Lions, Lambs and the Lost

Posted on Sun Feb 23rd, 2020 @ 9:41pm by Post Captain Anandra Delair & Lieutenant JG Rachael "Ripcord" Yamaguchi-Cullen & Fleet Captain Torilla Yamaguchi
Edited on on Sun Feb 23rd, 2020 @ 9:41pm

Mission: Mission 5: Skyfall
Location: Gym - Starbase 400
Timeline: 1700Hrs - January 4th, 2389

Lt Commander Torilla Yamaguchi smiled as she wore exercise togs, a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, as well as a headband completed the picture, she looked at her opponent across the large training matt as she held a staff in her right hand as she stood ready, across the matt stood her opponent, wearing similar attire and geared with identical weapons was a smaller and younger version of herself, except with lighter skin.

"So... Rachael... I can almost hear you thinking."

"Come on Mom, you're getting sloppy if you're throwing insults at me," Rachael answered with a soft chuckle as the child raised her left hand and beckoned her opponent to attack.

Torilla wasted no time with the challenge as she moved across the matt to proceed with the attack and Rachael moved as Torilla swing her weapon, missing completely as the child swings her weapon, not at her mother but instead at mothers' staff to disarm her.

Torilla smiled as she admired her daughter's form, she also noted that Rachael was getting less and less distracted as time went by, as she countered every move that Rachael made with a move of her own.

To the unknowing, the fight looked very much mother and daughter wanted to beat the living tar out of each other but this was a simple bout of mixed martial arts, the purpose was only to disarm their opponent or last two minutes, won. Torilla still won most times these days but Rachael was not to be looked down on.

Rachael made up for her smaller stature with powerful strikes which she could not sustain and they both knew it but then the alarm went as Torilla and Rachael stopped, the both returned to their sides of the matt as both mother and daughter bowed then saluted each other.

"You fought well Rachael, I'm having a harder and harder time keeping up... You've learned my routine."

Rachael chuckled softly. "You do telegraph your moves and you are rather obvious.." she responded evenly, as she said that, the doors opened and in walked another woman.

Torilla turned her eyes to the new visitor as she recognized Lieutenant Anandra Delair. She had yet to meet her but had heard about her, mostly from Rachael who watched the older woman. "Lieutenant..." Torilla greeted the newcomer.

"Commander." Anandra greeted with a warm smile, her gaze drifting around the room and settling back on Torilla and her young, familiar companion.

"Mmm... Say, Mom, didn't Master Sargent Duvall ask us that the last time someone walked in here?"

Torilla looked at her daughter as she smiled. "Indeed... about child abuse..."

Rachael looked at the other woman whom she was just meeting for the first time. "Is it child abuse if I can hit back with weapons?" she looked at her mother as she dropped her staff, the move was deliberate.

Torilla smiled as she watched Rachael call the staff back into her hand using her abilities. "Impressive... Your control is improving..."

Anandra watched the situation with a measure of astonishment. "That is impressive indeed." She commented as she shifted her training back upon her shoulder. "I've never seen you do that before!" She said in an encouraging tone to Rachael. She then realized that she never knew Torilla had children. "I've seen her training here several times, she is quite the little fighter. Is she your only one?" She asked, gazing curiously at Torilla.

Rachael smiled "Thank you, you are too kind. "

Torilla added a moment later. "Rachael here is my youngest of three, her elder siblings are experts of their craft...Because their father and I both believe that it is important for our children to be able to protect themselves from those would harm them," she explained.

Rachael nodded, "Like what happened to Beth last year... her boyfriend wanted something she wasn't prepared to give him as they were still in the polite stage, needless to say, she rearranged his face for him."

Torilla glanced at her daughter and in that instant, they looked very much alike.

Anandra couldn't help but laugh a little at Rachael's candid words, her gaze shifting between Torilla and her daughter, spotting instantly the uncanny resemblance.

Torilla shook her head. "Minus the black eye he gave her when he smacked her across the face then he jumped on her but after that, she quite literally beat him within an inch of his life."

Rachael came over to where the two women were chatting. "I can only imagine what Dad would have done, had he been on Earth at the time."

Torilla paused. "Mmm... good point."

