Post by Joe Fischer on Jul 16, 2017 9:32:03 GMT -6
TIME: A year before Joe leaves the N7 program
PLACE: Earth
“Can you teach me how to fight?”
Joe looked over at the speaker, his thirteen-year-old nephew Matt.
He was at the birthday party for his niece Sarah, who had just turned six. It wasn’t too often that he had the opportunity to do that, so when it presented itself he took it and didn’t think twice.
He had made his rounds, spending lots of time with Sarah. He may not have had kids of his own, but he loved her as if she was. He sat and talked with the children’s mother, his sister Marie, along with her husband Tom, who was still scared of him even though he had never been the slightest bit rude to him. Then he spent some time catching up with his brother James, ignoring the glares of his brother’s husband Gary, who never passed a chance to let him know how much he hated him.
The boy caught up with him as he was exiting the bathroom. He was sporting a very obvious black eye, which he had seen as the boy greeted him when he arrive but hadn’t had a chance to look into.
But now the two of them were alone.
“What kind of fighting?” Joe asked.
“Beating people up,” Matt said. “They still teach that in the Marines, right?”
“Yeah, they do,” he said, thinking back to the few lessons given to him during basic training, lessons which were completely impractical. He had to go looking for himself to find teachers who could show him how to fight for real.
“Who you going to use it on?” he asked.
“There’s this kid at school, Tommy Riley,” his nephew said. “He was picking on another kid at school. I told him to stop, he just hit me and knocked me down, then he started kicking me until a teacher showed up.”
“This other kid, was it a girl?” he asked.
The boy looked away.
“Yeah.”
“Were you trying to impress her?”
“No!” Matt said, embarrassed. “She wasn’t THAT cute!”
“Did anyone else try to stop the other kid?”
“No,” his nephew said. “He’s been left back a couple times, so he’s older and bigger than everybody, so they’re all scared of him.”
“So if this girl wasn’t that cute, why did you do it?” he asked.
The boy shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Joe smiled slightly.
“Good for you,” he said. “Not too many are willing to step up like that. So why do you want me to teach you how to fight?”
The boy just blinked at him.
“It’s not a trick question,” he said. “Why do you need to learn how to fight?”
He could see the wheels turning in his nephew’s head, but Matt still said nothing.
“Okay, let’s try it this way,” Joe said. “Is it to beat up this other kid?”
The boy’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah!” he said excitedly.
Joe shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I won’t teach you how to do that.”
Matt just blinked at him some more.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“Now that’s the right question,” Joe said. “The reason you fight someone is the most important part of it, and to fight for revenge or glory is the worst reason of all, because it’s all about you.
“Think about it,” he continued. “Fighting is a terrible thing. You are going to hurt another person, so it needs to be for a damn good reason, and revenge is the worst reason of all.
“That’s why I never watch those fights on the vid,” he said. “That’s not real fighting. Those men and women may have learned the how of fighting, but they never learned the why. Tell me, do you think when I fight I’m fighting another guy my size?”
He shook his head.
“Look at me,” he said. “A guy my size, the other side doesn’t just send one guy, they send two. Or three. Or five. Or ten. And when I fight, I do whatever it takes to win. If I can shoot them in the back, I do it. If I shoot them and they go down, then I shoot them again to make sure they stay down.”
The boy looked away.
“If it turns into hand-to-hand, then you’re going to see cheap shots and low blows,” Joe said. “Because we’re not fighting for money or for other people to look at us with respect; we’re fighting for our lives, and that’s as real as it gets. When your life is on the line, you will do whatever it takes. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, crazy or just plain stupid.”
“So you’re not going to help me,” the boy said, glaring at him. “Thanks for nothing.”
He started walking away.
“When did this happen?” Joe called after him.
“What do you care?” his nephew snapped.
“Humor me,” Joe said.
“Yesterday.”
“Guys like him, they’re all about reputation, making their bark worse than their bite,” Joe said. “He needs to make sure you won’t stand up to him again, so expect him to come at you on Monday, probably first thing in the morning. And he’ll make sure it’s public.”
