From Hell's Heart

Posted on Mon May 6th, 2013 @ 9:13pm by

1,967 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 82 - The Aggressor
Location: Gym - Starbase 400
Timeline: Concurrant with present mission.

"From Hell's Heart"

Racheal Yamaguchi sighed softly as she plucked the towel she had left on the bench, she looked around as she wiped the perspiration from her face and neck, the workout had been rewarding but she needed a change of pace then a five mile run on the holosuite.

So she had decided to come here to the gym as she picked up her weapon of choice, a simple bostaff with hockey tape wrapped in several areas, partially for grip and also for decoration.

She smiled as she held it in her right hand as she held it in a striking pose behind her as she held her left hand before her in a classic kata pose as she proceeded to move through several jujitsu stances.

Her moves were graceful and fluid, she heard the doors open as she continued her workout as she turned to find herself looking at a woman she didn't know but one who was clearly a Starfleet Officer. "Can I help you ma'am?" Racheal inquired politely.

Hunter stopped in her tracks. "Ma'am??" She wasn't old enough to be this girl's mother, so this word was highly unnecessary. "Do I look that old to you?" She started laughing, trying to ease into her entrance.

Racheal raised an eyebrow as she regarded the older woman standing before her. "No... I was just being polite..." the girl responded evenly. "Of course since we're just meeting for the first time..."

"I'm Hunter, the Assistant Chief Medical Officer." She stuck her hand out to the youngster. "By the looks of it, I think you're quite young to be working on the base." She laughed again, hoping to ease the tension a bit.

Racheal giggled as she smiled warmly at the other woman before shaking her hand. "I'm Racheal... Hunter... I like the name." she comented. "My mother is Chief Stratigic Ops Officer.... as for me.. well I live here with her....and I just got out of school and I'm here for my workout." the
child explained.

Hunter shook her head. "Nice! I started working out pretty young. I was probably younger than you." She dropped her bag and started switching out to her boxing shoes. "What's your specialty?"

"Mixed Martial arts." Racheal responded. "Some Kung Fu and Jujitsu with some others mixed in for good measure. It comes from having a mother who is a tactical specalist and a father who is a Former SEAL before he went into command." she added. "I'm also of mixed parentage." it was a polite way of saying she was of mixed racal origins. "What about you?"
she inquired. "I can see you don't like to lose or be gentle.. brute force?"

Hunter let out a loud laugh as she looked up from her shoes. "I guess you could consider it brute force, depending on how you look at it. I box, but I definitely more on the defensive than offensive. I only use brute force if I have to." Which was practically every fight she participated in. The doctor reached into her bag and grabbed her wrist tape and began unraveling
it. "I can imagine with MMA you have to constantly move or else you'll find yourself pinned to the ground."

Rachael nodded. "I do. yes.... otherwise I'm going to get mushed into the ground." she explained as she rotated her Bo in her hands over her head. "me taking you on would be pointless... one punch and I'd be laid out flat on my back." she paused. "How does boxing work?" she inquired.

"Boxing..." Hunter began wrapping her hands in prep for her workout... focuses on upper body contact. The goal is to get your opponent onto the ground. The rules are the same as MMA but there is no floor work. Your hands are more protected as well." She reached into her back and tossed her boxing gloves to Rachael. "It takes tons of upper body strength, especially having to lug these things around." She finished up her tape and stretched her fingers out to see if it was a good fit. "Actually, boxing isn't a bad skill to pick up for your fighting. You interested in giving it a try?"

Racheal plucked the heavy gloves from where they lay at her feet, she raised an eyebrow as she went over to where her gear was located as she placed her bostaff atop her bag. then she proceeded to slip on the gloves which to her seemed heavy and awkward.

"How do you fight with these things?" she inquired evenly as she regarded the older woman. "Sure... I'm interested..." she responded. "How bad can you maul me?" she added with a cheerful smile.

Hunter laughed. "I would literally break you into two if I fought you." But she dug the girl's eagerness. She was gonna go easy on her... for now. "Throw some tape on your hands. We can do some bag work."

Rachael responded by smacking the two gloves together as she had seen her elder brother do this before he boxed, he was all the more dangerous because he would allow his opponent to overly commit themselves then he would flatten them.

Fortunately Gabriel had given his baby sister a few pointers. "Bag work... " she raised an eyebrow as she proceeded to roll her shoulders a few times. "Okay... lead on." she smiled zestfully. "Teach me how to break someone's spirit..." she added in a joking manner.

