A Style of Her Own

Posted on Thu Jan 23rd, 2025 @ 3:06am by Lieutenant Katya Davi & Commander Rhupert Tyree

2,641 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: The Foragers
Location: Empok Nor, Deck 12
Timeline: Three days after Get the Party Started

ON

Katya spent some of her free time going through the ship's database. If she was going to help with intelligence, she needed to be able to defend herself. While she'd done well in the Academy, it wasn't enough for the new focus of the Valiant. She wanted something more. Something she could adapt to her own skill set and be...unexpected. So, she continued to look at different types of martial arts--most of which needed more time and patience than she wanted to give right now. She'd probably pick one and train on the holodeck, but it would be a while before she had any sort of mastery. Tai Chi might not do it.

Then she discovered a Betazoid form of combat called N'ral. It used both combat and telepathy. It was especially effective when used with other telepaths. It caught her attention and her interest. Could she learn this? A holo-instructor would likely be good enough, but holograms weren't telepathic. But she knew Rhu was.

Her attraction to him had not worn off as she expected. It made her hesitate about asking him. She was not the type to chase a man who had clearly indicated that he did not fraternize with his crew and she didn't want him to think this was an excuse for anything more than training. Still, she couldn't help remembering that spark of interest she felt in Club Neverwinter...

Katya shook her head. Nope. Not going to dwell on that. He was her captain. And as such, she could ask him if he'd be willing to teach her N'ral. He did say to let him know if she needed anything, and she just might need this. It might also help her dispel her lingering feelings for him.

Before she lost her nerve, she tapped her combadge. "Davi to Captain Tyree. I have a favor to ask you."

Rhu gave some final orders to the tailor he was visiting, then touched his combadge and said, "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" He'd inserted an earwig prior to leaving his temporary quarters and chided himself slightly as Kat's voice whispered in his ear.

"I was looking through the ship's database for different types of martial arts and I came across N'ral." She paused, not sure how to ask. Then decided to just say it. "I know you were part of the Betazoid Defense Forces, and I, well... I'd like to learn it. Would you be willing to teach me?"

Rhu considered for a moment then said, "We can definitely talk it over. I'm not saying no, it's just involved. Like most things," he said with a grin as he dodged around knot of Klingons. "Meet me on Deck 12, Lower Pylon B, Section 22. There's a workout area there. I'll grab my kit and meet you there in about thirty?"

"Perfect. I'll see you there." Then she signed off, grinning. She still had to convince him, but Kat was excited about the opportunity of learning something she could use that wasn't Starfleet standard. It was also a chance to learn something from her homeworld, even though she didn't spend much time there.

Thirty minutes later she was dressed in yoga pants, a tank top, and shoes that would give her flexibility and support. She'd watched a vid to get an idea of the fighting style, but it only made her want to learn more. She found the workout area and began to stretch out while she waited for Rhu.

Rhu entered the workout bay, glancing around as he took in the air and overall sense of the place. Stations and ships were always on recycled systems and it paid to pay attention. The same went ground side too, but having an environmental systems problem could snowball fast.

Catching sight of Katya, he walked over slipping the duffle from his shoulder onto the deck. He was dressed in a long tank top, knee length unitard and cotton soled shoes, though he kicked out of those to go barefoot. "Katya," he said by way of greeting. "Let's stretch. What makes you want to learn N'ral"?

She nodded and began to stretch. "I know the basic Starfleet combat styles, but so do most people. I want to learn something...unexpected...if that makes sense. With the new focus of the Valiant, I'm going to need some new skills. At least, I think they may come in handy." She shrugged, not sure how well she was explaining herself. "I'm Betazoid, and this is something that works best with telepathy. Plus, I grew up having to suppress it, so this will also help me find better ways to work with my innate ability."

As they stretched Rhu remarked, "Unexpected can be good, but it also boils down to muscle memory and intent. N'ral and all martial arts in my opinion are about concentration and commitment. You go into a fight, you have to be focused and willing to do harm to someone else."

