Testing Continues

Posted on Sat Feb 25th, 2023 @ 4:44am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Dr. Daniel Brasken

Mission: In-Between (S1:E4-S1:E5)
Location: Starboard Gym
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 1715
4852 words - 9.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Daniel entered the holodeck ahead of their scheduled meeting time. Being physically fit wasn't going to be enough with Lyra, he was going to have to make sure he was ready for their meeting. He got to work warming up with some basic calisthenics to get the blood pumping before jumping on a treadmill. A quick command to the computer and the doors set to privacy mode so someone couldn't just walk in on him and then he increased the speed of the treadmill. He pushed himself hard, forcing himself to sweat and actually get his blood pumping. It wouldn't do well to show a lack of exertion against an opponent like Lyra.

After the warmup he deactivated privacy mode and then grabbed some thin mats and went about unfolding them and setting up the sparring area. He put together a good sized area as he wasn't sure what type of sparring the lieutenant would prefer and wanted to make sure there was room to move. Finally when he was finished he went to the middle and started his yoga routine to work on his flexibility while he awaited his opponent.

Lyra had been mildly surprised when Brasken had requested her presence for a sparring session all in the name of his continued observation of her genetic manipulation. She wasn’t entirely positive why he had such a fascination with her progress - she hadn’t shown any sort of loss or negative effects after all - so she was beginning to wonder if there was more to it than that. Perhaps he wanted to test her to see what she was actually capable of in a fight when push came to shove - to see if that brutality that had so enraptured him extended past tied up, helpless creatures. She wasn’t sure, but she had seen a familiar glint in his eye that was worth exploring, and so that is what she was going to do. He could be a useful ally… if they could get past Andrei’s apparent jealousy toward the man. If he couldn’t, then some things just couldn’t be helped.

She made her way to the holodeck wearing a matching black set of a tank top and pants that were well fit to her hips and legs, but they weren’t overly tight. Even in something so plain though, Lyra was naturally eye-catching. The only thing she had brought with her was a large water bottle. The holodeck would provide everything else. When she arrived, she entered with no hesitation or checks and immediately saw Daniel bent over in a yoga pose.

“Getting all limber for me, are you? How considerate.” She teased as the door closed behind her.

"Hardly. This is for me so you don't hurt me too badly." Daniel straightened up, the wrinkles caused by his bent form so his dark grey, sleeveless workout shirt fit snugly over his frame again. Turning and walking towards her his pants were looser and flowed slightly as he walked almost like a shadow they were so black. "I don't make a habit of underestimating people. And with what I know of you, I would have to be a particularly special brand of stupid to do otherwise."

“Well, doctors are supposed to be the smart ones usually.” Lyra pointed out. Her dark eyes were briefly drawn to his dark pants and they shifted and fluttered and then came back up to his face. “So, let me get this straight, you want me to beat you up in the name of science?” She smirked then, at least partially joking, and looked around the room while fiddling with the water bottle in her hands.

“Or are you just a secret masochist, Daniel?”

"I prefer to look at it as enjoying a good challenge. Besides, a phrase I took to heart when I was younger is that if something does not challenge you, then it cannot change you." Daniel stepped over to a small table where his towel and water were sitting to take a quick sip. While there he also grabbed a pair of sparring gloves and tossed them over to Lyra before putting on his own set.

He tested out the grip of the gloves and heard the leather strain just a bit as he approached the tightest fist he could make and nodded to himself. Daniel was certain that Lyra's training and experience were beyond his own, but he would be lying if he didn't just wonder how he stacked up from time to time without devoting his whole life to combat training. Science was always going to be more interesting to him, but he couldn't deny the exhilaration he got from physical activity.

"That's not exactly denial." Lyra pointed out, catching the gloves right before they hit her given she wasn't paying attention. There was a brief flash of annoyance across her beautiful face but it went away and she began to pull her gloves on. "Do you have any experience past the basic training that was given at the Academy?"

"I have studied a variety of martial arts forms. Mainly as a way of keeping in shape and to burn off excess energy than for actual combat practice though." Daniel caught the flash of annoyance and kept the pleased expression off his face. She had caught them without prompting, a good sign that confirmed the tests of hand/eye coordination. Not that that bode well for how he would fare in this exercise, but science demanded sacrifice from time to time.

