A Thank You From My Family to Yours

Posted on Mon Sep 25th, 2023 @ 2:41am by Lieutenant Baeryn Whavi-Tonelly & Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece]

Mission: Season 6: Episode 3: Far From Home
Location: USS Elysium, Temporary Training Room
Timeline: MD 4
2279 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

While the away teams were still on mission, Lieutenant Baeryn Whavi thought it as a good time as any to extend her thanks for the crib/escape protection pod gifted to her family from Captain Richardson. The gesture had given her more peace of mind then any other piece of tech she had ever gotten her hands on. It also made sleeping at night with Ana not wrapped in her arms considerably easier.

Asking the computer for the Captain's whereabouts would have been the simple route, but Baeryn didn't want to abuse the system for her own needs, nor did she feel like answering any questions as to why she sought him out. So, she went on a good old fashioned hunt. She had tried his office with no luck but was quickly redirected to the training room. At first the thought of interrupting his training was out of the question but she figured, why the hell not? She missed the physical training, maybe seeing some would warrant her the energy to get back into the gym.

The doors to the training room opened for her and she stepped inside, not immediately seeing the Captain.

There were several DipSec crew in the room, each in a different form of physical training. Some were using weights, one was on a treadmill, and another was punishing a heavy bag. Then, the Operations Chief's eyes fell on the training mats, located at the rear of the compartment. There were four individuals currently on it. An Andorian male, Klingon female and a human female were surrounding a lone male. The man in the center was the target of Baeryn's search.


Finally spotting her target in the mass of sweat and heavy lifting, Baeryn paused to observe what at first looked like a three to one spar. That couldn’t be right, the odds were impossible. She considered she was misreading the scene, perhaps they were simply being instructed by the Captain.

For a few beats, the group didn't move, each seeming to ready to strike. Then, the Klingon advanced first, trying to grapple with Mattias. In a blur of movement, the Klingon went from being on her feet, to being tossed to the edge of the mat. Mattias had expertly reversed her grapple attempt, spun in place and threw her to the mat.

Baeryns brows shot up almost impressed. She guessed right apparently. The poor Klingon never stood a chance… Before the other two could start she headed closer to the training mat. She felt the urge for hand to hand. She flexed her right hand as if just being here was filling her with adrenaline and energy she needed to burn off. Her days were filled with reports, diagnosis and the gentleness of her infant daughter. She couldn’t remember the last time she ever exercised. David and the doctor had forbidden any training while she was pregnant. Now only her busy schedule got in the way.

The Andorian and other Human advanced together, trying to overwhelm the Marine officer. Several kicks and punches were thrown, but very few of them made any serious contact. The three were each highly trained in close quarters combat. However, Mattias, the senior warrior quickly showed why he was in charge. First, he dispatched the Andorian, then locked up the Human in a secure headlock, easily lifting her off of her feet, to prevent her from gaining any leverage.

Finally, she tapped out and Mattias set her feet back down on the mat, releasing his hold on her. "Great work, everyone. D'anlus, work on your balance. I know your antenna are sensitive, so you need to strengthen other areas so you can better protect them." He then gave a few pointers to his other two officers, before releasing all three to go get cleaned up and rest until their shifts began.

Then, turning, his eyes landed on Baeryn. While the gaze was a friendly one, they were definitely the eyes of someone who had seem more than their fair share of combat and pain. "Lieutenant," he said with a soft grin. "What brings you down here?"

Baeryn returned the captain's grin with one of her own. She locked her hands behind the small of her back, her posture straight and professional. “Captain.” She simply nodded before answering his question, “I wanted to extend my gratitude for the crib. And assure you it’s been put to good use.” She let off a soft chuckle, knowing that if Ana wasn’t in her or David’s arms, she was safely tucked away in the special crib that the Captain had generously replicated for them.

Mattias grinned and nodded. "Don't mention it. As soon as I heard that you and David had had a child, I wanted to do something to both help and give you some peace of mind. Especially in our current situation." He frowned slightly at that.

Shaking his head of the negative thoughts, he grinned again. "And how is your little one? What's her name?" As a father himself, he felt excitement when it came to children.

Baeryn's smile lit up, "Samanthanna, but we call her Ana for short. She's growing steadily. Very alert, that little one." The hybrid felt a bit of sadness at being away from her currently, but knew she was more then well cared for at the moment. "How are the twins?" As she asked, she looked around to the others in the training room warming up and sparring.

"That's a beautiful name," Mattias replied with a warm, fatherly smile. "Of course, if she's like David any, I imagine you probably haven't been getting much sleep lately?" His smile warmed considerably as he then replied to Baeryn's question. "Elizabeth and William are doing great. They're about to turn one in fact."

"Those two are going to be talking in no time!" Baeryn chuckled softly, "Ana does not have the sleep schedule I was told an infant would, but the doctors say she's fine and not to worry too much. Very observant that little one." The Lieutenant looked around once more before bringing her attention back to the Captain. "Say, it's been awhile since I've been in the sparring ring..." She let her suggestion trail off in hopes she wasn't taking up to much of the Captain's time by suggesting a short training session.

Mattias smiled as he listened Whavi talk about her daughter. "No, I imagine she doesn't, being as she is half El Aurian." Then, when she hinted at a spar session, he nodded and smiled softly. "Well then, it's a good thing that I have some time available." He indicated the space on the training mat in front of him.

