Squared Circle

Posted on 27 Apr 2013 @ 10:09pm by Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton
Edited on on 27 Apr 2013 @ 11:54pm

4,878 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Episode 03 - Frontier
Location: USS Galileo - Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD 09:19 hours

ON

*Crowd noise fills a good sized stadium*
Announcer One: "Welcome to tonight's premier match here in Green Bay, Wisconsin! I'm Mike Smith, and alongside me here is my broadcast partner Jerry "The King" Lawler and so we've come to our main event!" "That's right Mike!" Interjected Lawler, "This is for the WWE Championship!! And oh! Its gonna be something else!!" Smith: "That's right King we have ourselves a doozy here. WWE Champion John Cena defends his title against the winner of the Royal Rumble, Jacob "the Justice Bringer" Pendleton!!!"

Smith: "Lets go to the Ring Announcer!"

Through the loud blaring sounds of "Smells like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana entered a battleship grey tights and accompanying mask came Jacob from the back room.

Ring Announcer: "The challenger, from Grant County, Wisconsin at six foot eight inches and weighing in at two hundred eighty six pounds, the winner of the Royal Rumble, he is THE JUSTICE BRINGER!"

Jacob ran out through the fireworks at full speed to the ring, jumping over the top ring with incredible agility. He got into the center of the ring and began the posing of his massive muscles to the absolute cheering the crowd. As one of the most loved wrestlers on this fantasy circuit and being in his home state really made for a great atmosphere.

The sound of rap music soon entered the stadium and the crowd went haywire again.

Ring Announcer: "And his opponent! He is the current World Wrestling Entertainment Heavyweight Champion!! From Westbury, Massachusetts, standing at six foot one inches and weighing two hundred fifty one pounds... JOHN CEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNAAAAAAA!"

Cena came out of the back room and to the stadium floor. He gave a big salute to the fans acknowledging his presence. The crowd roared as Cena ran to the ring and did his posing.

Soon the two men faced each other. Neither of them intimidated, both of them knowing the love for both men by the audience.

Smith: "Two of the most popular wrestlers of all time face each other for the first time. Look at them size up each other. Look at the intensity King!"

King: "Absolutely. The size and incredible strength of Justice Bringer and the strength and indomitable will of Cena. This is gonna be one HELL of a match!"

The referee pointed each man to their corners and alerted the bell to be rung.

King: "Here we go!!"

Jacob climbed in and circled Cena a couple of times before men locked up in the traditional opening grasp. Jacob's power was obvious as he quickly forced Cena to his knees but broke the grap and got back to his feet sizing up Jacob.

Again they locked in the center and again Jacob asserted his immense power and forced Cena to his knees again before Cena broke from it.

Cena stepped up and threw a right/left hand combination against the massive chest of Jacob, doing almost nothing. He pulled back and attempted another right hand but Jacob caught the punch to the great surprise of Cena. Jacob smiled a nasty smile at Cena and put Cena into a terrific armbar that really hurt the champ. Cena tried to counter by throwing Jacob over his shoulder but couldn't even budge the massive man.

Jacob repositioned Cena to his feet and Irish whipped him into the ropes. Cena bounced off the ropes and Jacob met him with a hellish forearm that sent the Champ to the floor writhing in pain. The crowd roared as Jacob posed and pointed to the crowd with respect.

He hovered over Cena and picked him back up but Cena took advantage and hit Jacob with a wicked uppercut followed by a nice drop kick that sent Jacob reeling to the ropes. Cena followed up with a devastating clothesline that sent Jacob to the floor but he quickly got back to his feet and the two exchanged big hits. Cena went to the well again and Jacob caught him for a second time putting his massive elbow into Cena face and throwing him again into the ropes.

Cena bounced off the ropes and Jacob caught him, picked him up, spun him in the air and smashed him over his knee with a massive backbreaker that made the entire crowd wince and go "OOOOO!".

King: "Oh my goodness!! Justice Bringer nearly broke John Cena in half!!!"

Dressed in loose yet form-fitting workout clothing, Mor'an approached Holodeck 2. She had decided to do some combat forms to warm up and then work on a new hand-to-hand move she had been trying to perfect. However, she heard the most interesting and foreign sound coming from one of the Holodecks. It sounded like a large crowd of people screaming in excitement, loud voices trying to shout over them. It was not a sound that Mor'an had ever heard before so, to appease her curiosity, she entered Holodeck 2.