"Would you like to restrict to a specific style of combat or more of a free form type?" Daniel barely raised an eyebrow in question to Lyra as he moved to take a position on the pads.

“No, free form is perfectly fine. I was asking to get a gauge on what to expect to adjust accordingly.” She began to put the gloves on and adjust them as needed. “Computer, load sparring opponent Cassiel Echo Three.”

Across from Daniel, the air shimmered and into existence formed an Andorian male in a gi. For a moment it stood there motionless, and then came to life and took up a stance, though it did not immediately engage Daniel. Instead, it seemed to wait to be engaged or given a command to initiate a combat function.

“Give that one a try, see how you do.” She prompted Daniel as she pulled and tugged at the gloves to get them sitting just how she liked.

Daniel turned to look at Lyra with a quirked brow. "Pretty sure it was clear that we were to be testing your reactions, not my own...but if it will amuse you."

The doctor took up a basic ready stance, left foot leading and his right foot back and off center about shoulder width apart. His hands raised up and the program registered an active opponent. Daniel stayed on the defensive, moving fluidly around the Andorian and either blocking or redirecting the attacks in an almost casual manner. His footwork smooth and circular until he was done toying with the simulation. A sudden burst forward as the Andorian over-committed to a punch and Daniel was under the attack, grasping the proffered arm at the wrist and then pulling down as he straightened up slightly.

Daniel took note of the realistic sound of the ligaments ripping and the elbow joint popping as he then shifted his weight and pulled on the arm. The Andorian, now in pain and off balance, came over his hip easily and Daniel made no effort to cushion the hologram's fall. The simulation landed face first and its neck bent at a painful, though not fatal, angle against the ground before shimmering out of existence and Daniel turned to face Lyra.

Lyra watched with a passive expression and stretched while waiting. When he made quick work of the hologram, she stood up to her full height and shrugged. "It was, but you also want to do it hands on instead of just scanning me while I play with holograms. Considering you're our doctor, I wanted to see at least a bit of what I'm dealing with since men tend to exaggerate in physical prowess on many levels." She flexed her hands and moved to join him in the ring.

Daniel smirked at her comment, she was nothing if not amusing. Of course she was also intriguing and an important crew member. "I find it easier to understand the body when I know what it is capable of. My own or others as well." He moved then to a ready position opposite Lyra and gave a salute to indicate his readiness. "You aren't wrong, though I've known multiple people to exaggerate in one way or another depending on what they believe will be found attractive. Not sure I'd limit that to any one race or gender."

“Oh, dear doctor, if you think women exaggerate anywhere near as much as men…” She chuckled and shook her head, “not by a long shot.” She took up a relaxed but ready position across from him and gave a nod.

Once he received the responding signal of her readiness, Daniel moved in at a moderate pace. His footwork was steady and sure as he approached without crossing his center line and then attacked with a three punch, one kick combo. Nothing was at full speed at this point as he was just in warmup mode and did not want to push too hard too fast and make a mistake that might offend the security officer.

Lyra watched him make his move; she gave him points for being the aggressor, but the practically plodding way he was moving annoyed her. He could do better and she knew it. She deflected his first punch easily, dodged the second, and deflected the third; when he came up for the kick she caught him and forced his leg down with one hand and with her other she slapped him across the face. It was no love tap, it stung her palm and it would surely do the same if not more to his face. She gave him no chance to recover and gave him a firm shove backward.

“Don’t waste my time.”

Daniel saw the incoming blow and accepted it, his head turning away as his foot touched down on the mat again and the familiar coppery taste touched his awareness. He pushed back on his lead leg and settled again a couple meters further back from her as he turned his head to meet her gaze again with a soft grin. His adrenaline ramped up as he gave no other indication of his opinion of the situation.

Muscles pressed his back leg into the mat as he launched himself forward at speed, his front leg landing as he shifted his weight and moved low to her left. Raising up he threw out a series of blows while he continued to circle for a few seconds before his stance changed again and he ducked around to her right and raised a knee up into her abdomen.

