Welfare check

Posted on 05 Sep 2020 @ 8:59am by Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov

Mission: Mission 4 - Race against the machine
Location: Somewhere on the ship
Timeline: MD 6 0900
3533 words - 7.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Having spent a good few hours on the bridge making other repairs and seeing that consoles were functional once more, Michael felt he needed to check on other areas on the ship. He hoped that there wasn't any badly damaged areas in the quarters of the various crews members. There was somebody he was concerned about, how she and her child fared when the emitters went awr;y. Not knowing where the Chief Intelligence Officer would be,Michael resorted to asking the computer for her location.

Michael gave the command for the lift to take him to the next deck, once he stepped out he stated "Computer, would you please give me the location of Lieutenant Belikov"

"Lieutenant Belikov is currently in holodeck 3" the computer responded.

"Wonder what program she is running there?" Michael mused to himself redirecting his course to the deck where the holo-decks are.

Once he arrived, Michael stepped in through the archway looking to see where Lieutenant Belikov was.

Before him Michael saw a gym that would better fit in the mid to late 20th century rather than the 23rd century. There were dozens of men and women working out or mulling around, all of which were part of the holo-program. Over to one side, Rose was on her back bench pressing weights. she had two other women spotting her as she worked her way up in weight.

Michael was impressed by what he saw. He remembered seeing films which had just this set up. He headed in Rose's direction, stopping a few feet away, not wanting to interrupt her routine. Not one to stare while someone was working out, he took another look around the gym mentally comparing it to the set up back at the station he had served on. He can wait until Rose was done.

Finishing up her set, Rose paced the weight on its hooks and than sat up. Surprised to see Michael standing there, she draped her towel over her shoulders and gave him a coy smile, “enjoy the show Ensign?”

Michael gave a slight start, coming back from his thoughts. He chuckled in a self-conscious way, rubbing the back of his neck, his cheeks having a hint of red.

"If I was staring, my apologies, though you do have good form." He looked back around the gym then back at Rose. "I really like this set up, classic lines not so... stark and utilitarian. It reminds me of the station I served on, a gym much like this one , had been set up. It became rather popular for those who lived there."

“This is a replication of a gym I found near the Academy on Earth. I’ve spent many a night in here working out to relax my mind” Rose explained as she stood up and moved over to a punching bag. Grabbing some cloth tape, she began to wrap her hands in preparation for her next workout, “was there something you needed or are you just here for a trip down memory lane?”

"My trip down memory lane was unexpected, I thank you kindly." giving a nod and a brief smile. He watched her wrap her hands with familiar cloth tape. "I actually wanted to see how you were doing since our first encounter with that Planet Killer. Did your office or your quarters take any damage?"

He really wanted to try out this gym of Rose's but, he wasn't about to invite himself. This was her time to re-balance her mind.

“I lost a few consoles in my office but that’s nothing I can’t fix. You’re welcome to check my work if you wish for safety’s sake” Rose said as she finished wrapping her hands. Noticing Michael looking around the holoprogram, Rose gave a coy smile, “you know, having an exercise partner every now and then can be fun as well as instructive” she said, giving him a look over, “why don’t you join me and give your endurance a proper test” she said, standing in a kind of provocative fashion with one hand on her hip and the other arm wrapped around the punching bag.

Michael was a little bit surprised at the invitation to work out with Rose, and it wasn't lost on him of her playfulness. He smiled, then said, "I would love to join you, just let me check my schedule real quick."

Pulling out his PADD, Michael checked to see if it would be possible to take a break. Since he had already been working since 0500, a break would be a good idea. "Okay, it looks like I am able to join you." Giving a nod and putting away the PADD. "I'll just get changed" motioning towards the locker room. "And I'll be right out."

It didn't take long for Michael to come out dressed in a dark grey T-shirt, dark grey workout pants with a dark blue stripe down the side of each leg, and black tennis shoes. He had a towel draped over one shoulder. Plus a gym bag. Placing it down, he asked.

"Okay, let's get started."

"Alright, let's see what you've got. Go a few rounds on the bag to warm up before we get all hot and sweaty" Rose said, stepping back from the punching bag.

