Posted by Commander Wulf Baumann (XO) in Defining Decisions-Crew Recreational Facilities

Posted by Lieutenant Naomi Locke (Sci) in Defining Decisions-Crew Recreational Facilities

Posted by Commander Wulf Baumann (XO) in Defining Decisions-Crew Recreational Facilities
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
[snip]
OOC: If you don’t want any company in the thread, just ignore me!

IC: Baumann was in the Rec Area himself, having spent the past several hours catching up on the mountain of reports that seemed to multiply as he worked. He was dressed in black shorts and a gray shirt, and was doing some kind of exercise on a large mat near the newly-installed punching bags. Seeing the two women enter, he nodded silently at both in acknowledgement and then proceeded to place his palms flat on the mat and extended both legs fully while tucking his head down and exhaling slowly.

Baumann, XO

OOC: I left it open so anyone that wanted to learn about my character, could and make an impact on her baggage. So you’re welcome to join. ^-^

IC: Upon seeing the second in command, Tay paused in her walk to the bags. Her eyes roamed a bit causing Naomi to elbow her in the side. With a whisper too lower for the higher officer to hear, she chided Tay for her wandering attention.

“I didn’t let you drag me here to eyeball guys,” she hissed.

Tay shrugged, “You do it all the time until you met Kenny, so… why can’t I since I’m still single?”

Naomi sighed, “Not today, now finish what you started.”

“All right!”

Tay moved over to the bag then gestured at it, “Punch it. I want to see how hard you hit.”

Naomi gave another sigh then gripped her hand into a tight fist. Tay immediately stopped her with sharp cry, her hand reached out and gripped Naomi’s. She stopped the attack before Naomi could break her hand.

“You’re going to break your hand that way! Your thumb needs to go out and over your fingers. Not inside. Have you never been in a fight before?”

Naomi flinched at the words. She had but lost in a bad way. So bad, she wanted to forget it. A little annoyed by Tay, Naomi leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Then show me.”

“I’ll show you on your hand, not mine,” Tay said when she pulled Naomi’s hand out and began to fold the fingers. They fell into their correct posture where they fit well.

“Now punch…”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.

Naomi gave Tay a look then punched the bag. Her hand shot with pain causing her to cry out and recoil. She held it for a moment and cursed under her breath. With a few shakes, the throbbing died down causing her to look down. The knuckles become reddened by the impact.

“That was stupid…” Naomi admitted when she spotted Tay’s worried expression.

Resigned to her friend’s concern, Naomi showed her the bruising. Tay hissed at the damage and tested each finger. As she moved them, her eyes watched Naomi’s reaction.

After a few moments passed, she appeared relieved.

“Nothing seems broken at least, but it’s hard to tell for sure. At least it didn’t make a sound crack.”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.

Baumann heard the exchange and stood up and walked over. “Everything all right, Ensign?” he asked, his thick German accent making is words crisp and sharp, but his tone was one of slight concern. His arm were shimmering with the sweat from his workout, and the sheen on his face made the diagonal scars, one on each cheek, stand out slightly.

Baumann, XO

Naomi almost wanted to blame Baumann for being good looking. She would’ve been lying to say she found scars attractive. Too bad beauty wasn’t a choice and more of a gift.

While holding her hand still pulsing pain, her eyes shifted to Tay. Of course, her friend became distracted when the XO walked over. Annoyance spiked through Naomi as she acted on impulse. She drifted closer to her friend then stomped on Tay’s foot, careful to avoid the XO’s attention. Tay’s took it like a champ.

She gritted her teeth, the yelp stopped in her throat. Her head turned and glared at Naomi who feinted innocent.

Naomi flexed her wrist and hand a bit, fighting the urge to winch at the increase in pain.

“Yeah, it’s all right. I just hit it too hard is all. In a few days, it’ll be peachy.” She brushed off the man’s concern.

Tay scoffed. “I think you need to hit it harder and pretend it is that jerk’s face.”

Noami flashed Tay a warning look, but Tay chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, she moved toward the locker.

“I’m surprised you didn’t break it.”

She pulled out a few wraps and passed them to Baumann.

“Could you help her wrap up her hands? It might keep her from breaking something and I doubt she knows the proper way to do it. I’m going to check the bag then hold it for the next try.”

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.

OOC: Just a small bump to put this back on the main page.
-Janice B.

Baumann caught the exchange, but also the looks that passed between the two, and chose to let it pass. Taking the wraps, he turned to Locke and said “Here, Ensign. Let me show you the proper way to ensure injuries like this do not occur in the future. Although -” and he cast a small glare at Tay, ” - any decent sparring partner would ensure that everyone is properly geared prior to commencing contact drills.”

Baumann slowly wrapped the first hand and wrist, using the hurt appendage as the demonstration. Each step, he showed her what he was doing, how, and told her why. When it was finally wrapped and taped, in a fashion that indicated that the XO had done so many times in the past, he took the other wrap and held it out to Locke. “Now you do that one, Ensign. Your hand and wrist should be amply supported, you will feel little if any pain.”

Baumann, XO

Tay bit her lip and avoided the XO’s glare. There was no excuse made for her lacking teaching skills. When Naomi spotted Baumann’s word hit Tay’s guilt, her protective instincts stirred. Her next words shifted blame rather than agree with him.

“It’s not a big deal. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with pain from something stupid.”

