three \\ locked to kirk first, open after

[savagemind]

There was no true day and night on the Enterprise, no sun to regulate the natural cycles of light and dark, but starships had long done their best to overcome this. Gamma shift was quiet - the lights dimmer, the noises muted as most of the crew slept. It was an ideal time to wander the ship.

Khan had given his escorts the slip ten minutes before - by now, they were used to his little games. He'd pace circles around them in the corridors, note their confusion and irritation, and eventually allow them to catch up thirty or forty minutes later, as though nothing had happened at all.

Childish, perhaps, but they'd become remarkably complacent remarkably fast. This way was, at least, some small reminder that he wasn't bound by them.

But it wasn't to last. Rounding a corner, Khan was abruptly drawn up short by the bright shock of gold in his vision - a very familiar gold, and the slow, sudden fury that burned under his skin.

"You."

The face was the same, the stride, the stance. Standing in front of him, as easily as he pleased, was one James Tiberius Kirk.


[ The first portion of this is locked to daredtodobetter, but anyone is welcome to come along after their fight and watch/call security/popcorn.gif/etc! ]

Comments

[stark_spangled]

Some guys just don't know when to stay down. Taking the hit with teeth gritted, Steve rolls away from Khan's powerful hands and flips to his feet, whirling back around with clean precision.

The other guy makes the call, and while all signs are pointing to Khan being the aggressor, Steve doesn't know either of them from Adam.

"Stay down!" he barks in Jim's direction, immediately advancing on Khan again. "This is going to get messy."

If he wants this fight done quickly, that's exactly what he's going to get. Steve figures he's probably not the kind of guy who's used to someone matching him blow for blow, but brute force isn't going to do the trick. Let's see how he does with mixed martial arts, and if he can just draw Khan's attention for another three seconds, Vibranium should finish the job.

[savagemind]

Steve gets his three seconds, and more. Back on his feet, Khan moves with the fast, relentless pace of of a machine, but the blood on his face clearly marks him as a man. Fortunately, his combat education had been thorough, to say nothing of the brutality of it, and it would take far more than a sudden shift in style to throw him off.

Throwing a feint to Steve's left size, Khan draws in close for a strike when he hears Kirk's hoarse call over the comms. There's a growl in his throat, but he is beyond stopping the captain for now, engaged as he is. The aborted punch morphs cleanly into a strike at the not-augment's ribs - a blow that would nearly be lethal for any normal opponent.

[caelus]

Messy is definitely a word for it. Jim can tell they are nearly matched in strength and training. Khan's style is far more aggressive than Steve's, and Jim has seen what Khan can do once he gets his hands on somebody.

He's never going to be able to forget that sound. He's sure of it.

While he wants to help, he knows that he'd only be a liability if he tried to step in, and the better place for him at the moment is right there with his communicator. He'll wait until Security arrives. He just hopes Steve can hold out until then without anybody getting hurt too badly.

[stark_spangled]

He doesn't have to worry about Steve. Most days on the ship, all he does is spend his time training when he's not making a complete hash out of being social. He doesn't tire, he doesn't distract easy, and even if his answering blows aren't sent with the same amount of brutality as Khan's they are enough to leave a mark.

It isn't until that growl rumbles out of Khan's throat that one of them gets the upper-hand. Steve lets his focus shift just slightly back to Jim. He's seen men with murder in their eyes before, and he knows what they can do. It's enough to fool him with that feint, right foot already stepping forward to block any attempts at the felled captain, and he takes the blow to his ribs with the full force Khan puts behind it.

It's enough to send him flying back, but maybe to Khan's despair, not enough to be lethal. Steve's no normal opponent.

It's not enough to disorient him, either. Once the shock of pain clears and his body skids to a stop against the far wall, he realizes his satchel is within reach. In one fast, fluid motion he thrusts his arm out, sends the leather flying free from his shield, and twists his full body into throwing it straight at Khan's body.

He doesn't even spare a second to see if the strike fell true before he's back on his feet, driving forward like a locomotive to catch his shield on the recoil and use it again if necessary.

[savagemind]

The shield looks like a toy; brightly painted, fragile, and the way the artificial light plays off its surface give the impression that there's something not quite right about it. Khan would have scoffed, if he hadn't been too busy lunging forward to follow up his blow. His arm draws up to bat the shield aside - the only concession he makes towards to improvised weapon.

His mistake.

The disc strikes the augment with enough force to drive him back and down with a painfully hollow crack, leaving him to winded and struggling - the vibranium is the closest thing in the room to an immovable force, and Khan, for all his strength, is nowhere near an unstoppable force. The murder doesn't leave his eyes, but it's clear that the hit hurt; teeth grit and favoring his ribs, he manages to get his feet beneath him just in time to meet Steve's rebound head-on.

[caelus]

Jim is not expecting what happens next. Not in the slightest. The shield is thrown, hits Khan full on, a crack sounding out audibly in the passageway, and sends him down to the deck. His jaw drops just as the rebound sends him down while he struggles to try and get to his feet.

It takes a second for Jim's brain to catch up to what just happened, and very cautiously, he moves closer. He gives Khan a wide berth as he does, and clears his throat.

"Thanks for the save."

[stark_spangled]

Steve stands over Khan's prone figure, shield secured to his forearm, making sure he stays down. If it was made from any other material, the shield would no doubt still be ringing from the force of impact. It's not the cleanest way to fight, backhanding someone with the equivalent of a 2-ton weight when they're already down, but they dispensed with being gentleman a good while ago.

Steve is breathing heavy, jaw clenched and proud shoulders rising and falling rapidly, but otherwise he's suffering little fatigue. He glances toward Kirk's voice, hand moving out instinctively to keep him back before he notices he already is.

"Don't thank me just yet," he pants, and like clockwork a security detail emerges from the nearest turbolift and rushes down the hall. Steve figures they'll be bringing him in too, but his focus stays on Khan until he's sure he's completely subdued, and only then will he lower his shield, favoring his ribs with his free hand.