Author's note: This chapter gets a little embarrassing for Kolyat and Selene, but that's what makes them so cute together.
The following chapter has description of a fight scene. If anyone has a problem with such things please read with caution.
Enjoy.
Nine more eventful weeks passed by, marking Kolyat's third month aboard the Normandy. In that time, he continued making great strides in his training.
Currently, he was receiving biotics instruction with the ship's resident asari Justicar. The serene matriarch seemed to possess an infinite supply of patience when it came to his training.
The benefits of living almost a thousand years, he supposed.
Kolyat had enjoyed his lessons with Samara just as much as she enjoyed training the young drell.
"Very good. Again, and this time try and incorporate a throw," Samara's calm voice washed over him. She sat behind him, her posture straight and her legs crossed in a meditative pose.
Kolyat returned his attention to the weighted bio-dummy before him. For weeks, his biotic teachers had progressively increase the heaviness of the equipment. They tested and pushed his powers beyond their limits until he gained the ability to lift more. Every time he thought he couldn't do it, the Normandy crew showed him that he could.
He concentrated on his objective, and a moment later, his fake opponent was enveloped in a writhing mass of dark energy, the blue pulsing in time with his heart beat. Feeling triumphant, he lifted the three-hundred-pound mass in the air, higher than he had before.
His muscles flexed under his scales as he struggled to hold the dummy's weight in place for a few seconds longer. Closing his eyes, he maintained his airborne target before throwing it into the metal wall behind.
The bio-replication of bones, muscle tissue, cartilage, and flesh crashed against the bulkhead with a resounding bang. The synthetic bones inside the translucent body visibly cracked before the dummy crashed to the floor.
Kolyat turned his head to look at Samara, eyes glinting with a repressed smile, silently searching for her approval. Samara uncrossed her legs and stood in a single, fluid motion. She smiled and softly clapped her hands, making a warm happiness bloom in his chest.
The blue drell had been training everyday with all the members of the crew since his acceptance aboard the ship. Not only had his combat skills improved, but his ability to stay focused had sharpened. He was still as curious and prone to asking questions as ever before, but the lesson that Jacob had drilled into him the night of the Pragia mission had not needed repeating.
Regardless of his progress, Shepard had yet to bring him on a mission.
So far, during his time on the ship, various different pairings of the ground team had completed a handful of assignments. Some of which had included: storming the fortress of several mercenary compounds, stopping a ship loaded with enemy geth from crashing and obliterating a small colony on the planet Jonus, as well as fulfilling a request submitted by Jacob regarding his father.
From what Kolyat had been told, the elder Mr. Taylor had been released into Alliance custody following Shepard's rescue of the lost crew. The man had been accused of committing several unforgivable crimes against what remained of his deeply traumatized staff. The people who had been rescued on the island had been there for over ten years.
Lower ranked members of Jacob's father's crew had been forced to eat the toxic native food on the island, which caused significant neural-decay over time. However, the superior officers chose to hoard the emergency provisions left from their crashed ship amongst themselves.
Eventually, Jacob's father had led a coup against the other leaders with a small group of combat mecs, killing them all. The despicable man had appointed himself a sort of king after that. He exiled the remaining male members of the surviving crew, leaving the females as easy prey to his desires by offering those that complied non-poised food and protection. It was only because of the impending threat by an organized group of half-crazed male exiles, that Mr. Taylor senior had finally activated the rescue beacon that lead the Normandy to the planet.
Jacob had rightfully been disgusted, and Kolyat's sympathy went out to the man.
The drell could empathize with the feeling of abandonment at having an absent father. However, Thane had never gone and played sovereign to a harem of scared and abused people while leaving his mother and him behind.
At least his father had tried to provide for his family the only way the hanar had taught him.
Slowly, Kolyat had come to understand why the older drell had chosen to leave permanently after avenging his mother's death. The younger drell accepted that Thane had never truly been equipped to handle having anyone close to him, let alone a family. The pain was still present, it would probably never be fully removed, but Kolyat had begun to move on from the past.
He chose, instead, to focus on the time he still had with his only living parent.
Samara came to stand next to Kolyat, reaching out a blue hand and placing it on his shoulder. "You are improving rapidly; you should be most proud with your progress."
Kolyat gave her a tired smile, wearied from his previous training sessions with his father, Zaeed, Garrus and Kasumi that day. However, he couldn't stop the niggling of dissatisfaction that wormed its way into his mind.