Michael nodded, as he wrapped his knuckles and wrist with tape before putting on his gloves, which were thick instead of light weight gloves. He flexed his hands,to get the feel of the gloves then went into a fighting stance, pre-requisite before engaging the heavy bag.

It was just a warm up, precise jabs with the proper stance, then elbow strikes, and a round house kick. Michael was focused, the bag being hit solid and not pushed. He maneuvered his way around the bag with catlike grace then ended it back where he started from. He smiled, it felt good to tackle the heavy bag once again.

"Your turn, i believe?" he said to Rose.

Rose smiled, “for a grease monkey you know how to move.” She said as she took position in front of the bag. After taking a moment to focus, Rose replicates Michael’s movements almost exactly, though her punches had a little more force behind them, which caused the bag to sway back and forward a little. “Tell me, where did you train?” She asked between punches.

"I took martial arts in my home town, Brixham, adding various elements from other styles I came across, as I got older. " Michael replied as he watched Rose's movements. "I added to my skills, training with Captain K'Rang Valadorn, a Klingon Marine, and Marine Captain Breana Tracy-Hall, when I was stationed on Avalon Station." he chuckled, "Those two were not ones to molly coddle anyone. Valadorn taught me to fight with a betleH." Hawkins pronouncing it with the correct Klingon inflection, "He took me to a betleH tournament where he had me compete. It was certainly rather educational, and worthwhile to be a part of. Valadorn was impressed and pleased enough, that he presented me with a betleH of my own. I was very honored."

"Sounds like fun. Those Bat'leth Tournaments can be quite a thing to watch" Rose said, as she finished up and turned to face Michael, "well, i'm not unfamiliar with the blade myself, if you think you can handle it, how about a quick match?"

Michael gave a nod, "I'm game, what sort of blade or blades will you be wanting to use?"

Rose smiled, "computer, give me a Katana, Standard 60cm" she said, holding her hand out to one side. After a moment, the requested sword appeared in her hand. "an Old earth weapon. effective enough"

An appreciative whistle sounded from Michael. "Now that's a weapon. I take it you are familiar with Kenjutsu?" he following suit, but requesting a duplicate of his bat'leth "I am looking forward to this."

"Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, ninjustu, it's been a little hobby of mine. It keeps me fit" Rose said, removing her Katana from it's Scabbard and feeling it's weight. The blade had a strange wavy pattern along it's length almost making it look like water ripples, "hmm, i know it's not historically accurate, but Damascus Steal just looks better, and it's stronger" she said, thinking something over. "perhaps a change in location would be appropriate"

Michael nodded, "It does have its appeal, Damascus Steel, having more designs upon the blade than what the normal process from Japan for a katana would have." he looked around at the gym then spoke. "I agree, a different location for bladed action would be in order." Michael wondering just what Rose would choose.

Rose smiled, "Computer, change program to Maiji field" she said, taking a step away from Michael. a moment later, the Gym was replaced with an open green field with Mt Fuji far in the background, "it's a little cliché but I figured why not" she said as the wind blew around them, tossing her hair about. "so, shall we dance"

Michael grinned, as he loved this setting. It appealed to the theatrical side of him. "Not cliche, its a classic setting." He does a swift, graceful, horizontal figure eight pattern flourish with one hand to get the feel of the bat'leth.
He nodded,"Yes,let's dance!" Both hands on the hilt of the bat'leth in readiness, poised and ready in the correct stance.

Taking in a deep breath, Rose gripped the hilt of her Katana tightly as she held it out between the two of them. If someone had been watching, all that should be missing was the dramatic music. After a moment, she loosened her grip a little before dashing forward, her first attack coming from over head.

Michael swiftly brought up the bat'leth blocking her strike, moving forward to see if he could make her step back.

Taking a step back, Rose swung again, aiming for a low angle. She figured a few test swings might give her the insite to Michael's ins and outs.

Michael had only done the first initial block to start testing Rose, for the next part as she went for a lower attack, Michael caught the katana with the left curve of his blade, moving downward as the blade slid away from him and the right part of the bat'leth was heading towards her shoulder, Michael stepping forward as he would be making another arc/slice with the lower part of the blade. The one thing about fighting with a bat'leth was that it was a versatile weapon.