"You sound a lot like I did when I was very young," she commented to Rachael. "I am happy to hear your ..sister? Beth was able to defend herself. Just like you surely can." Anandra said, then turning her attention to Rachael's mother. "The two of you train together - I love to see that. You must have a wonderful relationship."

Rachael and Torilla shared a look. "Rachael here is also my student as well as my daughter." as she gently placed a hand on Rachael's shoulder. "She is my finest."

Rachael smiled. "One thing to note... Halanian's mature extremely quickly in regards to their teen years... I will be fully grown in two years rather than the five for a human woman." she cast a sidelong glance at her mother who added. "but I'm already getting grey hairs.."

"I can see you're proud of her." She said, drawing on observations as well as El-Aurian instincts. Anandra laughed gently at the comment about grey hairs. "That's fascinating stuff, Rachael. I must admit," she spoke in an apologetic tone to both of them. "I do not know a lot about Halanian's. But I am willing to learn all that you're willing to share."

Torilla and Rachael shared a look as Torilla nodded her head. "The Halanian people are psionically capable unlike humans who are at present don't have psionic abilities. We're telepathic and to a lesser degree, we have telekinetic abilities too."

Rachael grinned. "ordering from the replicator and not leaving the sofa can be
an advantage at times..."

Anandra let out a laugh. "I imagine it could be convenient indeed. Those are remarkable abilities, how fascinating - from an outsider's standpoint, anyway. We El-Aurians may have a couple of tricks up our sleeves, but nothing quite like that."

Rachael smiled at the other woman. "For me it's exhausting... but Mom makes it look easy."

Torilla smiled as she chuckled softly. "So...Anandra, you feel like sparring?" she inquired.

Rachael raised an eyebrow. "This should be educational."

Anandra only had to consider the question for a split second, before a grin and a nod would indicate her response. "I'd love a few rounds."

Rachael smiled as she approached the older woman, she then presented her with her Bo but she did so in a rather formal manner, then she bowed to Anandra.

Torilla meanwhile smiled as she watched her youngest, yes indeed Rachael would be a master of this craft when the time came, Rachael would not need to make Starfleet a career if she did not wish to do so.

Anandra took the Bo as offered and respectfully nodded a thank you to Rachael.

Torilla nodded as she formally bowed to the other woman. "megvédenij magnát" it was in her native tongue as the translator kicked in. "Defend
yourself."

"With honor," Anandra responded in the spirit of her Master who had taught her to always defend herself honorably. She bowed reverently to Torilla and took her opening stance, prepared to defend against the much larger (and no doubt stronger) woman's strikes.

Torilla smiled as she bowed her head, then she seemed to change from a nice person into something truly evil, it wasn't often Rachael got to see this side of her mother's abilities as she moved in.

Torilla came in with an overhead sweeping strike, that had it hit would have knocked someone to the ground at best, caved someone's skull in at worst, her blow was deflected and her second strike nearly struck home as she missed.

Rachael smiled, Anandra was faster then she had assumed as she watched her mother go after her, using a derivative of her normal style, something she called Form Five or the Way of the Cho-Dragon, it emphasized
power and strength but it sacrificed maneuverability and movement for strength.

Torilla smiled darkly. "Come on dear... Impress me.."

Anandra lunged forward, swinging the bo in a downward cut that would have broke Torilla's collarbone if she hadn't fended it off. Again she tried at a different angle, this time going for the side of the head, finding yet again that her effort was blocked. Her third effort came down low, as Anandra attempted a sweep with the staff, but Torilla once again seemed to anticipate her movements as she gracefully hopped to avoid the hit. As Torilla made to strike back, Anandra took a step backward, then backflipped further, readying herself in a defensive stance with the bo held at an angle in front of her. Torilla was more advanced in the martial arts. Anandra grinned, enjoying the challenge.

Torilla returned the grin with one of her own. "Mmm... not bad at all.." she commented as she prepared. "You are better trained than many on base." and with that, she went for the other woman with a flurry of strikes, sweeps, and loops.

