Deathless CQC

*CQC? Close Quarters Combat huh -*A SUD Operator of Serpens origin

Deathless Close Quarters Combat, usually shortened to CQC, is a system of combined martial arts and combat techniques designed to allow for maximum fighting efficiency in close quarters. It was developed and is practiced by The Deathless to this day.

## Origin

Deathless CQC supposedly started as a First Legion martial art, being taught to new recruits in order to augment their chances of survival when hand-to-hand combat was inevitable. The earliest recorded use of this specific martial art being during the Jor’ma Ta’kon between Warlord Anaïs Obruchev and Iván Obregón, where Obruchev used their “dirty tricks” to win the Red City. The Deathless variant came into being shortly after the company’s creation in 2932, created Ye-jun “Blade” Illinois, with assistance from Koschei and Marya Morevna. Together they put together their vast knowledge of martial arts and combat experience to devise an all-encompassing martial art that would be essential on the battlefield. Ever since then CQC has constantly evolved when its users were confronted with new challenges. It is even said that some masters of Deathless CQC can fight through any opponent, even those wearing power armor.

## Design

CQC is designed to allow an operative to fight in close quarters in almost any circumstance, although this proves difficult when dealing with longer ranged-weapons, as such most CQC techniques are designed with, unarmed, pistol, knife, or a combination of the three in mind. Throughout the various stances a heavy emphasis is put on physical aggression, using momentum to your advantage and never letting the enemy rest. As such, Deathless CQC requires excellent cardio-vascular capabilities in order to fully use its potential in long winded fights.

A CQC fighter is also taught to aim for weak points in an opponent, any opportunity is to be taken in order to secure victory. This is a key principle in Deathless doctrine, and has led to some complaining of “dirty tricks” and “dishonorable fighting” by opponents who found themselves on the receiving end of experts.

## Fighting Stances

There are three tyupical stances in Deathless CQC. Training is done in steps, starting with the Empty-handed stance, then techniques with the knife are added onto that, then techniques with Pistol and knife. Most trainees stop at the Empty handed stance, with the knife stance being used by experts and the final stance being used in the field only by masters in CQC. An important point to note is that every practitioner of CQC is encouraged to put their own spin to it, anything beyond the base movements are fair game, including the usage of legs, teeth, tactical entrenching tools, the wrench (use of the wrench has created a maintenance CQC offshoot) or the trusty DVodka Field Rations canteen.

### Empty-handed

The basic style for Deathless CQC, Empty-handed fighting is taught to every Deathless recruit. Easy to learn and simple to remember Empty-handed style lays the groundwork for the further development of CQC,as such, one can spend an entire lifetime without learning the “armed” versions and still be a proficient hand-to-hand combatant. The basic stance has the practitioner put their hand in front of their face, with open palms. This is the core CQC technique and thus every subsequent stance is simply the application of these basics, but with using a knife, gun, or gun and knife. The Empty-handed stance focuses on quick strikes and grapples to throw off the enemy, disarm them, or, optimally, seize their weapon. Should all of these fail a quick knock-out is possible and generally thought to be easier, if a bit uncivilized.

### Knife

The Knife stance is essentially the same as the previous stance however the fighter holds the knife in their dominant hand. The knife is used less as an actual weapon and more as a threat for interrogation and coercion purposes. Should the wielder still find themself in combat, should stealth fail a quick succession of punches and slashing strikes are meant to deal with their opponents, always with speed, aggression, and “underhanded” moves.

### Pistol and knife

The final and supposedly the most advanced of the Deathless CQC stances it focuses on combining the capabilities of a mag pistol in the fighter’s dominant hand supported by the knife hand. This is used mostly by SUD operatives who are performing infiltrations with weapons OSP (on-site procurement) and who, for some reason or another, only found a pistol. The stance aids in the aiming stability while allowing for the use of CQC hand techniques, using the pistol grip as a blunt weapon. An expert is also able to quickly transition to knife-fighting if silent deadly force is needed without expending a bullet. A staple of this stance is the “CQC chokehold”, where the fight puts their knife arm going around the victim’s neck and the pistol pointing forward, allowing for both a control of the target and the crowd who might oppose your taking of a hostage.

**The Secret Stance**

No good martial arts would be complete without a secret stance that only masters could practice without endangering their lives. Simply enough, it’s a return to basics, but to an entirely new level. Instead of searching for submission or disarmament the masters of CQC are simply expected to kill with their unarmed prowess. The Secret Stance is effectively the cumulation of years of practice and experience in Deathless CQC on the field of battle. Legend has it (since no real records exist on The Secret Stance and it’s generally thought to not even exist) that only once you’ve killed an enemy with your bare hands that you can be considered for introduction into this stance. It is said that Marya Morevna (the first) used this fighting style to utterly crush Ye-jun Illinois in a sparring match, thus inspiring the codification of Deathless CQC.