Author's note: The following chapter describes a graphic fight scene. If this bothers anyone, or can potentially trigger anyone, please read with caution.
Kolyat's meager training was catapulted to the front of his mind as he raised his hands weakly around his face. Shepard stood there, waiting to see if he would make the first move. Genuine fear welled up within him as he hesitated; he had never attacked a woman before. He was well aware that the Commander could easily injure him, kill him even, with little effort. Still, a part of him felt overly concerned that he might cause serious harm to his much smaller opponent.
It was probably not the most ideal moment to be having a moral debate with himself over his conflicting feelings of striking a woman, but his warring emotions paralyzed him regardless.
As the seconds ticked by, Kolyat remained frozen. The crowd hushed, as they waited for either one of the combatants to move. Shepard's eyes narrowed as she picked up on Kolyat's hesitation. The Commander decided impatiently to get him moving herself.
Shepard struck out towards the visibly nervous man swiftly, slapping his block to the side with ease. Two punishing strikes to his midsection and chest, followed by a sweep of her leg knocked Kolyat off his feet and caused him to land hard to the floor. The slightly cushioned mats below did not save him from the sudden pain and loss of breath that caused him to gasp for air.
The blue drell's eyes watered as his lungs fought for air. He had barely registered her quick movements before it was too late. He dimly registered the sound of several people hissing and booing from the direction of the small crowed, over the ringing in his ears.
Gods she is fast, Kolyat thought miserably, not knowing how he was going to pass this test.
Before he could recover, Shepard came at him again, her knee rushing down toward his face. Kolyat's eyes widened as he clumsily rolled out from under her, his reflexes taking over. He picked himself up on his hands a couple feet away from her. The drell was still trying to catch his breath from Shepard's initial blow, not to mention his mad scramble to get away from her. His heart thundered as she slowly rose to her feet, removing her knee from the part of the mat where his head had been.
I am seriously out of my element here, he thought, dread causing his stomach to drop even further.
Selene turned towards Kolyat, who looked up at her from his prone position on the floor, his chest heaving as he still could not catch his breath. The Commander lifted a dark brow that showed how unimpressed she really was. Barely fifteen seconds had passed by and Kolyat had already revealed how inexperienced he really was. Even her support staff had better training than this.
Before she could second guess her decision to allow him onto her team, Kolyat finally climbed to his knees awkwardly. His breathing had returned to some semblance of normal, but the shaken look in his eyes made her scowl.
"Dammit," he mumbled, rising to his feet and carefully heading towards the center of the mat. His fists were poorly clenched in front of his face, and his form was shoddy at best. He moved with nervousness, rather than with any precision and confidence.
Kolyat surprised himself when he managed to dodge her next attack, and the few after that through sheer adrenaline and self-preservation. He could tell that her punches and kicks were clearly being slowed for his benefit, but Kolyat persisted. He kept moving, bobbing and weaving while keeping just out of reach of her pulled punches, hoping that he was not sent packing afterward.
Suddenly, she decided to land a fierce uppercut on the underside of his jaw, rattling his teeth and nearly knocking him off his feet again. Kolyat was sure that the blow had only been a warning shot from Shepard; the woman was becoming frustrated with him. Regardless, he only became more desperate to avoid anymore of her vicious attacks. As minutes passed, she caught on to his plan and knew that he really did not intend on striking her.
Eventually, she decided, she was going to have to force him to switch to the offensive somehow. Otherwise, she would never get a sense of what he could or could not do.
With a new goal in mind, she came at him faster and struck him with a swift roundhouse kick. Selene caught Kolyat by the strap of his head gear as he began to fall, delivering several wicked body shots to his ribs. As he struggled to breath once more, she laced her hands behind his head and brought her knee up into his face. Thankfully, the headgear he wore kept her from breaking his nose, but it did not save him from the sheer force that rocked his vision as he finally slammed into the canvas below with a loud thud.
Kolyat was sure the only reason he was still conscious was because the Commander allowed him to be. In the background, he could hear people booing at his performance, calling out for him to fight.
He lay face down on the mat once more, sucking in painful gulps of air and trying to level his heart rate. Embarrassment and shame nearly made him crumble entirely, but he pushed back against the encroaching darkness. He flipped onto his back, catching the look of concern on his father's face in the crowd before shifting his gaze to Shepard's predatory approach.
He willed his body to move, tensing in anticipation for another attack.
Instead, Shepard crouched down to his level, startling him with her proximity. She was not pummeling him yet, so that was a blessing.
"You haven't proved to me you can fight yet," she said sharply, her eyes hard. "You have certainly proven to all of us that you can run, and eventually get caught. Why haven't you tried to defend yourself, Kolyat?"
"I-I have . . . never hit a woman . . . before," he confessed between labored breaths and the mouth guard, his heart hammering even harder in his chest at the anticipation of her reaction.
Her brow creased in confusion, but her face hardened again quickly. For a few short seconds, the woman did not move and Kolyat remained frozen once more, waiting for the blow he was sure would end his pitiful performance. Instead, Shepard's hand shot out, and suddenly her nails were digging into the sensitive ribbing at his stomach. Kolyat choked out a crying gasp, grabbing her wrist reflexively. However, his grip, which should have been much stronger than the small human's, could not yank her hand from his flesh. It felt like she was about to peel his skin away.
"Does being a woman stop me from inflicting pain like this on you?" she asked through her teeth, nearly snarling.
Kolyat gritted his teeth against the searing pain, refusing to cry out again, even as she twisted deeper into his side.
"You asked to be here, Kolyat," she barked. "However, all you have proven to me is that you are severely lacking in combat skills, and your misguided sense of chivalry will get you and my people killed. The enemies we face don't care who you are, or your intentions. They can, and they will, hurt you, and your team."