Lyra moved with ease as he began his assault. She wasn’t superhuman, she didn’t deflect all of his blows or duck out of the way, but what he would start to immediately notice was the way she would redirect his attacks against her if she wasn’t able to avoid them into less sensitive areas of her body. She was obviously extremely agile and as a woman, that was where she had focused her skill and strength. Of course she had raw strength too, she didn’t have a body like the one she had sitting on that succulent ass of hers. Her dark eyes snapped to him as he moved to her right. Up until this point she had never retaliated with an attack of her own and even now she didn’t seem inclined to strike with force. She caught his leg as he brought it up, her hand gripping at the back of his knee. Her eyes locked on his as she used his upward momentum against him and pulled his leg up higher. Her second hand went to his foot, and she used both hands to carry through his motion much more than he would have intended to unbalance him and send him toppling back to the mat.

Daniel's off hand went out and slapped the mat to absorb the fall and then pushed his legs into the mat and rolled backwards away from Lyra over a shoulder. Ending in a crouched position as he kept his guard up and watched the security officer with a calculating gaze for several moments before standing and circling his target. His hands were up to protect his core and his legs stepped assuredly around the mat.

A low growl escaped his throat as he charged in again his strikes aimed towards battering her defenses with his strength more than trying to score a direct hit. She certainly had skill but his strength was far from obvious in his frame and he had every expectation to take advantage of it.

Lyra watched his recovery from her tossing him with interest; it showed he had skill - more than he had let on which she had suspected from the start. She mercifully hadn’t pressed an attack on him during the motion; this wasn’t about winning, it was a game. For now. As he came at her again, she saw the shift in his motions and technique; he was attempting to adjust. That was good. For her part she continued to focus on evading and deflecting his attacks which worked for a time until he began to catch on and angled his attacks differently to keep her from moving around as much. He had landed a few blows on her arms which hadn’t done much to affect her, but then he caught her in her abdomen with a force that surprised her. She grit her teeth and made a point to shove away the next blow.

“Good.” She praised him without a hint of patronizing. It wasn’t hard for her to reset and continue to let him be the aggressor, she still didn’t fight back. He seemed to take this as an invitation to go at her harder. When he landed another blow to her core, she let out a growl and finally retaliated. With shocking speed, she grabbed his wrist and elbow, stepping in and around him to wrench his arm out and lock his arm. She didn’t apply pressure, simply controlled his arm and did so in a way he wouldn’t be able to move without making it hurt significantly.

“Don’t start attacking like a brute. Use your brain.”

Daniel paused as she held his arm in a lock. He could feel the strain of tendons twisting in abnormal ways that caused his nerves to fire and lock up his movement. The sensation was one he was familiar with from an academic point of view but didn't have a lot of experience in practice. "I wasn't aware that making use of an advantage was attacking mindlessly..."

In less than a second after finishing his comment, the muscles in his forearm tensed and his weight shifted slightly. The response from his body was a wet popping sound from his elbow as the joint dislocated and allowed his tendons to unlock in their current position. Daniel turned further into the hold as his arm moved unnaturally and the moment his eyes caught Lyra's he snapped his head forward to collide his forehead between her eyes. He purposefully avoided breaking her nose but it would cause some stars to burst in her vision.

Lyra had been fascinated to watch Daniel as he worked to break her lock on his arm. She knew what he was doing, and it was something she knew how to do herself, but she would have never done it in a sparing situation like this. It wasn’t worth the pain or potential complications when one could simply learn from a mistake, tap, and reset. She allowed herself to become distracted by trying to figure out why exactly he hadn’t just done that, that she didn’t realize that Daniel’s head was coming straight at her until it was much too late. As his head cracked against hers, her vision went white and she stumbled back. One had come up to her face and the other went out so she could stabilize herself instead of losing her balance. She blinked and then burst out laughing even through the pain.

“Alright, Daniel, that’s fair.” She said with a grin as she recovered from the blow. “Careful though, send me home with too many bruises and my dearest boyfriend might take exception.” It was a joke, obviously, and she moved back into stance while continuing to grin at him.

Daniel reached over with his good arm and reset the joint with a grin as the pain shot through his arm. As he flexed his hand to test the sensitivity of the joint his tongue ran over his canines one at a time, careful not to close his eyes completely. He did not want Lyra taking advantage of a moment of blindness even if they were in a reset period. "Let's be honest. You would have to go home literally broken or with bruises in...questionable placement for him to notice."