Seeing the tip out of her eye, Rose quickly ducked out of the way with a spin. Using the momentum, Rose came around for a slash at Michael's torso. To be honest, she'd never trained against a bat'leth before so she was learning as she went.

Michael was quick to catch the sword in the notched area, pressing it down-ward,while the other end moved towards her torso.

"Would you like to learn how to wield the bat'leth?" Michael asked with a grin,clearly enjoying himself.

Rose shrugged, “sure why not. It’d be interesting to learn how Klingons fight” she said, dropping her sword, dodging out of the way before wrapping her arms around him in an attempt to grapple.

With Rose making her move with great agility, Michael had to quickly twist away to one side in order to keep her from getting injured by the bat'leth. There maybe safety protocols on, but he couldn't allow himself to get lazy. He dropped the bat'leth onto a patch of grass, then walked back to where he was facing Rose in a ready stance. He smiled, crooked his fingers in a 'bring it on gesture.'

Returning the smile, Rose leaped forward, aiming again to grapple. If only she could get him pinned on the ground, she could finish this and claim victory.

Michael figured that he outweighed Rose by, at the very least, 45 pounds. Her build, he'd seen her muscle tone. She showed the attributes of being a beautiful mix of Romulan and human. With how much she was pressing weight wise, and the fact she moved the heavy bag when she punched it. Michael ascertained that this sparring match up wasn't going to be easy. While some people may think that there wasn't anyway Rose could win, they would have to come to a different opinion. She was lithe, strong, determined. Above all else, she had trained with marines. That made her a one tough woman.

Michael wasn't a pushover either, as she came in for the first intial grapple, he did a sidestep out of the way, pivoting on the ball of his foot to where he'd be just out of the way, and slightly behind her. At the moment, he was sparring defensively.

As he dodged out of her way, Rose gave a playful smile, “what’s wrong? Are you afraid of me?” She said, turning to face him, her arms between the with her fists clenched. At this point she could tell that Michael was quicker on his feet than she’d given him credit for, so she’d have to pick up her game a little. Releasing her fists a little, she started a few jabs at him to test his reflexes against a faster attack than the grapple she’d tried earlier.

Michael chuckled, "No, not afraid." blocking her attacks, noting that she was picking up her speed." Just admiring your agility."

On one of the jabs, Michael deflected it with his left hand, in one fluid motion like a dance step, side step, pivot on his right foot, his right hand giving her a light tap on her back.

Quickly spinning around on the balls of her feet, Rose readied herself for another flurry of blows, “clearly you’ve been well trained. Where did you learn to fight with a Bat’leth?”


"I learned from Marine Captain K'Rang Valadorn on Avalon Station. He wanted to be the youngest Dahar master, plus he taught me just to...settle a score with a rival. The rival had wagered that Valadorn couldn't train a human to fight well enough with a bat'leth to win in a competition,and against him. Well... K'rang won the wager. Needless to say, the rival wasn't too happy about the win, but he was actually honorable with the wager payment. I think it was several barrels of bloodwine and something else. What that something else was, I didn't ask."

This time Michael decided he wasn't going to just defend, instead he switched things around, moving towards Rose, making a swift striking movement towards her solar plexus. He wanted to see how she would defend herself.

Seeing Michael start to advance, Rose gave a slight smile, finally, he’s getting into it she thought to herself. Standing her ground, she waited until he threw his strike before reacting. Catching his hand before it hit, she swung her free arm out, aiming for a head lock. Normally in this situation she would’ve pulled him in closer and struck the side of his head with her elbow, but she wasn’t trying to harm him right now. This was just a friendly sparring session, not a real fight.

Oh he realized what she was doing, Michael reversed the grip, blocking the attempted headlock, sliding forward into a clinch where his hands are behind Rose's neck. His next move would be to twist his hip with a leg behind her's and putting her to the ground in a sweep, once he finds the opportunity. Whether that happened, he will have to see.

now in a headlock of her own, Rose thought quickly. With a slight jump, she wrapped herself around his torso and leaned backwards, trying to cause him to lose his balance. Her intention was to fall into a roll to get him off of her, but she didn't take their heights into account.