Sitting on the floor, Rhu began leaning back, palms on the floor working his shoulders. "N'ral developed into a physical fitness, meditative form through the centuries and by the time of the occupation, only a few practiced the full combat uses. It was just another one of those things...Betazed depended too much on the Federation to protect them and kinda forgot how to protect themselves. And we paid for that."

"I know how to concentrate, and I'm committed to not dying." She flashed him a smile. "Sometimes that comes down to catching your opponent off-guard." She finished her standing exercises and dropped gracefully to the mat to continue her warm-ups. "My family fled Betazed early in the war and settled on a planet of non-telepaths. I learned how to mask my telepathy so I didn't pick up random thoughts--unless they were loud--and to not inadvertently project my thoughts to others. It wasn't until I left that I learned it could be an asset." She paused in mid-stretch and looked at Rhu. "With the new focus of the Valiant, there is every chance I may need to fight and I want to use what abilities I have to save myself and my team. I know this will take time and effort. I also know I'll be training by myself for most of that time. But I want to learn. I appreciate any time you can give me."

"I'm willing to teach you," Rhu confirmed. "Every day, at differing times of the day we'll carve out time for various activity. I'm a firm believer in making training somewhat chaotic. Fighting is chaotic. N'ral is filtered through three different thought processes," he said as he stood, and offered a hand to help her up.

He began to show her basic forms as he continued to explain, "We can discuss this information as we go, but we'll start with the five basic forms today. The first five forms are formed around the oldest of teachings, when Betazoids only had each other to contend with and they would begin practicing forms in various changing orders to try and trip up one another by simply stepping through them without any contact."

As he finished demonstrating the five forms in super slow mode, he began to repeat them. "The second process and the next five forms came from when we discovered we weren't alone in the galaxy and not everyone was a telepath. Reading surface thoughts and emotions was fairly easy. The hard part there was understanding that what makes a being tic, will drive how they fight as a rule. Experiences and training of an individual will alter that of course."

She listened carefully as she mirrored him, paying attention to her body to help with the muscle memory she would need to be successful at this. Five basic forms she could handle. "So, physical, mental, and telepathic, paying close attention to your partner and your opponent or opponents at the same time. I see why it takes a lot of practice." She liked the idea of practicing at different times in different locations. It would keep her from becoming too complacent and help her adapt better. "Do you ever train to music?"

"You also have to pay attention to the environment," Rhu commented. He was keeping an eye on her out of his periphery. "Music is fine but there's a temptation to get into a rhythm with the music, and that can get you into trouble. We tend to like to be in sync with our environment. It leads to peace and helps quiet our being. That's a double edged sword." Grinning, he kept working through the forms, speeding up slightly and then began changing the forms in order, randomly.

"The third part of N'ral is the intimate. Some believe it's a fine line between sex and fighting," he said with a straight face, though a grin was touching at the corners of his mouth. "Lots of emotions, physical nearness and exertion, though of course sex isn't usually about beating your opponent senseless. Unless you're into some of the more active participants, like the Klingons or Gorn. With N'ral, you're paying a lot of attention to emotions and it's easy to fall into their rhythm and get distracted by the music.

"I'll have to work on that. I tend to find music and rhythm in most things." She flashed him a saucy grin. "So, I should think of it as foreplay with no follow through instead?" Kat understood the importance of not falling into a predictable pattern, and music could definitely do that. The daily practice at different times in different places would help her break that habit--at least in this.

She switched from mirroring his moves to doing the opposite to keep from falling into a predictable pattern and keep herself focused. "So, five forms, breaking or moving through them, thoughts and emotions, then intimacy, right? And will I get to practice moving through your form?" She couldn't help throwing that in--or thinking about it. But only briefly because she wouldn't let herself get too distracted or she'd leave herself vulnerable.