The sight before her was even stranger than the sounds that were assaulting her ears even harder now. There were thousands of people around an elevated pen, screaming at the two men that were apparently fighting each other. It took her a moment to get over her surprise and realize that one of the men was Lt. Pendleton. She allowed herself a moment to admire his muscular build before walking closer to the pen. Ignoring the screams of the crowd and grunts of pain from the two men, she lithely climbed up the post that was holding up the flexible barriers of the pen. Perching on top of the post, Mor'an waited for the men to stop fighting so she could ask Jacob what under the Two Moons he was doing.

Jacob at first did not see Mor'an there because just as she had gotten to the ring, John Cena had pulled himself up and put a vicious forearm into Jacob's back. Jacob rolled up and turned to face the Champ. Both men traded powerful blows with Jacob having the better results due to his strength advantage. Cena, realizing he could not stand toe to toe with the big man, grabbed Jacob's arm and with all his strength threw him into the ropes. Jacob bounced off and was met by a wicked clothesline that put him on his back immediately. He writhed in pain as Cena was about to go for a quick pin, but that's when Cena saw Mor'an.

"Hey!" Cena shouted as he walked over to the post where Mor'an was, "Get off there! You trying to interfere in this match? You trying to help Justice Bringer here?" The referee ran over to find out what was the matter and saw Mor'an on the post now. He soon got into an argument with Cena over if this person was here to sabotage the match in Cena's favor. The two men argued some more, as Jacob rose to his feet. He backwards ran into the ropes behind him and bounced off them to gain momentum. He ran right into the back of Cena with a double axe handle strike which threw Cena into the far ropes, bouncing off them and returning Cena right into the waiting arms of Jacob who caught Cena's head with his right arm. He locked his arm, turned slightly and rotated Cena to the side and hit the Champ with a devastating DDT neckbreaker that he called "Guilty Verdict" and planted Cena hard on the map.

The referee however did not go down for the count. He looked at Mor'an again and had the bell rung without a count disqualifying both men in the match for outside interference.

King: "Oh my! The ref has called a DQ on both of them!"
Smith: "What an unusual outcome King! And we still do not know the intentions of this stranger, this woman on the ringpost! What is she doing? Who is she siding with??"

The crowd booed loudly as the Ring Announcer said, "The referee has disqualified both men due to outside interference. Since the title cannot change hands due to a disqualification. The WWE Heavyweight Champion is still JOOOOOHHHHHHNNNNN CEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNAAAAAAA!!"

Jacob looked up and it was then he saw Mor'an on the post. The blood seemed to drain from his face. "Computer, freeze program!" Suddenly everything stopped but him and Mor'an. He got up and walked over to her offering his hand so she could get down. "What are you doing here? I mean... I am glad you are here... but.. I mean... yeah I know I don't lock out anyone from most of my holodeck programs.. I.. didn't expect you.. but its a pleasant surprise I mean..." He was now fumbling and tripping over his words in her presence. "This.. this is a hobby of mine... its called Professional Wrestling... its choreographed, scripted drama based on athletic competition between two or more competitors. I am part of a league of fantasy Pro Wrestling simulation competition.... I know.... sounds a little convoluted huh?"

Taking Jaob's hand, Mor'an leaped from the post and landed easily on the balls other feet. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked, looking around at the frozen holograms around her. "They did not seem pleased that I am here." She gestured to the other men. Walking closer, she peered into the faces of the man that Jacob had been fighting. She didn't like the look in the man's eyes or the way he held himself. The way his body was built told her that he paid too much attention to his physical self rather than his mental self. She knew he was not real but she still found it hard not to believe the holograms when she interacted with them.

Jacob shook his head, "No, you did nothing wrong at all. This is one of the ways I train AND have fun at the same time. Mr. Cena here was alive oh well over 300 years ago. He was a superstar in his time. Pro Wrestling eventually fell into nothing around 2125 or so, but in the last thirty years or so its made a comeback as a fantasy league sport. I love it. It may seem childish or even silly to some, but it is fun and it does feed into my innate ability of wrestling as my main form of attack and defense."

He pulled off the mask he was wearing and added, "My character is a 'superhero' of sorts. They call the 'good guys' in Wrestling 'faces' and the 'bad guys' are called 'heels'. Mr. Cena here is another 'face' like me but I am going after his championship belt and so we are competing for it in the storyline created by the fantasy league writers, of which I am one."

Mor'an nodded, pretending that she understood. "I knew people at the Academy that wrestled," she said, "But I never was interested." She walked over to Jacob and eyed the mask in his hand. "They never wore masks, though. Do they serve any purpose?" Before Jacob could answer she was sitting on the floor, stretching her leg muscles.