"Thank you, Samara," he murmured politely. "I know we are done for the day, but you can head up without me. I am going to continue for a bit longer."
Kolyat turned to the high beam and leapt up to start a round of pull-ups, not waiting for Samara to depart.
The asari watched him do five before shaking her head with a fond smile, she turned to leave the determined drell to his work. He was a very driven youth and eager to fight, but possessed the patients to wait for Shepard to make the decision on her own time.
He will make a fine warrior someday, Samara thought to herself.
She gave one last look out the high windows down to the cargo hold before entering the elevator. Kolyat knew the rules regarding training, but she hoped that he stayed mindful of his time. He only had sixty-seven minutes until he was expected to end for the day.
"Where is Kolyat?" Selene looked around the mess hall at the fully assembled crew, feeling an uncomfortable sense of deja vu.
Thane turned from his conversation with Tali and Garrus in curiosity, but Samara chimed in softly: "The last time I saw him was when I departed from our lesson. He had insisted on continuing his exercises. But this was three hours ago. I did not believe he would continue for so long."
"Does no one understand the rule of only seven fucking minutes overtime?" Selene sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Three hours? He had a whole day of training, what the hell is he doing continuing for three hours?"
"If you wish, Commander Shepard, I can retrieve him?" Samara answered in her usual calm voice. "He informed me that he wished to continue, and he still had a free hour before he was expected to stop. I had no reason to believe he would lose track of time."
"No, I'll get him," Selene shook her head at the Justicar. "You had a long day too, Samara. Eat. All of you, start without us. I'll be back in a bit."
Thane's voice trailed off behind her, politely asking her not to hurt his son, which relieved some of her tension. She snorted in amusement and softly shook her head.
As Selene came through the elevator doors, she peered down into the cargo bay windows. Kolyat stood down there, practicing his hand-to-hand on two combat drones she had picked up on Omega.
She watched him for a bit, impressed at just how far his hand-to-hand had developed in only three months. One of the drones already lay incapacitated on the floor, cycling through its cooldown period before it would spring up once more. The other was taking a beating as Kolyat deftly flipped through the air, landing a spin kick to the heavy machines metal plated chest.
The blue drell ended the fight with a cry that could be heard from where Shepard stood in the hallway. He threw a viscous hook, bringing a powerful knee up, and deftly destroyed the drones face plate as it crashed to the floor.
Kolyat stood in the middle of the carnage, breathing deep, but not overly winded. The blue drell lifted his left hand, the one that had smashed against the metal of the drone's face, and the light caught the slick of pink drell blood glistening on his knuckles.
Selene watched as he shook his head, a dark expression crossing his face that she hadn't seen since she had recruited him. Obviously, there was some turmoil driving this training session.
Commander Shepard decided now would be a good time to make her presence known, before the drones recovered and he continued to cause himself further unnecessary injury. She made her way down the stairs, not trying to be quiet, but Kolyat was still too preoccupied with his own thoughts to hear her noisy steps. She had been too late in her interruption and the sound of the other drone picking itself up drowned out her footsteps.
Kolyat resumed his fighting, only moderately protecting his left hand as he struck out with his other fist. His frustration and roiling thoughts were palpable as Shepard cleared the stairs. Before making her way fully to him in the sparring circle, she remembered to shut down the second drone with her omini tool.
Kolyat struck an incredibly familiar figure, nearly looking like the twin of his father when she had first met the man on Illium. Selene had stood transfixed as she had witnessed Thane take out a whole room of Eclipse mercs and then his target. The older drell had been singularly focused, paying no mind to his audience as he completed his task; the embodiment of elegance and deadliness.
Selene was certain that any words she tried to say would fall on deaf ears, so she chose to wait until Kolyat knocked out his synthetic opponent. She noticed, with bit of admiration, that she didn't have to wait long.
This time Kolyat used his biotics, lifting the machine quickly into the air before immediately tossing it with more force than was necessary. Shepard suspected that the drone was permanently down for the count.
Kolyat's back was turned to her, he still had not noticed her presence. Cautiously, she stepped behind him, reaching out a hand to his shirtless back.
"Kolyat, are you ok-"
The Commander's words were cut off as Kolyat spun in one blurred motion, catching her arm in a vice grip as his other painfully checked her hip, throwing off her balance. The result allowed him to toss her over his shoulder, ending with her landing hard on the mat below.