"Settle down there, kid." Hunter patted Rachael on the back. She appreciated her enthusiasm, but knew it was going to get her into trouble. "Boxing is very very different from many physical sports. It's all in your fists. I'm gonna start you off easy because you have no idea how easy it is to break a finger by hitting something or someone the wrong way." Hunter took her stance in front of the bag. "The power in your punch is in the knuckles." Bouncing from side to side, Hunter threw in a quick 1-2 punch into the bag, forcing it to sway for a few seconds. The snap from the bag was like an adrenaline rush for her. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Now, it's your turn." She looked at her young student. "Throw a couple of punches in the bag. I want to see what your little arms can do."

Rachael watched Hunter very carefully as she waited for her turn, when it came time she took her position and with that she let fly three punches into the bag, making sure she hit the center of the bag and also not losing control as she sometimes had seen her brother do when he was working the bag.

She watched the bag sway then she wound up and hit the bag a second time with her right then she jabbed it with her left and then punched it with her right a second time.

She watched silently as the bag slowly stopped swaying as she swiped at it as if blocking an incoming strike from her left side as she punched the bag with her right but she also swing her hips to the right as if going to kick the bag but she caught it at the last second and stopped herself. "No using my feet... right?" she paused. "I've been raised all my life with Mixed martial arts in my mind..." she sighed. "I'm not sure how to change a lifelong habit.." clearly she got most of her striking power from her legs.

"It's okay, kid." Hunter stood there for a second, giving Rachael a chance to focus instead of bombarding her with criticisms right away. "Slow down. Don't try to move around so much right now. We're breaking down the technique a bit. Don't throw everything in there at once. Right now, just keep your feet planted, and throw a couple of punches. And make them quick. Don't push the bag." Hunter threw a quick punch into the bag as demonstration. "Hit it and snap your hand as quickly as you can. You don't want to try to move the bag that much. I'd hate to transfer you over to my infirmary and I don't want to have to fix you so soon."

Rachael watched the other woman toss a few punches into the bag as she smiled. "Ahh... like that... okay." she watched very carefully as Hunter moved her hands and arms as she stuck the bag as demonstration.

When it came her turn, she tossed off two punches, exactly as Hunter had shown her. "Mmm.. feels weird to me.."

Hunter laughed. "This is just the basics. Once you get this down, you can really use the strength you have from your other skills to be a lean, mean, fighting machine. But that was much better. Work on your upper body strength." She nodded her head back towards the bag. "Do a set of ten, pausing for a couple of seconds every two or three punches. You should hear a pop sound with each punch."

Rachael watched and listened carefully as the older woman explained what she wanted Rachael to do on the bag as she tossed three quick punches and then she paused for the second then she tossed off three more quick punches. "I think some time in the gym will help me... " she paused. "If I pump too much Iron... won't that stop me from growing?"

Hunter threw her head back and laughed. "You're not going to be lifting 50 lbs. dumbbells. We'll keep it light. I don't want you looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger."

"Me looking like arnie.." she smiled. "That would be... downright scary." and
with that Rachael's accent changed to sound rather Germanic. "I'm sure I could make Arnie run away, screaming..."

Hunter laughed. It was very rare that she met someone who shared one of her quirky interests, especially someone far younger than her. "Come with me if you want to live!" It wasn't the best impression, but it got her point across. As her laughed died down, Hunter looked around the gym and let out a sigh. "I've never been a big fan of gyms anyway. I got a hold of this awesome boxing program. How about I set up a reservation and you can join me for a real workout. Then you can show me what you can do."

Rachael looked up at the larger woman attentively as was her usual habit to whenever anyone was speaking and taking time to teach her in something. "The gym is so imprecise. It doesn't help me focus.... it reminds me that I'm in a sterile environment... it has no passion..."

"The best workout comes from facing an opponent." Hunter reached down to grab her bag. "At least that's how I prefer it."

Rachael smiled as she reached down and picked up her bostaff. "I prefer my training on the plains of Szurdok Ridge." she sighed softly. "It was an area on the surface of Regulus... before the Borg glassed the planet..." she paused. "I've never seen it with my own eyes.."

Hunter tried to lighten up an already touchy subject. "Those damn Borg just want to ruin everything for us."

"Well Mom says the Borg are gone... good riddance..."

After changing her shoes, Hunter looked down at Rachael. "I'll let you know when I get a holosuite next. Think you're up for it?"

Rachael smiled. "I'd love to." she responded. "It will be fun..." she added

Hunter patted the girl on her back. "It was nice meeting you, kid." She headed towards the door and winked at Rachael. "See you around."

Rachael smiled up at the larger woman. "Until next time.... thanks for your time."

***** Here's where the fun begins - Anakin Skywalker *****

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