"No, just adds to the character and persona." He watched her stretching, "I've been real Greco-Roman wrestling champion in both High School and at the Academy."

Mor'an didn't respond right away as she sat with her legs folded in front of her, the soles of her feet touching, as she reached her arms up and stretched. She tilted her back head so that she could see Jacob's face, but he was towering so well above her that it strained her neck. "What is Greco-Roman wrestling?" she asked, lowering her head so that she wouldn't hurt her neck.

"It is an ancient form of martial arts that involves holds, moves, attacks and defense that is centered around hand to hand, close quarter combat." He dropped to his knees so she wouldn't have to strain her neck. "I am well versed in both the 'real' version of Greco-Roman wrestling and this form of stylized 'show' wrestling. You see, if anyone actually used the moves and forms utilized in this fantasy wrestling you see around you, one could actually kill someone or leave them paralyzed for life." He watched her stretch and how graceful and beautiful she did it. He couldn't help but smile as she stretched.

Oblivious to the fact the Jacob was watching her, Mor'an continued to warm her muscles. "So it is similar to hand-to-hand combat?" she asked, "I have been trained in hand-to-hand since I was very young. I know what types of movements are required."

Jacob nodded, "If I were a betting man, I'd bet that nearly every society in the galaxy has some type of hand to hand combat style. Whether it is very close, personal space kind of hand to hand combat or within the reach of a melee weapon, I suspect that its the one style of combat that all races know a little about even if it is only for self defense." He watched her further and the added, "So, it seems as though your culture is warrior and honorable combat based? Or am not perceiving that correctly?" He continued to just enjoy looking at her lovely form. Every part of her was toned, no doubt that she had the body of one who trained and kept herself fit, but oh was she gorgeous!

Mor'an nodded as she brought her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top. "Warrior-monks," she said, "That is how we have been described by others when I told them of my culture. I meditate a lot, but..." she let her voice trail for a moment, "But I could kill you if I wanted to." She grinned at Jacob. "I am not inclined to killing people on a whim, though, so no need to worry."

Jacob gulped, "I am.. relieved..." He suddenly was at loss for words after that statement. He thought about his old roommate Alex and how he would say things like, "Man Jake, you could kill someone so easy if you wanted to."
Finally he looked at Mor'an and added, "Well, at least I would die at the hands of a beautiful woman... not a terrible way to go..." A weak smile crossed his face and he gazed down at the mat not knowing what else to say.

Mor'an smiled at Jacob's attempt to compliment her. "It would be nearly painless, I assure you." She quickly got to her feet and gestured for him to follow suit. "Show me how to wrestle. I might like it more if I understood the dynamics of if."

Jacob got to his feet and then commanded to the computer, "Computer, end program except for the ring, save the sequence where it is." The computer responded, "Save confirmed, ring structure to remain."
Jacob looked at Mor'an and said, "Ok, now face me, open your stance slightly, bend your knees slightly. Get a good center of gravity." Jacob did the same, bending at the waist until he at Mo'ran's level. "Now extend your arms slightly like this.." He extended his arms and lightly grabbed her shoulders. "Grab my shoulders as well." He waited until she did so and said, "This is the first move. The primary grab that all wrestling begins with. It is a traditional move sometimes referred to as the "lock" position. No matter how big or small your opponent is, this move indicates that you are ready to wrestle and that you are showing your willingness to take on your opponent. This also lets you gauge your opponent's strength and even a little bit of their dexterity. From this move, like playing Chess, either one of us can start to initiate another move. So if you are big and powerful, you might want to throw your opponent back from this move to show them your power and when they back up you hit them with a forearm or throw into the ropes and make another move of attack. If you are quick and have good dexterity, you might quickly lock my arm with yours and either try to pin it to my back or drag me to the map using both your strength and speed as you would quickly hook your leg behind my knee and take me down that way. As you can see, you can be creative and start doing moves from this position to either hit, throw, bring down or wear down your opponent. Try a move on me... just no killing me ok?"

Mor'an grinned at Jacob's last few words. "You must be patient with me," she said, "I have never wrestled before." She tightened her grip on his shoulders as she shifted her weight onto her left leg, pulling Jacob's bulk with her. This set him off balance and gave her a chance to slip her right arm through his so that their elbows were locked together. Stepping quickly, Mor'an pulled his arm up and around to his back. Catching his free arm, Mor'an pinned it as well. Now she was behind him and, because he was so much taller than her, Jacob had to lean back and support his own weight on his bent knees. "There," Mor'an said, her face close to his ear, "Now what?"