Kolyat's eyes blew wide in shock at the realization of what he had just done, and especially who he had just attacked.
Kolyat, in his adrenaline filled haze, had assumed the other drone had reactivated, and had attacked without thought. Now he realized he had just slammed his commanding officer onto her back, and from her gasping breaths he had knocked the wind from her pretty hard.
"Commander," he gasped in astonishment. "I am so sorry . . . I . . . I thought I was alone and believed you to be the other drone. Forgive my foolishness, I did not mean to hurt you."
Kolyat frantically looked Selene over for any sign of injury, not knowing what he could do to help.
Fortunately, Shepard appeared fine, having been more taken by surprise than actually hurt. Still, the drell had slammed her hard, and had moved fast enough to take her out for a few short moments. She had anticipated a wild swing in her direction or an elbow aimed at her face. She had not expected him to expertly use a move that required the least amount of movement with the most effective possible outcome.
"I'm fine, Kolyat," Selene gritted out, begrudgingly noticing her response came out winded. She had not fully recovered like she hoped. Regardless, she lifted herself into a sitting position, supporting her weight on her arms behind her.
"Who taught you how to move like that?"
Kolyat's large black eyes blinked at her for a few confused seconds before answering. "You did, Commander."
"I did? I don't remember that being a part of your lessons."
"It wasn't. I learned by watching you fight the others. You have used this move several times in training –-"
His eyes suddenly grew vacant and distant, his memory trapping him into solipsism:
Orange scars burn brightly against lightly darkened skin. Selene's silver-green eyes flash with dangerous amusement as she waits for Garrus' attack. The larger turian rushes forward, foolishly falling into the trap. Small human hands lash out, quick and precise, always so sure. She uses his body weight against him, gripping his arm and slamming her palm into his hip. Garrus is helpless to stop her from flipping him over her shoulder, slamming him into the floor below.
Shepard though that was the end of the memory, but was shocked to hear him continue.
She laughs, a deep warm sound that floats across the room.
Her full lips break into a brilliant smile.
Bright, quicksilver-green eyes shine keenly in her beautiful face.
Soft waves of dark hair cascaded down her back.
I remember what the strands feel like as it slipped through my fingers.
Just as suddenly as it began, the memory was over. Kolyat returned, feeling dazed. The magenta ribbing at his neck burning brighter as he attempted to look anywhere but at Selene.
Curse the gods for gifting the drell with perfect recall, he thought bitterly.
A few beats of awkward silence ticked by. The Commander remained seated, processing what his eidetic memory had so unwillingly forced him to speak. She had not realized that he had been watching her sparring sessions so closely, or that he controlled the ability to replicate something he had only seen, never practiced, so flawlessly.
The fact that he had taken such careful notice of what her hair felt like or that he thought her smile was brilliant was another matter entirely. She could feel her own cheeks grow warm as she remembered him calling her face beautiful and that, apparently in his mind, he referred to her as Selene, rather than his customary Shepard or Commander.
Shepard was at a loss at what to do. Her body would not move and her mind reeled with thoughts of what was just said. Kolyat had clearly not meant for any of that to slip out, but she could not act like she had not just heard it.
Or could she?
She was the Commander. She could pull rank, and forgive him for his slip up. It was not like he could control what was involuntary for his species.
Selene's real turmoil came from the fact that she actually felt touched.
Not many had cared to notice such small things about her. Her experience with romance and lust had been limited to a handful of brief relationships that ended soon after they started. She had fun in her late teens and early twenties as a private in the Alliance, but none of the people she had been with had stuck around longer than a month. Neither had Selene really. If any of her former lovers had shown any interest of taking things further, she promptly ended their association.
It had never seemed fair to whoever she was with at the time to not be able to promise that she would return safely. It also did not help that Selene had never been around a healthy, functional relationship in her life.
The only thing she had ever know about romance was that people could be selfish and abusive if you let them become too important. Her mother had learned that the hard way when she refused to leave her drunk of a husband.
Shepard mentally shook herself of those thoughts, returning her attention to the drell who was now giving her a concerned look. She had been silent for too long and now Kolyat feared that he had either caused more damage than he originally thought or that she was so upset with what she had heard that she was too angry to respond.
Shepard chose to ignore what had just been revealed in favor of addressing the reason she had come down here in the first place.
"You want to tell me why you have been down here for the last three hours? Your training shift was over a two hour ago." Despite the seriousness of him ignoring her rules, Selene spoke softly as she stared up at him.