He rolled his neck and settled into a ready stance again, trading salutes before starting a new attack routine. This one was measured and careful, but not weak or testing in nature. The effect of his response was successful in getting her attention so now he could settle in for a more reasonable sparring session rather than a battle.

Lyra smirked. Really, she would quite enjoy watching Andrei break Brasken - especially with the violent fervor he would do it with if Brasken were to actually damage her and with that thought she considered allowing it. The problem was she needed Brasken. The ACMO was a spurned lover and the gamma shift doctor was her friend… that left Brasken and the newly minted Mika. Were something to happen between her and Andrei, however, she may only be left with one real option who would have her interests in mind. She was of course invested in making the relationship work, but she was under no illusion that Andrei was of the same mind in the long term.

As they engaged again, Lyra moved with Daniel, blocking and exchanging blows for a moment until she slid through his defenses and locked his arms up in between them. Her face came very close to his, an intimate distance, and her dark eyes settled on his; he really did have such stunningly unusual eyes.

“I think you severely underestimate the attention he pays to my body in the evenings… sometimes multiple times a day in fact.” She said, amusement lacing her voice. With ease she released him and gave him a slight push back to reset once more.

Daniel controlled most of the pain that shot up from his elbow as she had his arms locked up, though a trace of it around his eyes was impossible to ignore. "I have no doubt of the attention to detail, I was more figuring that bruises were a common thing in your position. Perhaps I am overestimating how often you are hands on with your subordinates' training."

He changed up forms now, switching from a more standard karate style into one that would be much more recognizable to the security officer. Daniel's feet moved faster than before to shift him back and forth on the mat in front of her and though his body seemed relaxed, his eyes were focused on the new moves and her response to them. Brazil's native Capoeira was a demanding style to execute correctly but he had been drawn to the style for its differences from more standard styles. He feinted in and then spun away as his back leg played off the movement's momentum and rocketed up off the ground in a reverse kick, his heel leading the way toward her shoulder level.

As Daniel changed forms, Lyra could instantly tell exactly what he was settling into. Her dark eyes brightened just briefly with a sadistic spark and her lips tugged into an equally expressive smile. She could kill him. She could kill him... and for just the briefest instant she did genuinely want to for no reason other than that very one. The urge went away just as quickly as it had come and her reaction came with the ease of someone who could read his movement like it was such a simple thing for to her it was. This was in her blood, her roots. With grace and elegance as if she were simply dancing, she ducked under Daniel's blow with ease and pulled a similar maneuver that he had, but instead she went up in the air and brought her foot down onto his temple. Mercifully, she didn't nail him with her heel - if she had, she could have done some serious damage and probably knocked him out cold. Instead, she hit him with a flat foot across the side of his head with enough force to send him immediately down to the mat and likely seeing stars without really being able to catch himself to soften either of the blows.

She completed the move to the floor and then with the same ease and grace she immediately dropped down to the floor next to Daniel, her face down on the mat and turned toward him. "That was probably the dumbest thing I've seen you do, Daniel." She said simply while looking at his face. "Eu nasci no Brasil, seu bobo. É o meu sangue."

Only by instinct did Daniel slap the mat as he fell. The orientation of the world going perpendicular in every way conceivable at the same time made his sense of equilibrium fight with his eyes and touch. He closed his eyes and lay still on the mat, taking a deep breath as he willed his body to reconstruct his spatial acuity. His stomach was also making itself known to be upset with the sudden disorientation and he needed to calm that as well while he lay there.

It was admittedly only a few moments but he still hated the possibly perceived weakness that it showed, Lyra's words certainly didn't make him think otherwise. Turning his head to her voice Daniel opened his eyes and smirked slightly. "Dumb depends on the intended outcome. I cannot think of a more definitive conclusion to this testing than to confirm your sense of recognition and response timing."

Lyra simply remained on the mat, watching him with an unreadable expression for a moment before her brows lifted and she smirked in an amused fashion. “Actually I’m pretty sure you’re just a masochist. You could have watched me fight and scanned me while I was doing it, but you wanted to go hands on knowing exactly where you’d end up.”

"What? You don't believe that you learn better through experience than observation?" Daniel rolled over and pushed himself up to his knees, resting on his heels as he looked at Lyra again. "My mother had a favorite saying. 'If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you'."