Jacob smiled, "Hey! You're a natural. Very good!! Did you see how your dexterity and speed negated my strength? That is the essence of wrestling. So let me ask YOU, if you were me, how would YOU break this hold? How should I get out of this? You see, real wrestling, like Chess, is move and counter move. Then think about how would you make this harder for ME to get out of. Think at least one move ahead. I might have strength on you but you have me at a disadvantage. Pretty great huh?" He flexed his arms just to test her grip a bit; it was obvious that he was thinking about what move HE wanted to do next.

Mor'an thought for a moment. She had never had to think in terms of someone with a stature as that of Jacob's. She was used to being small. "Maybe..." she began tentatively, "Drop to one knee and flip me over your shoulder?" She had no idea if that was a good move or not but it was the only one she could come up with.

Jacob chuckled, "You ARE good! A nice counter to sure. Here is what I was thinking." Jacob suddenly pushed her backwards by moving backwards right into the ropes. Both of them bounced off the roped but Jacob suddenly dropped to his knees and let Mor'an's momentum carry her almost up his back with his arms no longer in as weak position as they had been he was able to lift her right up and over his head. He quickly stood up as she was now directly over his head!! Her weight to him was insignificant as he was able to apply his full strength. He spun around twice know the disorientation would loosen her grip. He then flipped her over as he stopped spinning and went down to one knee bringing her down quickly.
He then stopped her momentum just as her back barely touched his extended knee. He gently laid her across it and she realized he could have broken her in half just like he nearly did to the simulated John Cena!

Jacob smiled down at her. His powerful hands and arms held her there for a few seconds. He then moved his knee and very gently put her down on the mat. "Not bad for big guy like me huh?" He said with a playful tone.

Grinning, Mor'an leaned back on her hands. "Impressive," she said, "But now..." She got up and stood next to Jacob, reached down and took his hand in hers. "It is my turn." She pulled on his arm gently to bring him to his feet, still maintaining the grin on her lips. A moment later, with a flash of concentration passing over her delicate features, Mor'an took control of Jacob's nervous system, rendering him incapable of movement. "See?" she said cheerfully, "This is how I am able to defeat opponents who are so much larger than me. All I have to do is touch them and they can do me no harm. But," she was quick to add "do not think that I cannot fight. I only do this when I have to." She released her hold over him and stepped back, hands behind her back. She didn't know how he was going to react -- some find it fascinating while others find it violating.

Jacob staggered back until he fell into the ropes. He leaned on them for a minute trying to get his bearings. He was fascinated and frightened at the same time.

"How.. how did you.. I mean.. how is that... possible?... how?.. what an incredible gift..." Jacob remarked slightly out of breath.

"It is one of my abilities that I warned you about," Mor'an said, slightly sheepish. "I told you that you knew very little about my race. My people have the ability to disrupt and control the nervous systems of living beings using our mental focus." She took a step closer to Jacob and held out her hand, palm forward. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, "I am.. fine.. I just.. having a power like that.. how is it your people haven't taken over the known galaxy by now? I mean, you rendered me incapacitated.... and I am a little more powerful than many of my own race... I am just astounded..."

"We are a peace-loving people," Mor'an said, "We would never use our strengths to harm anyone. We are content on Arun R'lantha with each other. Besides, it takes more energy then you would think, therefore I can not do it very often. I am more skilled than most in nervous system manipulation but even for me it takes a lot of energy. Your physical strength means nothing against nervous system manipulation because I am not manipulating your muscle." She stepped closer so that she was beside Jacob. "Are you sure you are alright?"

He smiled, "I am Mor'an, no worries. Obviously strength means nothing to your gifts. Most impressive. It would be incredible to study your gifts in any other sense, but, you are not a guinea pig to be caged in some experiment. I most certainly learn more about your race though if you would indulge me."

Mor'an was silent for a moment, thinking about what Jacob had said. The last time someone had asked to study her culture it hadn't ended well because there had been something of a misunderstanding that hadn't been resolved. Of course, the man that had asked hadn't been as cordial about it as Jacob was being now. "We shall see," she said with a slight smile as she turned and walked to the corner opposite Jacob. "Now what?" she asked, her hands spread out before her.

Jacob just leaned against the ropes. "Perhaps you could show me some of your moves? Teach me something? Or would rather just work out; after all, we have this nice ring to do whatever we want, or maybe you would want to get involved with one of my wrestling simulations like the one you walked in on?"

