Side Quest 4: I Know Kung Fu
Sparring Gymnasium, 1030hrs
Cpt. Jack Haddock
Walking through the CQB training complex, I arrive at the martial arts sparring gym, what we call the 'Dojo'. This was a centre comprised of about ten small sparring rings for individual sparring sessions, as well as a larger room for group-based training. For today's training programme, Astrid had requested the use of the facility to conduct a refresher course on handling close-quarters hand-to-hand combat for the members of Odin Squadron.
I was excused from this due to my leg; but as commanding officer, I had to come down to supervise.
I had asked her why; after all, we were a semi-airborne unit, where most of our time in combat is likely to be spent on dragonback. The chances of us even coming face-to-face with an enemy without our dragons is quite minimal, actually. Her only answer was, "You never know, your dragon could be unexpectedly incapacitated by enemy fire, leaving you exposed in enemy territory. It can't hurt to be prepared."
I'm not so sure about that…
I cringe as one more soldier is thrown into the fortunately padded wall of the sparring ring, letting out a yell of pain and surprise. Members of the unit were lining up to enter that one ring; Astrid had issued a challenge to end off today's session – if anyone could hit her, she'd treat them to a round of drinks tonight at the bar. Of course, with most of them being the hot-blooded young males that they are, they were more than willing to accept. The ladies, of course, knew better than to trifle with her. It was a deceptively simple task, "Hit me, if you can."
Fools. I inwardly laugh at their futile attempts.
One by one, boys walk confidently into the ring, taking up their preferred stance, then attacking furiously with punches, kicks and attempted throws. I notice something; it was always them attacking first, Astrid never made the first move.
Interesting technique; allow the enemy to move first, let yourself analyse his attack pattern, before coming up with a counter-attack to exploit his weaknesses. I smile; as expected of the best soldier of her age. Keeping her cool, she teasingly taunts the rest of the challengers, "Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"
Watching her dole out the pain, I am strangely at calm. It is like watching a graceful dance, every move perfectly choreographed. Every time she takes down a soldier, I silently cheer for her. Swiftly switching between stances, styles and techniques, Astrid executes a flurry of rapid strikes aimed at various body parts. It surprised me that no bones had been broken so far. Like water, she flows gracefully, swiftly, flexibly, striking with great power and speed. Her ponytail whips behind her, following smoothly the movements of her head.
It amazes me, how many martial arts styles Astrid knows. In the past ten minutes, I've already seen more than fifteen combat styles; traditional boxing, Shaolin Wushu, Aikido, Brazilian capoeira, Taekwondo, Wing Chun, KGB-style combat sambo, even Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do; all these seemingly mastered into an art form by her. She was like a one-girl Mixed Martial Arts competition.
"You think you know kung fu? Show me!" She taunts the final three challengers, now circling her in the ring, taking on her all together, on her request. Amateurs. Three on one – they don't stand a chance.
It lasts for no longer than thirty seconds. Calmly dodging and parrying, she directs their clumsy strikes away, sometimes causing them to even hit each other. A few well-placed jabs, and one goes down. Tripping the second one over, and following up with an open-palm strike to his chin in mid-air, another is down for the count. Whipping around rapidly, she delivers a flurry of kicks to the final contender's chest, knocking the air out of him, before grabbing his arm, slamming him onto the padded floor, using her own body as a lever to multiply the force.
I grimace as the last one hits the ground. Ouch; merciless as always, isn't she?
"Alright! Show's over, pack up and get ready for lunch at 1200hrs. See you at the canteen, afternoon's off for you guys."
Noticing me, she walks over dressed in her sports bra, form-fitting gym shorts, and a pair of Nike wrestling shoes. I compliment her, "Good job out there; you're as impressive as ever."
"Thanks, but I honesly think we should conduct more of these; your men are way below par," She never catches a break, does she? Smiling to myself, I get up with her help; I still need a bit more time to get used to my new leg.
Walking alongside her out of the room, I strike up a bit more conversation.
"Hey, after watching you for so long, I think I want to learn kung fu."
"… But your leg?"
"Leg, shmeg. I'll join you once I get better."
"… We'll see. For now, just focus on recovering, okay?"
"Okay."
A/N - Was watching The Matrix when this came up.
P/S I've done some character clothes design sketches, and probably will continue to do so in future. Check out destinyfreedom . deviantart . com, so far I've only got a few of Lt. Astrid up and available. Warmest Regards, DisneyAnime91