After what felt like an eternity, she ripped her nails from his side, small drops of blood welling in the crescent shaped wounds.
"Besides," she continued casually. "There are women, here especially, that could kill you in seconds. I happen to be one of them."
Her comment was not born of arrogance or a need to brag, it was spoken as a simple statement of fact.
Selene turned her back on him and rose to her feet in one fluid motion.
"On your feet," she jerked her chin at him. "And fucking fightme this time."
Kolyat's vision swam in the wake of his pain, but he shakily climbed to his feet. Whether it was the exhaustion or something else, his eyes sought out his father in the crowd. Thane's expression was dark, nearly pained.
Meeting his eyes, his father nodded his head toward the Commander, "Fight her, Kolyat."
Kolyat nodded, forgetting his conflicting emotions towards the man in the wake of having to face Shepard once again. He removed his gloved hand from his bleeding side, and squared his shoulders as he turned to face the Commander. His scales itched under Selene's scrutinizing glare as she assessed whether he was truly ready this time.
He stood a fraction taller, his clenched fists fiercely guarding his face.
It was only a second, but it felt like an eternity as they stared each other down. The crowd was suspended in silence, waiting to see what would happen next.
Selene smirked, before launching herself at him once more. Her battle cry echoed off the walls as she charged him with a ferocity that nearly made his knees buckle. To everyone's surprise, Kolyat held his ground. He flipped and weaved out of her reach, letting her grasp at air. He attempted to strike her, his eyes searching for a vulnerable spot.
As she was finally forced on the defensive, Shepard could hear the group behind them calling out to Kolyat over the sound of their fight.
"Left, use your left!"
"Keep moving! Do not let her catch you!"
"Come on, kid. Knock her on her ass!"
That last jibe nearly made Selene smile, as she recognized Garrus' melodical voice. While Kolyat had yet to land a single punch on her, Selene noted a natural grace and speed to his movements now that he was actually fighting, rather than just running. If he had managed to land a strike, she imagined she would have felt the power from it.
She could not help but feel mildly impressed with his renewed effort. She could work with this. The raw potential was something she and her team could groom and refine. Kolyat only needed to learn discipline, and diligently practice the proper techniques if he intended to stay.
At some point in their contest, she decided that she had not made a mistake in agreeing he could stay.
However, barely twenty minutes had passed, and she noticed with a scowl that the drell was already visibly losing steam. His chest heaved, and his movements were slowed.
Selene was curious to see how long he could go for, because despite his noticeable fatigue Kolyat was continuing to pursue her. She respected his efforts, even though they were clumsy and wild. However, she understood the limits of an untrained body. It would probably be safer for the sake of avoiding injury that she end their fight sooner, rather than later.
Selene had just slipped Kolyat's right jab, allowing her to connect with a hook to his face. Spit flew from his mouth, along with the guard protecting his teeth, as Kolyat saw stars. His head viciously snapped to the side, but shockingly he had managed to stay on his feet.
Shepard jerked his body to the right with an unrelenting hook to his abdomen. Still, Kolyat remained standing.
The drell blinked through the pain, nearly missing Selene's leg flying toward his head. By some miracle, Kolyat summoned the speed and energy to duck from her finishing blow, and propelled himself forward. With an anguished cry, he raised Shepard up into his arms and brought her hard to the ground.
The uproarious crowd fell silent once more in their astonishment and anticipation.
Selene's breath was slightly knocked out of her, but she was already recovering quickly. A series of return attacks ran through her head as she drew in deep breaths, her body coiling and preparing to break free from the drell's hold.
However, instead of attacking, Kolyat paused, hovering above the Commander. He should have continued his assault, he should have tried to capitalize on his surprise success, he should have done anything. Instead, Selene peered back at him through calculating eyes, flat on her back, his weight pinning her down for the brief time, and he barely moved.
Unexpectedly, in his excitement at having actually survived her attack and knocking her to the ground, Kolyat leapt to his feet and turned his back on her. His father was smiling at him, and the younger drell felt a small surge of pride.
At some point, the crowd of spectators had continued their raucous cheering after he had pinned the Commander down. He let out a breathy laugh as he clumsily removed his head gear, the heady adrenaline of combat, mixed with him managing to remain standing, coursed through his body.
Kolyat actually smiled back at Thane, a genuine smile that warmed the older drell's heart.
Kolyat had done well his second time, that was true regardless of what Commander Shepard thought, and Thane was pleased to see his son so happy. However, the match was not over, and Kolyat was still in danger of the fully recovered Commander.
Selene remained on the ground. Her breathing had returned back to normal in a handful of seconds. As she watched Kolyat turn towards the group behind him, triumphantly removing his head guard and giving his father a large, boyish smile, the fight completely left her. She was happy for her friend and she prayed that Kolyat's induction into the crew would help the two heal their broken relationship. At least it might provide the steppingstones to begin that process.
Kolyat suddenly turned back to her, the smile that transformed his face catching her off guard. His expression was significantly lighter, as if years of burdens had been lifted. It was a good change, she decided, Kolyat had a very pleasant smile.
The man reached a large hand out, silently offering to help her to her feet. Selene returned the smile with a small one of her own, before sweeping her right leg out as quick as a cobra's strike. The drell landed hard on the mat beside her. In her peripheral vision, she could see Thane pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
At least now Kolyat would remember not to turn his back on his opponent before a fight was actually over, she thought amusingly.
Selene laughed and lightly punched Kolyat in the shoulder as he groaned.
"Welcome to the Normandy, Kolyat."
Author's note: With that, Kolyat is now a member of the crew. I really wish BioWare had given us the option to recruit Kolyat; I feel like it was a missed opportunity.