“Pain from one own’s ignorance is one thing. Pain from an avoidable situation? That is something else entirely.” Baumann said without looking away from Locke, even though his words were perhaps not intended for her.

Naomi sensed Tay’s temper raise. It had to be because of her casual attitude toward the incident and fact it was an unhealthy habit. Excuses for others that relayed on her shortcomings were almost second nature since she was a child.

“Besides, I’m a rotten student when it comes to combat.”

“Then you need more practice.” was all the German said in response.

“A gross understatement,” Tay mumbled quietly as she waited for them to wrap up.

Naomi ignored it and focused on her other hand, trying to wrap it like she was shown. She struggled and mixed up the pattern twice, forcing her to start over. Finally feeling satisfied, she held her hand out for inspection.

“How did I do?”

OOC: Letting you decide how well she did. :P

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.

Baumann looked at the wrap and nodded once. “Acceptable. Now always remember to do that before you spar.” and he turned and looked fully at Tay. “And never allow your partner to begin without proper equipment. We are a crew, and as such we are supposed to look out for each other. Understood?” He waited for an acknowledgement before he moved away and went back to the mat he had been exercising on. “And don’t forget to warm up before you fight.” he said to both before beginning his stretching and odd poses of his previous routine.

Baumann, XO

Both girls nodded before Baumann walked away. After staring in his direction, Tay’s attention returned to Naomi. She had forgotten about the warm-up until now. Her figure walked back to the lockers and retrieved a jump rope. It was tossed to Naomi, who barely caught it.

“What does jump roping have to do with punching a bag?”

“It will elevate your heart rate and get it pumping. After that is the steps, and some .” Tay explained as she grabbed a stopwatch.

“Do jumps until I stay stop. Ready, set, go!”

With that, Naomi began to jump. After about a good thirty or so, she began to feel winded causing Tay to stop the session. She clicked the time watch and frowned.

“You’re out of shape.”

Naomi frowned. Her figure leaned over and placed her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She glared up at her friend.

“To be fair, I’m usually in the labs and not in the field.” Naomi pushed herself up.

“What’s next?”

“Step up and duck under.” Tay slapped an adhesive tape onto the ground into a line.

“Now,” she began with energy, “take one big step over that line then duck back under it.”

“Okay…” Naomi stated, readying herself.

“Go.”

After about a few rapid rounds, Tay stopped the exercise. She then showed Naomi how to stretch her wrists, arms, and other limbs. When the exercises finished up, Tay picked up some pads and strapped them to her own hands.

“How about we try some pad work? It might go over better than the bag.”

Naomi paused causing Tay to sigh, “I’ll go easy, kay? It would defeat the purpose if you froze up.”

“Fine, but if this doesn’t work… I’m out.”

“Naomi, have a little faith.”

Naomi nodded, but it seemed half-hearted.

“Widen your legs, hold your arms up and punch here,” Tay tried to explain. She was unable to physically move Naomi into the correct position due to the pads.

“Like this?”

“No, like this,” Tay’s own legs showed the proper stance. Naomi took a few minutes to mimic it perfectly. When she was ready, Tay tapped her right pad for Naomi to hit.

“Hit right there.”

Naomi exhaled and punched. It was light and little to no energy in it. No heart or commitment in the action. Tay knew her friend hesitated, but she wasn’t sure how to encourage harder punches. Her eyes glanced over to Baunmann. She was hoping he might help with a demonstration or guidance.

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.

Baumann was balanced on his palms, his arms full extended down and his legs in a V ninety degrees out from his hips and his back bent forward slightly. Exhaling deeply, he rolled his hips back and went up into a handstand and then fell lightly to his feet. Looking at the two and catching the look Tay, he nodded once and said “It is important to focus your mind when striking. Many people, especially those with little to know experience, always have too many thoughts going through their head.” he said flatly, his German accent making his words clipped and sharp. But his tone, while not exactly friendly, was warm enough. “If I may?” he asked Naomi. Taking her place in front of Tay, he fell into a kind of split stance and bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. Raising his left hand to the front and his right behind, he looked at Tay but said to Naomi “Just focus. Fist… target…” and his left fist shot out and struck the pad with a loud SMACK. “Only those things. If you are in a combat situation, nothing else matters at that moment. Simply… do.” and his left shot out again.

Baumann, XO

Tay braced herself for the XO’s hits. The fist hit in the dead center causing her palm to sting, despite the padding protecting it. She bit her lip and shook it off. Meanwhile, another punch came and ignited another stinging sensation in her other hand. Instinctively her eyes fell on Naomi. Her friend was uncharacteristically alert, fixed on the action and silent. Something felt off causing Tay to look closer. Naomi’s breathing was shallow but faster than normal.

“Naomi, are you all right?”

Naomi didn’t answer. Instead, she seemed locked in place and stared straight ahead. Tay gave Baumann a signal to pause any additional punches. Her mouth undid the pad and slipped it from her hand using her armpit. She let it drop to the floor as she gently touched Naomi. Naomi jerked away from her touch and stepped back, startled by it.

“Naomi, did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah, I’m just not feeling well. Can we do this another day?” Naomi said, her arms wrapped about her in a defensive posture.

Tay wasn’t sure what caused the sudden shift in gears and it delayed her reply.

–ENS Naomi D. Locke, Sci.