SD241807.03 | JL | Com Ivanova, Cmdr Dahe'el | "You can't take the sky from me..." pt 5/5

Posted on Sat Feb 18th, 2023 @ 7:06pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Commander Almar Dahe'el

1,241 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Lacuna
Timeline: BACKLOG

Choices were presented, decisions were made, and in a span of a heartbeat she chose the ground fight.

A smarter, less imperious person would have admitted defeat then and there and caved to the budding heat of arousal that had begun to settle low in her belly then chuckled about it later over a cool beverage - but that wasn't Rochelle. Rochelle was fire and brimstone, ice and hail all contained in one very petite package. Tucking her leg up, she let it fly flat footed against the side of Almar's knee while she twisted in an attempt to roll away and out from under him. Her one arm reached to strike again, thrusting to bring her fist against his abdomen in hope of buying time enough to allow her to get back to her feet. Resistance may have been futile, but by God she'd go down giving it her all.

With a kick to the knee dropping him down, Almar's other knee hit the deck and rang out through the ship, the sound reverberated off every metallic surface it could find, the punch to his abdomen shot some of the breath out of him and he coughed as he found himself hammering a fist on the cold deck plating below him as she rolled away and struggled back to her feet, he hammered both fists on the deck a few times and steeled himself for the choice she had made, he looked up at her and the fire in his eyes had changed, it was focused and where he'd been calm and composed before, it burnt with the tinge of pain from the blow to his knee.

Almar forced himself back to his feet, the blow to his knee was painful but he braced the leg against the plating and stamped on it a few times, the smile on his face had turned to a slightly unsettling grin as he took up a light footing, constantly shifting and moving with his leading foot switching after every 5th shift, his arms came up into a defensive posture before his face, a traditional boxing block as he advanced on her and let fly with a quick one-two jab, leading with his right hand.

For a brief second, Rochelle stopped gloating and the savage little smirk of triumph faded back into seriousness as she caught the look in those oil black eyes. He wasn't smirking anymore, he wasn't playing and as he came for her, she readied herself and countered the dance he set up. Boxing was a waltz and when met with the blocks of standard White Crane it became quite elegant indeed. Each blow that met her forearms and hands smarted something fierce. She'd grunt upon impact, fend him off with a snap kick or a strike of her own. The crane-like 'beak' created by her fingers streaking for his ribs and the muscles of his biceps undoubtedly hurt just as much as her deflections did. Either way, he was advancing and she was steadily having to yield ground. Just a couple more feet and her back would be against a bulkhead and he'd have her 'against the ropes'. It was do or die, and she took the chance.

He advanced, she countered to step into him, lifting a leg to deliver a high kick in the direction of his jaw by way of using his advancement to her so-called benefit. The height difference made it a stretch, but the way he'd had to bend low in order to optimize his reach made it a possibility. Rochelle's heart stopped as her body contorted and the kick let fly - the idea of not wanting to hurt him had hit the back burner until that very moment and her eyes widened in response.

The kick connected with a snap and twisted the Cardassian's head back and up as he staggered a step backwards, his torso had extended and where Rochelle had stretched herself to make the kick connect, Almar had pulled a punch from connecting with her temple a mere moment before it had impacted, he staggered another step backwards as his head dropped back to its natural position and a small rivulet of blood trickled out of each corner of his mouth, he bought his arms back before him and reformed his block and shook his head a couple of times to clear the ringing the kick had caused, he took a few breaths in and settled his form again.

"Fu--" The swear was erased from her lips about the same time that his fist collided with the side of her head. The blow, though softened, combined with the impact of her heel against his jaw and sent her reeling to the side and backwards. It would have been to the side, backwards, and down to the deck had it not been for the fact she staggered back first into the wall and pressed against it on shaking legs while she fought to stay upright and conscious. Safeties were a joke, for the most part, and the situation at hand proved it entirely way too well.

From half-lidded eyes she watched the Cardassian steel himself for another round she wasn't entirely certain either one could take, but giving up wasn't her forte. One day it would get her killed, but for now it did nothing more than bolster her bravado and pride, "Almar..." She hummed, straightening out, concern creasing her brow with a frown as she caught sight of the blood tainting the corners of his mouth.

He shook his head another couple of times as the fog began to lift, he could feel the trickle passing through his lips and down towards his scaled chin, "Looks like you caught me quite nicely," he replied as his face softened and the fire in his eyes died down slightly, "Care to call it a draw?"

"Come here." She nodded, fine. Draw. Truce. She didn't care about the fight any longer as she lifted her arms and motioned for him to come to her.

Almar dropped his guard and straightened up, he moved towards her and placed a large hand on the bulkhead over her shoulder, he leaned with a larger amount of his weight there and offered her a bloodied smile.

"I'm sorry, but you asked for it." Rochelle's lips curved into a wry grin of her own and she reached to cradle his face in her hands, wiping at the blood stains with her thumbs, "Good news is you have your teeth and your jaw isn't broken." She murmured softly to him, "but I still want you looked at by MacLeod."

"I did, but it was fun," Almar replied as he adjusted his jaw a couple of times and reached up with his free hand to rub his chin where she had connected, "It was quite a kick, I'm sure the good Doctor will ask how it happened."

The grin broadened, and she let her fingers wander to where her boot heel had stamped itself against his face. "Just tell him that you aim to misbehave, Mal." Carefully she pulled him down to her and stood herself up on tip toe, ignoring the throb in her head in order to press a kiss to the mighty blossom of a bruise.

---
fin.
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Commodore Rochelle Ivanova
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR, NX-78213-F

 

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