"I do try," Anandra responded with a friendly smile. She took Torilla's words as high praise because she felt herself having to struggle just to keep up. For each strike that Anandra had to block, she lodged another toward her counterpart, and after flurry upon flurry back and forth betwixt the two of them, she began to feel herself tiring slightly. But she pressed on, her resolve strengthened by the thrill of such a challenging opponent.

Torilla smiled at the other woman. "You shouldn't let your right arm drop like that..." she commented. "I can tell you're tiring. It's natural.." she commented as she again moved in as she began swinging her bo again, more loops, twirls, and strikes.

Anandra felt an odd sense of embarrassment when Torilla noted her tiring, though it only pushed her to try harder as the next flurry of strikes came her way. She fought against them, returning strikes as quickly as they were given and jumping, looping, whirling away and then forward again as she worked to avoid and land strikes; all the while musing on the fact that if this were anything more than friendly sparring she would easily be overcome by this opponent.

Torilla smiled as she watched the other woman's fighting technique as she fought, she saw an opening as she smacked Anandra's bo from her hands, she then stopped as she bowed to the smaller woman. "You fight well. " she smiled. "Most don't survive that long against me..." she said. "You have been well trained in the past."

Just when Anandra felt as if she had a fighting chance, she let her guard down and the Bo fell with a clatter onto the floor. "Ha!" She exhaled heavily, a big grin spread on her face as she straightened her posture and faced her opponent with a respectful bow. "Thank you, I take immense pride in your compliment, you are one hell of an opponent!" She said, beaming, though slightly short of breath. It felt great to have a good, challenging match. "I trained heavily while I was in the academy, and after shipping out I've written a few holodeck programs to keep me sharp. I think I may need to make some edits, rid myself of a few Klingons and replace them with Halanians." She said, hoping it would be taken as complimentary as it was intended.

Rachael watched she was impressed.

Torilla chuckled softly as she gently clasped her hand onto the smaller woman's shoulder. "You... are most kind... but... leave your program the
way it is, or... make me a copy and I will adjust it with my training regimen
and see how you handle that."

"You know, I love that idea, let's do that. I'll send a copy to your message inbox, you can get it back to me whenever you have the time."

"My people... are nothing like me... they are facing their destruction." she looked at Rachael who nodded and withdrew as Torilla turned back to Anandra. "Anandra, I was exiled from my home... for mating with an offender... or offworlder, Rachael's father... its how Elizabeth came along," she added. "I deal with a lot of things that make me angry."

"I am truly sorry to hear that. And I can relate ..in away. As I am sure you know, my homeworld, most of the El-Aurians, were destroyed by the Borg. I have a lot of anger myself, but I have learned over the years how to cope with it and channel it healthily." She looked at Rachael, then back at her mother. "I can see you've got a pretty good handle on that yourself."

Torilla nodded. "I know about your homeworld and your people, I was only exiled... my species is doomed... Basically to die slowly." she sighed. "I refused to take a Halanian male and instead chose Jake, my husband..." she commented as Rachael returned.

"Am I interrupting?" the preteen asked.

"Nope. Your timing is good... as always." Torilla smiled at her daughter, at that moment mother and daughter looked alike.

Anandra smiled warmly, noting the distinct resemblance between the two. "It sounds like you have had a truly interesting life, Torilla," she noted, hoping it didn't come off as uncaring if she chose not to comment further on the information just given. She had thoughts and questions of course but did not want to discuss any sensitive subjects in front of Torilla's daughter after the woman had just excused her from that part of the discussion. "Well!" she began, looking at one and then the other. "It has truly been a pleasure, ladies, but I really should return to my duties now. Perhaps we can do this another time, though?"

Rachael smiled at Anandra. "Indeed Anandra. It was good meeting you again." as she bowed to Anandra in the formal style known for Halanian's to do to friends and family.

Torilla waited a moment. "You and I will need to talk later... may I schedule a couple of appointments, please and thanks?" she inquired.

Anandra returned Rachael's bow in the manner she was taught by her Sifu and spiritual guide. "Of course, Torilla. I'll set up some appointments and if the dates or times don't work you can just contact me via my inbox. I'll look forward to seeing you." She smiled warmly at both of them, then gathered up her things and left the gym.

Torilla smiled. "Sounds good." and with that, she bowed as mother and daughter resumed their training as Anandra departed the gym.