"Counseling on the Mat"

Posted on 13 May 2026 @ 2:35pm by Lieutenant Ryan Collingway & Lieutenant Kristin Emerson PhD, Counselor
Edited on on 13 May 2026 @ 2:45pm

1,796 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Starfall Carnival
Location: Holodeck 2 :: Sparrow Fight Club

///Holodeck 2 :: Sparrow Fight Club /////

After a few rounds of sparring with Keagan, Ryan took a quick break. Keagan had gotten in a few square hits, but nothing he couldn't walk off. As he took a breather, he watched Doctor Emerson with her sparring partner. It was more than a little unusual to see his own counsellor also combating in the ring. Curiosity prompted him to observe her for a moment to see how she was doing.

Kris Emerson was actually holding her own very well against a considerable larger spar partner, Inga Sorenson, a woman from McKinney’s Security team. She had asked this particular woman to be her partner because she knew she wanted someone who was already well trained.

Kris had spent numerous years training for sparring competitions. She was quick, light and used her slender frame to her advantage. Her father had been an ambassador on Andoria and Kris had trained from a young age, practicing the Chako Thaani forms of martial arts. Continued study of other forms after leaving Andoria had honed her skills. But this no-safeties arrangement made it considerable levels up from her usual practice.
Kris circled left, light on the balls of her feet, eyes fixed on Inga’s shoulders instead of her hands, watching for her balance, the changes in weight indicating her successive options. Inga was only a few inches taller, broader through the chest and arms, but she carried her weight like a tank—steady, deliberate, impossible to bluff.

Inga stepped in with a quick jab-cross combination.

Kris slipped the jab, but the cross clipped her shoulder hard enough to spin her half a step sideways.

“Too slow,” Inga said.

Kris answered with a low kick to the outside of Inga’s thigh. The smack echoed through the gym.

Inga barely flinched. She caught Kris’s next punch on her forearm and shoved forward, forcing Kris backward across the mat. Kris ducked just before a hook tore through the space where her head had been.

Kris drove a sharp elbow into Inga’s ribs.

Inga grunted and trapped Kris’s wrist instantly, trying to twist her into a throw.

Kris dropped her weight before the throw could settle, pivoted underneath Inga’s arm, and hammered a palm strike into her chin. Inga staggered back one step—only one—but it was enough.

Both women reset.

Kris bounced lightly, breathing faster now. Inga rolled one shoulder, expression tightening with irritation.

Neither smiled anymore.

Sweat darkened the collar of Inga’s training shirt now, her breathing deeper than before. She still stood solidly in the center of the mat, but the explosive sharpness in her movements had started to dull around the edges.

Kris noticed.

Inga lunged with another heavy straight punch, but this time Kris slipped outside it easily.

She tapped a quick jab into Inga’s face, followed by a snapping kick to the ribs, then retreated before Inga could answer.

“Stand still,” Inga growled.

Kris only circled faster.

Inga pressed forward again, trying to corner her near the edge of the mat. Kris let her get close, then spun out at the last second, clipping Inga with a short hook on the way past. Inga turned too slowly to catch her.

“Now who’s too slow,” quipped Kris, without any humor in her expression. She knew dominance could turn in a fraction of an unguarded second.

A flicker of frustration crossed Inga’s face.

Kris was breathing hard too, but hers stayed controlled—steady inhales, steady exhales. Years of endurance training were beginning to matter. Every missed swing from Inga cost energy. Every second Kris kept moving tilted the fight a little further her direction.

Inga charged again, impatient now.

Kris ducked under a wild hook, planted a shoulder into Inga’s chest, and drove her back two stumbling steps.

For the first time since the fight began, Inga looked surprised.

Inga came forward hard, abandoning patience completely now. Kris moved to slip around her again—

—and caught an unexpected backfist across the temple.

The impact burst white across her vision.

Kris hit the mat shoulder-first, momentum carrying her into an instinctive tuck and roll before Inga could crash down on top of her. She felt Inga’s hand graze her back, just missing the hold.

Kris came out of the roll already rising.

Inga was still overextended from the failed grab, weight pitched too far forward.

Kris drove a straight punch clean into Inga’s sternum.

The strike landed with a solid thud that stopped Inga cold. Air rushed sharply out of her lungs as she staggered backward, one hand lifting reflexively toward her chest.

For a split second both women looked ready to continue.

Then Inga held up a hand.

“Enough.”

Kris stayed in stance another heartbeat before lowering her guard carefully. Her temple throbbed where the backfist had connected.

Inga took another breath, recovering, then nodded once. “Let’s review what worked here.”