Baeryn didn’t hesitate the remove her jacket, leaving her in her uniform pants and a simple black tank top, allowing her arms to move around more easily. Tossing her jacket on a nearby bench, she started rotating her shoulders and neck as she made her way to the suggested spot on the mat. She bent her knees slightly readying herself into a fighting stance. “Don’t do me any favors and go easy on me, Captain.” She smirked slightly, thrilled by the adrenaline she was feeling.

Mattias grinned slightly as he tipped his head towards the Ips Chief. "So long as you stop referring to me by my rank. Your mate is one of my closest friends, Baeryn. While we are doing something like this, we can be informal. You can call my by my name."

Baeryn shrugged with smirk, "Have it your way Tay." She hoped the more than informal nickname would throw him off as she spun for a back kick aimed for his chest.

Mattias was indeed caught unawares by the new nickname. Although, due to his training and experience, the mental unbalance only lasted a fraction of a second. Unfortunately, it was a fraction too much. While he managed to block most of the strength behind the kick, he was still moved back a few steps.

Grinning a lopsided grin, he quickly got back into it. "Alright, Barry, you wanna play? Let's play!" He then advanced suddenly, feigning an attack to Baeryn's right. When she went for the block, he spun under her left arm, wrapped his arm around her upper chest, put his other hand against the spot between her shoulder blades, lifted her up off her feet, then slammed her down onto the mat on her back.

Baeryn hit the mat with a heavy grunt. She gave herself no time to dwell on the pain as she twisted her body and laced her legs with the still standing Captain. It took all her strength but she buckled his knees with her thighs bringing him down to the mat. The second he fell she rolled away into a crotched position ready for his attack. Baeryn knew her opponent could not be beat by strength, she had to be cunning, fast. She grinned as she waited, enjoying the adrenaline the spar was giving her.

Surprised again by her skill, Mattias realized that Baeryn was not to be underestimated. In one fluid move, he started to rollbackwards, then snapped his legs forward, while pushing off the mat with his hands by his head. He landed expertly on his feet and started to change his fighting stance to ready himself for the next attack. "I see the Old Man has been giving you some pointers, Barry!" He chuckled softly. '"Shall we see just how much you've learned?"

Swaying towards her, he slipped into Capoeira, finally brnding over to balance his weight on his right hand, as he shot out with a strong double kick to her midsection, before flupping away out of her reach.

Baeryn attempted to block his kick with her forearm but the momentum caused her to take a few steps back. She kept her knees bent and stayed light on her feet as she advanced, taking multiple swings that the Captain blocked. She spun left throwing a back hand punch but quickly spun right and landed a hit to his lower right side. She ducked, anticipating his counter punch and rolled forward right, herself behind him. "He's taught me a few things." She smirked as she waited for him to turn and face her. She took a boxers stance with both fists in front of her face.

To say he was impressed would be putting it mildly. Mattias quickly recovered from Baeryn's expertly placed attack and spun to face her. Seeing her new ready stance, he followed suit, though going with Muay Thai instead of traditional boxing. "Yeah, well. I learned a few things from him myself. He then started to circle the young woman, sweat dripping from his body as they continued to spar. Had she been Phee, he would have changed things to a more intimate struggle by now.

Baeryn's eyes narrowed as she used her other senses to determine Mattias's position. She could hear his feet softly hit the mat as he circled her. She closed her eyes briefly, "He'd be so proud." Her remark was a classic sassy statement as she focused on his movement. She didn't know him well enough to be able to determine when he would strike, so she figured she wouldn't leave it to chance. Instead she turned, opening her eyes and let a one two punch lose on the Captain.

The strength behind her punches were already wearing her down. She could feel the sweat gathering around her hairline and the center of her back. Lowering her impact she heightened her speed.

Mattias could feel that Baeryn was starting to loose her stamina. He decided to see just how well-trained she might be. Blocking her punches, he moved in closer, till he had her wrapped up in a very close embrace. He could easily smell her intoxicating perfume as it mixed with both her sweat and pheromones. He knew he had to end the match now, before his own reserves were depleted. In a perfect Aikido move, he spun to his right, flipping her over his hip, and body slammed her back onto the mat, his strong hands pinning hers above her head as he laid across her chest on his right side. "Do you yield?" He asked as he fought to catch his breath.

Baeryn was out of breath, the final fall to the mat had knocked the wind out of her. She growled knowing she was locked down and unable to maneuver her way out of this one. She nodded fiercely, "For now." The exercise had ignited other feelings she could feel simmering low in her belly. When the Capitan released her she leaned up on her forearms still catching her breath.

"Good to know I haven't fallen that far behind." She smiled feeling much better about herself, seeing how her take down hadn't been a piece of cake for the Captain. "Thank you. Truly."

Mattias gave Baeryn a kind smile ashe nodded and offered his hand to help Baeryn stand. "You're welcome. And thank you, for giving me an enjoyable workout session." He suddenly had a very strong desire to find his wife and burn some more energy out.

Baeryn rose to her feet, laughing. This was surely a different outcome then what she had expected.

Mattias bowed once to Baeryn once she was standing. "If you're ever looking for a sparring partner, I'd be glad to stand in."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." with quick bow she smiled and turned, grabbing her jacket as she headed towards the exit still trying to catch her breath.