He stared at Matt, willing the boy to understand what he was trying to say.
The boy frowned, the effort of thinking showing clearly on his face.
“Can you…teach me how to defend myself?” he finally asked.
Joe smiled.
“Now that I can do,” he said, going up to the boy. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
His nephew smiled and he joined his uncle as they left the party.
*****
“First thing, forget about letting him come to you,” Joe said. “Then you’re letting him dictate the terms, putting you on the defensive and outnumbering you; that’s the wrong way to do it. Get to him first and throw the first punch. Now here’s the hard part: he’s probably going to beat you.”
The boy looked at him.
“Remember, there’s no referee around to keep it fair,” he said. “But by going after him, what you’re doing is showing you’re not afraid of him. Keep going after him. You’re probably going to get in trouble at school for picking these fights, but keep it up. Sooner or later others are going to see your courage and get inspired to join you. Once that starts, it’s the beginning of the end for Tommy.”
“What then?”
“That’s up to you,” Joe said. “The hard part is going to be not turning into that guy. If I hear about that, I will come back here and kick your ass. That’s not a threat, that’s a fact.”
“But I still need to learn how to fight--“ Matt began.
Joe looked at him.
“I mean, protect myself,” the boy asked.
“I only got a couple more days of leave, so I can teach you a few basic things,” Joe said. “But I know a guy who can help.”
He brought up his omnitool and activated its radio.
“Que pasa, mi hermano?” came the voice of Martin Santos.
“Hey Marty, need a favor,” Joe said.
“Name it,” his friend replied.
“I’m with my nephew, and he needs to learn how to protect himself,” Joe said. “Do you know anybody up here who can teach him?”
There was a pause of a few seconds.
“Yeah, I know some guys up there,” Martin said. “Let me make a couple of calls and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks,” Joe said.
“De nada,” his friend said and ended the call.
“Okay, do you know somewhere we can practice?” Joe asked his nephew.
PLACE: Earth
“Can you teach me how to fight?”
Joe looked over at the speaker, his thirteen-year-old nephew Matt.
He was at the birthday party for his niece Sarah, who had just turned six. It wasn’t too often that he had the opportunity to do that, so when it presented itself he took it and didn’t think twice.
He had made his rounds, spending lots of time with Sarah. He may not have had kids of his own, but he loved her as if she was. He sat and talked with the children’s mother, his sister Marie, along with her husband Tom, who was still scared of him even though he had never been the slightest bit rude to him. Then he spent some time catching up with his brother James, ignoring the glares of his brother’s husband Gary, who never passed a chance to let him know how much he hated him.
The boy caught up with him as he was exiting the bathroom. He was sporting a very obvious black eye, which he had seen as the boy greeted him when he arrive but hadn’t had a chance to look into.
But now the two of them were alone.
“What kind of fighting?” Joe asked.
“Beating people up,” Matt said. “They still teach that in the Marines, right?”
“Yeah, they do,” he said, thinking back to the few lessons given to him during basic training, lessons which were completely impractical. He had to go looking for himself to find teachers who could show him how to fight for real.
“Who you going to use it on?” he asked.
“There’s this kid at school, Tommy Riley,” his nephew said. “He was picking on another kid at school. I told him to stop, he just hit me and knocked me down, then he started kicking me until a teacher showed up.”
“This other kid, was it a girl?” he asked.
The boy looked away.
“Yeah.”
“Were you trying to impress her?”
“No!” Matt said, embarrassed. “She wasn’t THAT cute!”
“Did anyone else try to stop the other kid?”
“No,” his nephew said. “He’s been left back a couple times, so he’s older and bigger than everybody, so they’re all scared of him.”
“So if this girl wasn’t that cute, why did you do it?” he asked.
The boy shrugged.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Joe smiled slightly.
“Good for you,” he said. “Not too many are willing to step up like that. So why do you want me to teach you how to fight?”
