The Best Defense

[Cassie Granger 0]

The Best Defense

Cale-Granger Joint Log

Captain Calestorm entered the main gym, tying her regulation length silvering blond hair up in a ponytail as she walked. She had finally gotten some sleep, putting the travel time to Neural to good use, and felt refreshed and ready for whatever awaited the crew on their unsanctioned mission.

For right now though, she was more interested in some one on one self defense time with Warrant Officer Cassidy Granger. The enlisted SPECOPS officer had offered to show the captain a thing or three regarding some of the more refined defenses, and Calestorm had been open to the exchange. Cale wore a charcoal colored tee shirt emblazoned with the crest of the 'Creek's 214 Black Sheep aero group on the front, and a pair of black lounge pants. Sneakers completed the look.

At the later afternoon hour, the deck had a few crewmembers and officers working out or sparring with one another, but the volume wasn't near as many as it usually was in the early morning and early evenings. Enlisted, commissioned and non commissioned officers worked out alongside one another.

The captain spotted Warrant Officer Granger, already in the process of squaring away a section of sparring mat. Calestorm hid a gentle smile: Marines, first in and last out, indeed.

Crash wasn't cocky, exactly, but she felt pretty confident that she would be able to handle whatever Granger had in mind for the training session. She'd been a lightweight boxer in her academy days, competed on the cadet team, and had kept up the training with a secondary concentration in kickboxing over the years.

Noticing the captain striding towards her, Sunny lay the last series of mats, kicking them into place with one bare foot. As she adjusted the straps of a black form-fitting jump suit, she turned to meet Calestorm. "Afternoon, ma'am. Feeling confident?" She gave a light-hearted grin.

"Aye, I'll admit a do feel a bit confident." Crash's answer was honest. She as well removed her sneakers, placing them off to the side of the mat area.

"Confident is good, ma'am. Cautious is better." Signaling eyes-on-me, Cass continued in a slightly more serious but still casual vein. "Without looking around, ma'am... how many are in the gym right now?"

"At least a dozen, mixed ranks."

"And how many are directly behind you?"

Calestorm quirked an eyebrow in some amusement. "Uh oh. I spotted three personnel, two male, one female. Have to admit I'm not just sure though."

"Focus, Captain." Cass continued, locking her eyes on Calestorm's, her tone a bit more commanding. "How many are behind you? What genders? How close? How do you know? Take your time."

After years of service, it was easy to fall into the automatic verbal report, as if Granger were a drill instructor and Calestorm a trainee....which she was, at this moment. She kept her attention on the Marine and her expression went a bit more serious.

"Three personnel. One female, two male. The males are about fifteen feet behind, sparring match. Female is twenty to twenty five feet, solo workout on the treadmills."

Cass relaxed. "Check your accuracy," she said, motioning for the captain to look. Calestorm had made a good assessment, which was encouraging. At least they weren't starting at square one, but Cassie didn't exactly expect to.

Cale half turned and gave the immediate area behind her the once over; she had been mostly accurate, though had missed at least one person in the initial assessment. She nodded once, to herself, and then turned her attention back to Sundance.

"Seems I could use a bit of a refresher on assessment tactics." Her tone held no rancor.

"We all need refreshers, ma'am. This is good for me as well. And the best part? I get to do it with the captain." She flashed an impish grin to take any awkwardness out of the moment. After a quick check of those close by, Cass dropped her volume to confidential.

"Moving on, ma'am. As soon as Stone entered your quarters you knew something was wrong. You've probably kicked yourself too much already about coming around your desk, so we'll forget that and cut to the chase. Approach me the way he approached you." Cass backed off and took a confrontational stance.

The captain nodded, and did as instructed, walking a couple of steps towards Granger and stopping. "He did not invade my personal space; he stopped just shy of doing so, letting me come to him...which I did." Cale trailed off, and a bit of chagrin flitted across her features.

"...short version is I rushed him. Once I surmised his true intentions, I reacted. Used a data slate, flung it at him for a distraction while I went for him."

Cass nodded. "First, relax. Tension slows you down. Then watch your attacker. Check out his method. Let him come to you; let him make the first move." Cass waved a come-on as she took an easy stance. Within seconds of Calestorm closing in, Cass had the captain on her knees.

A quick side-step had brought her 'round behind, grabbing the back of the captain's right hand on the way, her thumb pressing into the median nerve on the back of the hand just to the right of the thumb. A quick tug and twist brought the arm straight behind her back and above her head. Pushing her left fist into the captains' right shoulder, Cassie dug in her thumb and bent the captain's hand forward, just to the point of pain. Having drawn the attention of the two officers sparring behind them, bringing the captain to a faint just didn't seem appropriate.

Cale didn't have much time to react; one second she'd been upright, the next she was effectively hog tied for lack of a better term. The older woman automatically struggled, attempting to break away in reaction and grunted a little with the sudden onset of pain from the pressure point. It only left her gasping.

Cassie released the hold quickly and waited for the captain to recover before continuing. "That particular move, when executed correctly, will disable an attacker twice your size, Captain," she said quietly. "There are several pressure points on the human body that can be used effectively in a similar manner for self defense, with little effort on your part. When you're ready, I can show you the points and moves. Then you can try them out. On me," she added, clear payback opportunity in her expression.

Once the quick moment of pain had passed, the captains expression could best be described as a 'wow, that was pretty cool' mixed in with some embarrassment. "I think Grasshopper has much to learn."

****

 

A couple hours later, winded and freely sweating, the captain stood with hands on hips and chuckled openly. "Well damn Gunner, that was a hell of a wake up call." She extended a hand to shake with her Marine trainer.

Cass wasn't exactly dry as she received the captain's firm shake. Damn, that girl's got a grip. Calestorm had given her a nasty press a few minutes before; the bruise was just now emerging on her forearm - an expected consequence of the game. "Glad I got to put 'that type of assistance' to good use, Captain. Hope we can do it again. Give me a chance to redeem myself?" She gave her arm a gentle rub.

The captain nodded firmly, her grin welcoming. "You got it Gunner."