can try, but before that… allow me to make a suggestion.” “If you say something cool before you fight, you get stronger – a proven fact. I’ve had the last say for the past two bouts, so… you should have this one.” She raised her sabre, waiting. “Go ahead.”
Myra raised her sabre in return. “Giving me a lot of power here, but if you’re sure about this… bring it on, dweeb!”
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