Rura Penthe #65"
By: Dr. Alyssa Caitlin Northrop, Intel Officer, [PST]

Stardate: 58205.10 1700

Northrop walked into the gym carrying a black nylon bag. The room was dimly lit, the only illumination being provided by a few small, upward facing spot lights. At the far end of the room, a black banner with the symbol of the Klingon Empire hung, taking up the entire wall. Around the room were several racks full of various types of bladed weapons. All of them were fairly sinister looking. It also smelled strongly of sweatand faintly of blood. Heading off into a corner, she dropped the bag and then dropped to the floor herself. Alyssa flipped off her shoes and socks, then began to stretch out a bit. Granted that one never got to stretch when the time for actual combat came, but this wasn't actual combat. This was practice. Practice she desperately needed.

The archeologist stood up and then grabbed the bag she had brought. The sound of a zipper followed and the bag fell away when she reached inside and let go. In her hand was the curved blade of a Bat'leth. This particular blade was her favorite. It felt almost like a feather in her hands. Perfectly balanced and adjusted for her. Alyssa felt a small smile creep onto her face. It felt like the first that she'd had in quite a while.

Alyssa got into her stance and rolled her head around on her shoulders, feeling it pop and crack just a little. Shutting her eyes a moment, she centered herself and then placed her other hand on the second handle of the curved weapon. Slowly she began to move......left, then right, then forward and back, the Bat'leth swinging in graceful arcs around her body. A well done practice session was often compared to a work of art. Where grace and form met deadly power.

She was in her own little world as the she practiced the moves. Having done them for so long, she was able to accomplish them with her eyes shut, which Alyssa liked to do at times as it tended to make her feel better. Add to that the exertion of her muscles and the thin sheen of sweat that broke out over her body as she increased the speed of the maneuvers and the happier she became.

After about ten minutes, Alyssa brought herself to a stop and went over to the gym wall. On it was a small computer interface and she tapped it, bringing the display to life. These gyms were outfitted with holoemitters so that a crewmember could spar with an opponent and not worry about injuring or getting injured. This system wasn't quite as impressive as the holodeck, but it served the purpose and was perfectly fine for situations where the person involved didn't need total situational immersion.

Working quickly, Alyssa sifted through the myriad programs that were built into the system. After a moment or two, she found the one she wanted and activated it. Turning around, Alyssa watched as a Klingon in a Mok'bara practice uniform appeared in the middle of a circle on the floor. In the man's hands was a Bat'leth. The young woman looked at the Klingon. One of the downsides to this particular system was that it gave the opponent no real personality, only species specific strength with a variable skill level. Northrop always practiced on the relatively advanced levels. There was only one way to keep ones own skills up and that was to practice against those better than or equal to you. Of course, Alyssa was pretty good herself and seldom lost, unless she was trying to work on a specific aspect of her skills.

Moving over into the somewhat small area that was designated for sparring, Alyssa watched as the holo-Klingon's attention snapped to her. She got herself ready and watched as her opponent did like wise. And then it began. The Klingon charged and came in swinging. The sound of metal on metal filled the room as Alyssa brought her own weapon up to block and deflect. The attacking Bat'leth was diverted to the side, allowing Alyssa to counter strike, which she did.

Only problem was that this particular Klingon was quick and dodged out of the way...mostly. The very tip of Alyssa's Bat'leth caught the hologram and drew a bit of pinkish blood.

And so it went, the two fighters slashing and striking at each other, the sound of metal impacting metal echoing off the walls along with the occasional grunt of exertion. The speed of the spectacle was amazing. Blow, deflect, counter.....blow deflect counter. Each player matching the other move for move. Form and function were perfect, the blows designed to be deadly. Yet in the end, Northrop came out the victor as she was finally able to find a way in and adapted to the situation.

The final move played out with the Klingon hologram striking, getting deflected and then whirling around to bring the Bat'leth crashing down onto his victim. However, when he brought his weapon down, Northrop was no longer there....but was behind her, having rolled under the strike and popped back to her feet. Alyssa brought her own blade around and watched at the two curved, talon-like blades dug into the hologram.

The weight of the weapon and the sharpness of the blades sliced through a significant portion of the hologram, forcing it to the ground in defeat. Rather than die there, the computer simply ended the program.

Northrop stood in the sparring circle, panting. Her muscles burned and felt tired. Though it was a good tired. The dark haired archeologist stood there, her chest rising and falling under her grey T-shirt, for a few moments as she caught her breath......then turned back, "Computer....Reload Program Matrix......Level 15 this time."

Once again a Klingon appeared in the sparring Circle.....and once again the fight began.....Bat'leth impacting Bat'leth.