Her movement, stepping close to him, that didn't bother Michael. The fact that she was arching backwards with the type of clinch he had her in,gave Michael a fright! There was danger of injury to her if he didn't do something. Split second decision, Michael moved his hands from the back of her neck one hand to her upper back, the other to her waist. He twisted his body in such a way to where both he and Rose hit the ground on their sides.

Landing on her side, Rose gave Michael a playful smile, “Well then, you’re more of a challenge than I thought.” She said, shifting a little closer, “Mrs Hawkins must be quite a happy woman”

His arms still around her, Michael was relieved that she seemed none the worse for the wear. When she moved closer, he could feel his heart rate escalate. The tip of his ears were turning pink, and his cheeks had a light rosy hue.

"There's not a Mrs. Hawkins." Michael stated, in a quiet tone. "And you're quite the opponent." a slow smile drifting across his lips, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. The color of her eyes reminded him of..."Your eyes are as blue as the sky on a warm summer's day, so beautiful."

Rose smiled, "Poetry? ok, I'll give it a try." she said, giving it some thought for a moment, "um, your embrace is as warm and as gentle as an evening summer sun on the beaches of Risa"

Michael was at a loss for words, what Rose said to him was, wonderful. For the moment all he could do was look at her beautiful face, the curve of her cheek, his eyes went to her lips... then looked back into her eyes.

"Wow..." was all he could trust himself to say his voice conveying in just that one word, that he liked what she said.

"ha, really? a few honeyed words and that's all I get? wow?" Rose asked, a slight smile spreading across her face. "well, it's as good a place as any to start"


Michael chuckled warmly, "That was just sheer poetry, and I've never had a lady or woman quote poetry to me before. I was stunned, amazed and touched. About all I could say at that moment,was wow." He moved his left hand from about her waist, towards her cheek, as though he wanted to caress it.Just as he was about to do so, Michael withdrew it.

Feeling his hand move from her hip, Rose saw his hesitation in his expression, “it’s ok, you can touch. I won’t break” she said, gently grabbing his hand and slowly guiding it down towards her face.

"I'm not worried about you breaking" Michael murmured, "I don't believe in taking liberties with a lady." touching her cheek,"Your skin so soft, like the petals of a rose, fits your very name."

Rose gave a slight laugh at Michael's words, “maybe it’s just the gentle touch of the archangel himself” she said, placing her hand onto his hand, “your hands are rough yet gentle. The true sign of an artist”

"An archangel, any angel, I would not compare myself to those connected to the heavens. I am just a mere mortal man, with flaws and imperfections." he moved his hand taking hers into his, in such away to where he placed a kiss upon the back of her fingers. "You have the gentle soul of a poet, hands of an artist, an exciting, exotic woman of great worth and strength." he moved in close, to kiss Rose on the cheek.

Feeling her heart rate increase as Michael got closer, Rose chose to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Moving quickly, she waited until the last moment, then moved her head so Michael’s kiss would fall on her lips rather than her cheek. Closing her eyes, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she felt her face become warmer as a blush came to her cheeks.

Michael's eyebrows raised in surprise, he returning the kiss. Then moved his lips to her cheek, then giving her an embrace. It lasted for a few long moments, then Michael raised himself as well as Rose to a seated position. He looked at Rose with a gentle smile, brushing back a wayward lock of hair, to behind her ears. He was about to speak, when a chirp came from his commbadge, he tapped it,

"Hawkins here." he answered.

"Hawkins, got a minute? Need your help chasing down an anomaly."

"I'm just getting off break right now. Will be there soon." Michael stated.

Hawkins ended the conversation, shook his head. "Looks like I'm needed. " raising to his feet and giving Rose a hand up. He glanced at the scenery, and at the two weapons upon the grass. "This was rather fun." smiling.

Rose smiled, “Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.” She said, leaning forward and giving him a kiss on the cheek, “i know where you live” she whispered before taking a step back “Computer, end program”