The boy just blinked at him.
“It’s not a trick question,” he said. “Why do you need to learn how to fight?”
He could see the wheels turning in his nephew’s head, but Matt still said nothing.
“Okay, let’s try it this way,” Joe said. “Is it to beat up this other kid?”
The boy’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah!” he said excitedly.
Joe shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I won’t teach you how to do that.”
Matt just blinked at him some more.
“Why?” he finally asked.
“Now that’s the right question,” Joe said. “The reason you fight someone is the most important part of it, and to fight for revenge or glory is the worst reason of all, because it’s all about you.
“Think about it,” he continued. “Fighting is a terrible thing. You are going to hurt another person, so it needs to be for a damn good reason, and revenge is the worst reason of all.
“That’s why I never watch those fights on the vid,” he said. “That’s not real fighting. Those men and women may have learned the how of fighting, but they never learned the why. Tell me, do you think when I fight I’m fighting another guy my size?”
He shook his head.
“Look at me,” he said. “A guy my size, the other side doesn’t just send one guy, they send two. Or three. Or five. Or ten. And when I fight, I do whatever it takes to win. If I can shoot them in the back, I do it. If I shoot them and they go down, then I shoot them again to make sure they stay down.”
The boy looked away.
“If it turns into hand-to-hand, then you’re going to see cheap shots and low blows,” Joe said. “Because we’re not fighting for money or for other people to look at us with respect; we’re fighting for our lives, and that’s as real as it gets. When your life is on the line, you will do whatever it takes. Anyone who says otherwise is lying, crazy or just plain stupid.”
“So you’re not going to help me,” the boy said, glaring at him. “Thanks for nothing.”
He started walking away.
“When did this happen?” Joe called after him.
“What do you care?” his nephew snapped.
“Humor me,” Joe said.
“Yesterday.”
“Guys like him, they’re all about reputation, making their bark worse than their bite,” Joe said. “He needs to make sure you won’t stand up to him again, so expect him to come at you on Monday, probably first thing in the morning. And he’ll make sure it’s public.”
He stared at Matt, willing the boy to understand what he was trying to say.
The boy frowned, the effort of thinking showing clearly on his face.
“Can you…teach me how to defend myself?” he finally asked.
Joe smiled.
“Now that I can do,” he said, going up to the boy. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”
His nephew smiled and he joined his uncle as they left the party.
*****
“First thing, forget about letting him come to you,” Joe said. “Then you’re letting him dictate the terms, putting you on the defensive and outnumbering you; that’s the wrong way to do it. Get to him first and throw the first punch. Now here’s the hard part: he’s probably going to beat you.”
The boy looked at him.
“Remember, there’s no referee around to keep it fair,” he said. “But by going after him, what you’re doing is showing you’re not afraid of him. Keep going after him. You’re probably going to get in trouble at school for picking these fights, but keep it up. Sooner or later others are going to see your courage and get inspired to join you. Once that starts, it’s the beginning of the end for Tommy.”
“What then?”
“That’s up to you,” Joe said. “The hard part is going to be not turning into that guy. If I hear about that, I will come back here and kick your ass. That’s not a threat, that’s a fact.”
“But I still need to learn how to fight--“ Matt began.
Joe looked at him.
“I mean, protect myself,” the boy asked.
“I only got a couple more days of leave, so I can teach you a few basic things,” Joe said. “But I know a guy who can help.”
He brought up his omnitool and activated its radio.
“Que pasa, mi hermano?” came the voice of Martin Santos.
“Hey Marty, need a favor,” Joe said.
“Name it,” his friend replied.
“I’m with my nephew, and he needs to learn how to protect himself,” Joe said. “Do you know anybody up here who can teach him?”
There was a pause of a few seconds.
“Yeah, I know some guys up there,” Martin said. “Let me make a couple of calls and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks,” Joe said.
“De nada,” his friend said and ended the call.
“Okay, do you know somewhere we can practice?” Joe asked his nephew.