Mor'an eyes went wide at Jacob's last suggestion. "I think not," she said, "Not until I have a better understanding of wrestling. I know nothing of wrestling and he knows nothing of hand-to-hand. They are similar yet so different." Mor'an walked to the center of the ring and faced Jacob, backing him closer. "I can teach you forms."

He smiled, "Very well then, I am your humble student." He gave her an exaggerated, playful full bow.

Grinning at Jacob's antics, Mor'an bent her knees and brought her arms to her chest, her hands in fists. "Watch me to get a feel for the form," she said, "And then we shall see if you can do it with me." She leaped forward and punched the air with her left fist. Arms flung out, she spun and landed in a cat-like position, arms back to her chest. Standing and bringing her right foot up, she balanced herself for a moment before kicking out, landing on the same foot, dropped to a crouch. Continuing in this manner, kicking, leaping and punching, Mor'an completed the form a moment later. "There now," she said, standing in front of Jacob, "Would you like to try it? This is one that we teach to the younglings -- you should be able to manage fine." Her face shifted ever so slightly into look that issued a challenge. He was powerful, but was he graceful? In her mind they went hand-in-hand.

Jacob watched intently as Mor'an did her moves. He nodded as she did the sequence. He then cleared his throat. He took his right hand and opened it fingers straight; then turned it sideways. He took a deep breath as he concentrated for the moment. As he drew his own open hand to his chest he then extended his arms out and lifted his left leg so that he would be in perfect White Crane position. He breathed deeply three times. He then shifted his position back to both feet back on the ground and proceeded to replicated the moves Mor'an had just done. It wasn't perfect of course, but his speed and agility were very good considering his size and mass. He was not a big hefty "brute" of a man, he was a very high level athlete and those gifts shown through as he did the moves.

"How's that?" He asked Mor'an smiling.

Mor'an crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. He was more agile than she expected, to be sure. However, Del'an would not see him as graceful or agile. Mor'an remembered from her childhood training that her mentor had this mindset about agility and grace: If one cannot tread like a shadow in the forest while dressed in full battle attire, one was not agile. If one cannot move like a stream over a well-worn stone dressed the same, one was not graceful.

"Well," she said finally, "By other people's standards, you are very graceful. However, I am not other people. You are light on your feet, there is no doubt about that. But, that does not equal agility. You are trying to hard. You must -- how shall I say it? Become a part of your surroundings so as to not disturb them." She turned and performed the form again, this time closing her eyes and letting her body flow like a stream. The form transformed from a training tool to an ethereal dance. "Your turn," she said, again issuing a challenge.

Again Jacob got into a White Crane stance and focused once more. He tried to recreate the graceful motion that Mor'an had done, but his powerful, large muscles usually overtook his most delicate attempts. His fine motor skills were near the pinnacle of Human standards... well pinnacle for someone of his height and mass anyway... but his most fluid motions, although good, were not on par with Mor'an graceful form. He frowned at this and tried again; in fact, he tried again three times more with only a very slight improvement. He looked at Mor'an and shrugged, "Guess you bested me this round. I don't have your elegant and beautiful form."

"Some people have a harder time than others," Mor'an said with a shrug, "It is much easier to do when you have been doing it since you were young, as I have." She walked to the corner of the ring and hoisted herself up on the pillar, as she had been when she first arrived.

Jacob smiled up at her. "Leaving so soon?" He playfully pouted, "I hope we can train again..." He cleared his throat, "..Maybe even.. umm.. have dinner together?"

Mor'an looked down at Jacob with a raised eyebrow. Have dinner together? She wasn't quite sure what that meant. DId he mean just eat dinner together? Isn't that what everyone did in the Mess hall every night? "I suppose," she said slowly, "When?"

"After most the surveying is done? It could be fun.. we.. could go see a holo-movie together... if.. if you would like..." He replied almost blushing.

Mor'an wasn't wasn't exactly sure why Jacob's face was turning red. Did the idea of being in the same room as her make him uncomfortable? If so, why would he suggest it numerous times? "I suppose we could," she said. She liked the idea of spending more time with him. Maybe that's why her face wasn't red like his was. "Let me know when exactly," she said as she slid to the opposite side of the pillar. She turned and faced the ring, with Jacob still inside. "Shall I see you soon, then?"

"I would.. I cannot wait until then..." He smiled widely at her.

Returning his smile, Mor'an turned and strode from the Holodeck.

OFF

Lt.(JG) Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo

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