16. Push

Her assailant grabs from behind. Chokes off any screams.

Reflexively, her elbow lunges—nothing. The flesh cage constricts. Inertia thwarted, limbs locked. Air fading.

Precious seconds elapse before training kicks in.

She drops.

Her full weight takes both to the ground.

Twisting free, she leaps up, chest heaving.

Then offers a hand.

Her opponent accepts. "You're a fast learner."

"You went easy on me, at the end," she counters. "I came to you because—"

"Won't happen again."

"Good." She takes the young woman's measure: Skilled. Strong. Confident, but not reckless. A future Captain, perhaps. "Let's go again."


A/N: Hard to incorporate a full backstory into a 100-word clip, but the genesis of this one stemmed from imagining some dangerous incident that shook up Jasmine enough that she pursued learning self-defense. I think it's within her character that given the right push, she would no longer be satisfied fully entrusting her safety to anyone but herself.