The tension drained between them almost immediately. Kris wiped sweat from her face while Inga paced once across the mat, already shifting mentally from fighter to instructor.

“You escaped the ground transition fast,” Inga said. “That saved you. If I’d secured your shoulders for even two seconds, you’d have been done.”

Kris rubbed the back of her neck. “You got lucky with the backfist.”

“I did,” Inga admitted without hesitation. “But you assumed I was throwing another hook. That’s still a mistake.”

Kris smirked slightly despite herself. “Fair enough.”

“Altogether, a good fight. Next time I won’t hold back as much.” Inga gave her a wink and held out her hand, which Kris took - an exchange of respect - and trust.

“Thanks for the feedback, too.” added Kris, to which Inga nodded and turned, seeking water.

Ryan watched the two fight, not commenting during it but impressed with both of their skill. Inga was right - Kris had been lucky with that escape. When it was finished, he nodded at her and offered her some water from the holographic cooler. "New way of counselling?" He asked jokingly.

“Counseling me!” she smiled. “Thanks.” She accepted the water and took a few sips, still calming her breath. “How’d you do? I didn’t get to watch. Glad you’re here, by the way. Good choice.”

Ryan touched his still-hurting ribs, but he smiled. "It went better than I thought. McKinney's crew can be a little intimating. It was easier once I got over that. I'm glad to see you here too, and a bit surprised. I didn't think anyone from medical would be interested in extra sparring.”

Kris chuckled. “Sparring with words for someone else’s benefit vs sparring with my body for my own benefit? I guess that makes a little difference. This is a lot more intense sparring than I’m used to. I do it for practice. The last thing she said to me was I won’t hold back next time.” Kris winced, making a bit of an awkward face.

"Eh, I think she was just trying to get in your head a little bit. Maybe psych you up for the next encounter you two have.”

“I did see Dr Amberlyn here and she's not dressed in scrubs. Wonder how that went,” said Kris.

"Not sure about Doctor Amberlyn, though I think most of us would prefer not to tick off our Chief Medical Officer." Ryan knew McKinney said to leave the ranks at the door, but there was always the fact that they had to go back through that door at some point. "I wonder what the Captain thinks of all of this," he added.

“Tacit approval?” ventured Kris. “Maybe all the senior staff will get called on the carpet for getting involved. But I think McKinney’s spot on. With the kinds of things this ship has already endured, we need an outlet, AND we need the confidence, not only in those around us, but individually in ourselves. Seeing how your crewmates react on the mat is a confidence builder in their ability to act under pressure, and that goes for confidence in your senior staff as well. So, I’m glad Amberlyn showed up. I don’t know her hand-to-hand background, but even if she lands on her back in here, I have a different respect for her just showing up. She’ll learn, like the rest of us, what her limits are and how to handle herself within those limits to her highest potential. It’s not about how well you can fight. Maybe for some it is, I guess, but the ultimate goal is more about how well you handle yourself when you can’t duke it out.”

"Wise words, counsellor," Ryan agreed, with a hint of humor. "But you're right. We just got through a significant event. Giving us an outlet to explore that stress and how far we can push ourselves will train us further for the next time. Assuming Commander Flammia lets this continue," he added joking, glancing at the Security Officer.

Kris followed his glance, curious, but didn't make a comment.

"So will us trying to beat each other up defy some counselling protocols somewhere?" He couldn't help but ask.

“If you were to try to beat up your counselor or vice versa, there might be a conflict - pun intended. What do you think? Should it be prohibited?” she asked, sincerely interested in how he felt about the games.

Ryan considered that one carefully. "This is supposed to be training, and therapeutic. I think if we approach it in that spirit, it should be fine," he said carefully. "And we can always call it off if it doesn't work out.”

Kris nodded, “Pretty much my feelings too. Participation in this ages old method of self-exploration is not likely to scar anyone for eternity as long as the people in charge - here I’m thinking of McKinney and his people - stop anything that is obviously out of line with the intentions of the program. I’m guessing, but from what I know of Cmdr McKinney, he has contingency plans for that scenario. And my office is always open to anyone who finds this triggers something … something that is already there waiting for the trigger. Better to discover it here on this mat and in my office, than in a fire-fight or worst-case scenario.”

"Good planning," Ryan said. Never a bad idea to look at opportunies that might develope. "I better get back out there, but I'll see you on the mat at some point, I'm sure."

"Good luck!" she offered.

~~~
LT Ryan Collingway
Engineering Officer
USS Arawyn
&
LT Kris Emerson, PhD
Chief Counseling Officer
USS Arawyn

 

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