The First Rule of Fight Club
Posted on Thursday 16 May 2019 @ 18:35 by
1,202 words; about a 6 minute read
Stephanie stepped onto the turbolift on the bridge and growled "Deck Nine".
As the Turbolift sped her away , she began to pace in the car like a caged animal. "Turbolift halt. Redirect t' Deck Four." When the lift stopped she made a bee-line to Holodeck 3. "Computer, run program O'Hara Bravo Oscar X-Ray."
"Program Running," Answered the monotone voice of the computer. "Enter when ready."
Stephanie stepped in to a Boxing gym with all the sights and smells that accompanied it. Along one wall, Heavy bags hung from the ceiling and a row of speed bags along another. But front and center was the ring. An opponent, a particularly unattractive Naussican, stood stock still about three feet from the center of the ring.
Stephanie ducked under the bottom rope and walked over to regard her opponent. "Tha's na what I'm feelin' t'day. Replace physical parameters only with those from file SC-XXXX-XXX-XX." The opponent faded and was replaced by an image of Councilor Miller in her Starfleet uniform. "Much better." She stripped off her Gold undershirt, then her shoes, socks and pants. When all the items of clothing had been tossed out of the ring and Stephanie stood barefoot in her bra and underwear, she held her arms in front of her , bent up at the elbow ."Gloves," Boxing glove appeared on her fists and she pounded them together. "Computer, Level 1. Fight."
The holographic Caroline walked to her corner, As did O'Hara, who found a trainer there to check her gloves and jam a mouth guard between her teeth. They waited for the bell. It. rang.
The fight didn't last long. Stephanie would feint left and when the hologram was out of position, she hit it with a right cross. Easy.... She repeated the exercise at levels 2 and 3 with similar result, though it was a bit harder to subdue the opponent each time. She kicked the unconscious form. "C'mon, ya fekin' bitch! Izzat all ya got?!" She kicked it again, then spat her mouth guard out on it. As she looked at the downed hologram, the realization dawned on her that this didn't feel nearly as cathartic as she had hoped it would.
When she called for level four, the Naussican reappeared. "Computer, Why was th' opponent restored t' original parameters?"
"At and above level four, opponent will use physical size to it's advantage. Modified avatar is incompatible."
Stephanie shrugged. It was just as well. It wasn't really making her feel any better. Why na, though?, she wondered. "Computer, restore t' Level 1, previous appearance parameters." The Naussican faded out of existence and was replaced once again with the image of Caroline. She stood toe to toe with the faux Councilor and stared into the unseeing eyes and vacant expression of a holographic character in standby mode. "Th' only thing I've wanted t' do t' you since th' second I laid eyes on ya was t' punch ya in th' feckin' gob. I just did it three times, an' I don' feel even a little bit better." She scratched her chin and thought on it for a moment. "Ye're na real. Ye're hollow. Ye're th' same Naussican I've fought in this program a thousand times, only now yer wearin' a Miller suit. Computer, use source file t' compile a personality matrix for th' opponent."
"Warning: Personality Matrix may have less than 60% accuracy."
"Compile an' install. Leave th' personality parameters open an' file under O'Hara Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, keyed t' personal access only. I'll change 'em as I go."
The hologram blinked as she turned her head slowly and took in her surroundings. She crossed her arms over her stomach and looked at the Engineer. "You can't be serious, O'Hara," it said in a rather imperious tone. "You want me to engage in your barbaric coping mechanism? This isn't healthy and I want you to stop it."
"Make her 20% bossier, 15% more condescendin', 30% more judgmental, and remove aversion t' physical violence. Recompile, save an' continue."
It was a moment before the hologram blinked again and sneered at O'Hara. "Why must you always parade about in your underwear, Lieutenant? Do you not not know any sort of decency?"
"Na, yer kind I don', bitch!" Stephanie growled. "I'm proud o' this body an' if I choose t' display it, it's m' own business an' none o' yers.!" She jabbed the hologram in the stomach. This was more like it. Now she had something to rail against. "Ya can' force yer version o' me. Yer morality, yer values, yer principles are NEVER gonna be mine! Stop tryin' t' make 'em!"
"You're Disgusting, O'Hara," the hologram said as it took a feeble swing at her and missed as Stephanie dodged out of the way. "You'll never be like me. You'll never be one of us. You're not Starfleet material. You're worthless. You can't follow orders, you can't treat me with respect.... You can't even say 'Yes Sir' to me." She let another couple punches fly, which O'Hara blocked easily.
"Respect is earned. Ya wan' it, show me ya deserve it. All ye've done since ya got here was shite on me every chance ya get and hold th' brass ring just a little bit further out of reach each time ya do." She let lose a one-two combo with a left jab to the solar plexus followed by a right cross. "Jesus Harold Christ onna whole wheat cracker! Wha' th' bloody feck d' ya wan' fr'm me, Woman?!"
The Caroline hologram was dazed for a moment as she looked daggers at Stephanie. "I want you to obey! I want you to do as you're told!"
"Yer jus' like m' wagon o' a mother! Do as I say, na as I do. Computer, Play music from archive. 'Killin' in th' Name of...'," Stephanie barked. Obediently the room was filled with the music, and the lyrics:
"Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me...."
Stephanie began the assault again, form and technique going out the window. She swung wildly at the Hologram, putting everything she had behind the punches in terms of strength and emotion. Three missed wide, but the fourth caught the hologram right in the nose... That was when the beatdown began in earnest as Stephanie used the opening to pummel the hologram. When she was down on the mat, O'Hara didn't stop. She straddled the hologram, using her knees to pin the arms and punched the fake Miller over and over and over until she just ran out of gas as Rage Against the Machine continued to espouse non-compliance...
All her energy spent, she rolled off the hologram and on to her back laying there panting on the mat. "That was actually more therapeutic than anythin' th' real one couldda done f'r me..." She mused breathlessly as she rolled out of the ring and began dressing herself...
LTjg Stephanie O'Hara
Chief Engineer
USS Merlin
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