Force of Balance

Posted on Sun Jan 19th, 2014 @ 6:06pm by Commander Gaius Ra-Xialii

Episode: Orphans
Location: Cestus III - Academy Training Halls
Timeline: MD02

Gaius took the blow to his cheek hard, unintentionally spitting out a sliver of spittle as his head snapped to the left. Instinctively he took a step backward, allowing him to open some distance between himself and his opponent as well as putting his weight on his rear leg.

Apart from the sting of the skin, overall he felt little pain, his race was fortunate to have a more sturdy bone structure, especially to his forhead. A change in the lighting made him realise another attack was imminent.

Another sloppy punch coming from his off center opponent, moving quicker than his opponent could have anticipated, Gaius placed a hand behind the man's neck, and a firm grip around the punching bicep, he pulled back toward the ground, then brought his knee to his chest. The weight of his opponent reached it's heaviest point, and he pushed off upwards, his strength propelling his opponent over and above Gaius' head.

A sharp thud followed, and a gasp of air. Gaius used as much momentum as he could muster, and ungracefully brought himself back up to his feet. This action had been easier in the past, this was one of those times he felt that his prime had passed.

"On your feet," He barked, straightening his training uniform. The blue skinned opponent stood to an attention pose as straight as he could, blood dripping from an earlier blow to the nose.

Quickly, Gaius walked across the padded floor toward a rack, containing several training weapons made of wood, some of metal, others with dulled blades revealing some too close to call gouges. Grabbing a wooden Mek'leth, and wooden Bat'leth, Gaius returned to his opponent.

The small 'school circle' of students around the pair shifted on their feet, seeking a more comfortable standing position, their eagerness evident in the bright eyes of their expressions. A few commented happily to their friends, and some joked or encouraged the poor Ensign that Gaius had chosen to be his sparring partner.

The Bolian Ensign was about a foot taller than Gaius, a perfect target as he stood above the rest of the class.

Tossing the Bat'leth towards his student, Gaius put his feet into a defensive posture, low and wide, with the Mek'leth behind his back.

"Attack Ensign," Gaius beckoned, no emotion showing on his face. The Ensign looked over his weapon with some fimiliarity, swinging it with more experience than Gaius had anticpated. Clearly this is what this man is here for, he mused.

Taking up a basic Klingon kata position the Bolian moved toward the Commander, who did not flinch. The expected move of a large powerful blow coming from above did not come, but instead a more composed attack going for the Commander's midsection.

Gaius dodged the move, bringing the Mek'leth around just in time to block with the longer portion of the weapon. The wood creaked with the strain.

Blocking only half of the blow was Gaius mistake, as the other end of the curved weapon found its way to one of his ribs.

"Ok, hold it here," Gaius said, holding the Bat'leth still in position where had it been a real blade it would be wedged between two ribs. Gaius gripped the handle hold of the curved weapon, "Now in a real scenario, this would hurt like hell, but, at the moment I have him. He has wounded his opponent, psychology tells us that he will relent, expecting less from his opponent," Gaius continued, looking to the eager eyes.

Gaius took a step back, the blade still against his skin, dropping one knee, he tore the blade toward the ground, releasing it from against his defending Mek'leth, then bringing the blade to his opponents neck in one fluid movement, slowing down his movement to show the critical blow he was going to deal out.

Having brought the man once again off balance by pulling the blade in an unexpected way, he had released his blocking arm for a killing blow. Had this been a real engagement, the Bolian would have had his major artery severed and would have bled out in a matter of minutes. A couple of students clapped in suprise.

"Back to position one," he barked once more, then bowing to his opponent, "Well done Ensign," he congratulated the man, before gesturing for him to rejoin his classmates.

"The point of the demonstration was to show you the whole point to this class, be unpredictable. It is the best weapon you have in melee or unarmed combat. Use your opponent's overconfidence or weight against them, and more importantly, every now and again you may have to take damage to give it," Gaius said, his hands behind his back.

"Tonight, study the holovids I have provided, become accustomed to these moves in your head, for tomorrow we will be trying out the first five. I reccommend you not to practice these until class, for good reason."

"Please thank our test subject for his actions today, Questions?" Gaius asked. There were only a few, and Gaius answered them quickly befor dismissing the class. Wiping the sweat off his brow and retying his ponytail, a notification popped up on his PADD. He thought it odd for a student to be messaging him so quickly after his first class, but he checked it anyway.

Assigned to USS Highlander, effective immediate, report to Captain Tim Williams, CO, USS Highlander. Position of Executive Officer. The PADD read. Gaius acknowledged the order, and packed up his things.

A wince of pain struck him, he had perhaps been a little too eager. First, a trip to the infirmary, second a shower and training reports. He would report to his new CO in time.


Commander Gaius Ra-Xialli
Adv Martial Arts Instructor
Cestus III SFA Campus