It takes the full twenty minutes to get back to your cabin, strip out of your armor, get into workout gear, and find the dojo, and you feel like you've worked up a sweat before you even start. The dojo is bustling with perhaps a dozen people sparring or practicing katas, but you quickly spot Karim just finishing his stretches. You toss him a set of sparring gloves and footpads before donning your own set.
"Where are you at in your martial arts training?" he asks as he straps on the gear. The Corps offers training in multiple martial arts, to prepare troopers for combat situations where rifles aren't an option.
"Brown belt karate—you?"
"Black karate, black judo and green aikido."
You take a deep breath, readying yourself for a pounding. Karim is taller than you, and under his workout clothes you can see the powerful muscles that wrap his thick frame. You square off, and then you thrust forward with a quick kick followed by a jab-cross combination. He deflects all three blows, and any hope you had that your relative youth might give you an edge in quickness is dashed. He moves sideways, flicking out a jab. You block it, just. The two of you circle each other, trading jabs as you find the range. You try a hook combination, but he ducks the blows and bats your hand away. You fake high then swing out with a low roundhouse kick. The satisfying thump of impact against his thigh indicates your hit. But before you can even withdraw, he pushes you back with a flurry of blows. You stagger under the assault, ducking low and guarding as best you can.
"Not bad, Nubes," he says between breaths as he backs away. "Nice little kick, there."
"Not as nice as your counter-attack," you concede.
He shrugs, then raises his gloves again. You lift your guard.
The sparring continues until you're both soaked in sweat. Karim's shirt is slick against his broad, heaving chest. You step back, gasping for breath and taking some consolation from the fact that Karim is sucking wind, too. After a long moment he gives you a curious look.
"Do you want to go another round?" he asks.