Rhu matched her forms, mirroring her moves face to face. He kept this up for the next few passes, then formed a mental intent of him performing a hip throw, following through to pin Kat on her back. He held the image for a few beats before he moved to invade her space, watching for her counter.

She didn't counter as expected. They'd been working on the forms and on how to break them, or to get around them, so she naturally adjusted to a different form. She lowered her center of gravity to make her harder to throw, and swept out with her leg to knock him off his feet.

Rhu felt her intent a blink before she carried through. He went with the sweep, letting himself tumble to the mat, then twitched his own legs through hers and rolled, attempting to trip or at least nudge her off balance while Kat's weight was on her back foot. Rhu wondered how good a ground fighter she might be.

She wasn't able to maintain her balance, but she wasn't going to let him pin her. Well, not easily, anyway. She managed to fall away from him and rolled to a squatting position, facing him. She looked at his position and considered how he would react if she jumped on him. This time, she carefully guarded her thoughts so he'd pick up this first thought while she masked a second and third option.

When she avoided his trip, Rhu spun on his left hip, rolling into a low four-point stance. He paused only for a moment then launched himself at her, looking to shoulder block her off her feet or catch her as she moved to stand. In this attack, he was attempting to use his frame and weight to simply bull rush her. He expected a counter, but wanted to see how she went about it.

Kat was more a dancer than a fighter and she used that to avoid the bull rush, then kicked him in the butt as he passed, hoping to throw him off balance.

Rhu hadn't counted on the bull rush and hadn't committed to it. Her kick propelled him a little further as he skidded and turned to face Kat, but hadn't really injured him that much. Grinning, he slipped into a shuffling approach, keeping his feet near the deck, moving toward her as he shifted through attacks and moved forward, throwing a combination based on the basic forms, and then another leg sweep. "My butt is too much of a target. But we can call it a point to you."

Then he cheated.

Just a little.

He sent a mental flash of his naked behind toward her as he went for the leg sweep.

So, she decided to cheat a little more, and up he stakes. She replied with a mental flash with an image of her in just a towel as she jumped over his leg and took a defensive position.

But she needed to do more than avoid his attacks. She needed to fight back. So, she sent a mental image of the towel slipping and kicked him in the chest.

Rhu took the kick, laughing and just keeping from having the wind knocked from him. Despite the towel-slip distraction, he was able to jump backwards, deflecting some of the kick.

"I think you've the general idea," he said laughing as he rubbed his chest.

"Yes, but it'll take some practice for it to become second nature, and I want to practice working with and against telepaths." Then she grinned. "You do have some nice...moves."

"You too," Rhu said by way of a comment. He was too new into Valiant's center chair to think about thinking about things he shouldn't be thinking about. "It can get even dicier too, he said. "Give an opponent empath who digs around in personnel records enough to find a bad time in your life and then they start putting well crafted, directed mental flashes of things you really wanted to keep locked up. Just enough of that kind of thing can put you off your game. And a second is all it takes. That's the kind of thing that's hard to train for."

Kat nodded. There was a lot to take in. She'd never be truly prepared, but she could at least do better. And the more she trained, the better she would get. "I can only do what I can do. Thanks for this. It gave me a lot to work on...and think about. Let me know when and where you want to do the next session."

"We'll try to keep it relatively informal," Rhu said. "My old teachers used to say, Be mindful of the darker regions of your life. Those are the ones that can betray us. It's a hard task, but it does apply. Knowing what others can use against us and being mentally prepared for that. Continue to meditate and look after that part of yourself."

"Informal works for me. In the meantime, I'll work on my darker regions." Although she wasn't quite sure how. But he had a point and Kat would come up with something. Then she flashed him a grin. "Now for a hot shower and some stretching out. Just let me know when and where you want to get together next."

She would also have to work on masking her thoughts in general, even--or especially--when training. That part might be the trickiest of all.

OFF

Captain Rhupert Tyree
Commanding Officer
USS Valiant

Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Valiant

 

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