"And here I thought this was supposed to be about my reflexes, not about bettering you." Lyra challenged and simply rolled over onto the mat and looked up at the bare ceiling.

"Multitasking is an underrated skill." Daniel watched her and slightly narrowed his eyes to focus a bit. Taking a moment to appreciate the aesthetic quality of her body. From a purely primal viewpoint, he would enjoy experiencing what she felt like in a multitude of ways. This was at odds with his intellect and survival instinct which knew the realities of entertaining such thoughts beyond idle amusement for himself. Still though, the view was nice before he stood up and stretched his arms over his head and winced as his elbow reminded him of his earlier sacrifice.

"Besides, sometimes it is nice to change up your viewpoint and opponents so you don't get stale. Don't you agree?"

“I never get stale, Daniel.” Lyra said, still lying on the floor and looking up at him as he stretched. Her dark eyes moved over his body in an appraising way. He was handsome, fit; he lacked Andrei’s physical presence and impact, but there was something about the doctor that was undeniably attractive to her. There were moments when she did regret not having done a bit of sampling of her own as it seemed the thing to do as a senior officer given what she knew of the group, but she knew that her timing had been important and necessary. She would live without sampling, it’s not like they were going anywhere if circumstances changed.

“Now why don’t you at least fix this lump on my head because he really will kill you for damaging my face.”

"Alright, if not stale, then bored?" Daniel specifically moved to offer his off hand to Lyra to assist in getting up off the floor. He made certain not to bend over and give her leverage while doing so as he trusted her about as far as she would let him throw her. There was absolutely danger in interacting with her on a more personal level...that was half the fun.

Lyra accepted his help and to her credit it didn't appear that she even had an inkling of trying to pull anything on Daniel in that moment. Play time was over, there was no need. "Being bored means lack of imagination."

Once Lyra was standing, Daniel put his hands on her face to move her head and examine the damage he inflicted. He pressed into the spot that he had connected, feeling for the damage and possibly pressing a bit harder than absolutely necessary to try and elicit a response.

Lyra's eyes widened just slightly in response to the unexpected pain, but she reacted quickly. She caught the wrist of the hand that had inflicted the most offense and took it away from her face. Her thumb pressed into his wrist just under his thumb which was certainly uncomfortable but she wasn't going for outright pain - yet. She stepped closer to him, invading his space but their bodies weren't quite touching. Her dark eyes settled on his and her lips lifted in a slight smirk. There was power and command to her presence, but it wasn't necessarily domineering in its presentation, simply confidence.

"I definitely don't lack imagination, Daniel." She all but purred, her tone suggestive though exactly what she was suggesting was completely unclear.

Daniel's face didn't betray any trace of discomfort as he simply smiled as innocently as possible but didn't resist. Partly because he got what he wanted and partly because he knew she could inflict damage if he tried. "I am well acquainted with your imagination, but we weren't talking about you. We were talking about opponents." He took his hand down but made no move to step away from her and something akin to humor crossed his eyes as his head was tilted down ever so slightly to meet her gaze. Generally he had to look down much further when someone was this close to him, it was an interesting difference.

"Shall we head to Sickbay to cover my ass then?"

"Don't misunderstand me, dear doctor... I know we were talking about opponents, but rest assured in the end it is my imagination that matters." This time, the suggestion was slightly more obvious and far less pleasant in nature. She released his hand but didn't step back from him. "Computer, end program."

At her command, the simulation faded and left them standing there in the stark grey room.

Daniel didn't move, continuing to look into her eyes as his smile deepened at her comments. "Fair enough, fair enough. After you, by the way. I wouldn't want you to faint and be unable to catch you and cause myself more problems."

"Yeah, you just want to look at my ass." Lyra quipped back with a smirk, mostly kidding; if Daniel was an ass man though, it was quite likely there was some unintended truth to her statement. She didn't care. He could look all he wanted, but he couldn't touch. She scooped her water bottle up from the ground and turned to leave the holodeck without another word.

"Not just." Daniel smirked as he followed along behind after collecting his own towel and water. Admittedly she was certainly attractive but her ambition and natural dominance were less attractive to the doctor. Still though, fun is fun.

END