The manner in which she spoke confused Kolyat. She did not appear angry, but she was clearly not pleased with his forgetfulness.
"I just wanted to get some more work done. I did not realize that so much time had slipped by. I am sorry, Commander. My intentions were not to appear insubordinate. "
Everyone had remembered what had happened to Jacob the last time someone went over their allotted training time. Kolyat would take his punishment with grace, knowing that he should have been more mindful of his time.
"You know the rules, Kolyat. I have a strict regimen for my crew and though your enthusiasm is admirable, you are going to kill yourself doing this. Doctor Chakwas will patch your hands up and then you need to eat and get some sleep. Tomorrow you won't be training, only resting."
Selene finally stood from the floor, followed by Kolyat who had been crouching next to her.
Even though Kolyat knew that the Commander was not to be questioned, he could not stop himself from speaking up.
Three months of patience and pent up energy caused him to finally explode in protest.
"Shepard, I'm fine. I promise I can handle my normal schedule. I am not as weak or fragile as you might believe me to be. I wish to train with the rest of the team."
Weak and fragile? Shepard thought to herself, confused. Is that how he thinks I view him?
Apparently, Kolyat had no clue that she was extremely pleased with his progress and dedication over the last few months. She had been discussing with his father and other members of the team about their opinions on finally letting him join the ground squad. Most believed him to be ready.
Even Zaeed had reluctantly been forced to admit that Kolyat had proven himself to be extremely capable throughout training.
Shockingly, Jack had been the blue drell's greatest supporter; the powerful biotic was clearly proud of what her student had achieved. Shepard had liked the change in Jack as a teacher so much that she had continued to appoint her as Kolyat's main instructor.
Clearly, Shepard had not been relaying this to Kolyat enough because he appeared to have some suppressed misconceptions about her opinion of him. Instead of verbally correcting his inaccuracies, she decided to let her feelings be known through demonstration.
Kolyat only had a second to register what was about to happen. His body braced for the impact of Shepard's powerful open palm strike to his exposed chest, sending him back a few steps.
"It seems that you are in need of a lesson on what I consider weak and fragile, Mr. Krios."
That was the only warning the blue drell received before being forced to defend himself against the onslaught of attacks Shepard threw his way.
This fight was unlike their first. Selene did not pull punches or give her opponent time to recover. This was a real match between the two and Kolyat struck back with equal fierceness. Selene found it a challenge to move out of the taller man's reach quickly enough. In just a matter of a few months, his flexibility and speed were on par with her own.
Kolyat certainly had no reservations about striking a female anymore.
As Kolyat received a punishing blow to his solid torso, he found his opening to trap the Commander's leg between his arm and ribs. The Commander's eyes widened in shock as he deftly tackled her to the floor, maneuvering quickly to place her in a submission hold that would cause her to lose consciousness if she did not tap soon. Her back was planted firmly against his chest as his strong arms locked her head between them. His own arched position on the floor allowed him the leverage he needed in order to apply just enough pressure to her neck.
Kolyat was slightly fearful that this move might be too much in a simple contest, but he had witnessed Jacob do this maneuver plenty of times against other teammates. The drell continued to keep pressure on the slowly weakening Commander's neck, hoping she would tap out soon.
Selene's eyes grew heavy and clouded as she struggled helplessly against the larger man's grip. She knew there was very little she could do against his superior body weight and strength. She had allowed herself to be caught and now unless she could muster up the energy to release a powerful enough biotic pulse to hopefully loosen his grip, she was going to be passing out in the next few seconds. Submitting had never even crossed her mind.
With a final desperate gasp, Selene charged the dark energy inside her and instead of unleashing it across her whole body, she focused on Kolyat's left forearm that was obstructing her airway.
The burn of the hyper focused warp caused Kolyat to cry out, his scales splitting in a shallow web of painful tears across his arm. Blood seeped through the openings, dripping onto Selene's face and open mouth as she gasped for air. The drell pushed the woman away from his body and clutched at his newly injured arm. Selene took the opportunity to roll as far away as she could and sucked in large gulps of air.
Her throat felt raw and her lungs burned as she sputtered, attempting to get enough air in while spitting out the metallic taste of blood that had entered her mouth. She prayed that her surprise attack had been enough to keep Kolyat distracted for a few moments why she recovered. His submission had been masterfully executed and she was sufficiently stunned.
Kolyat's duel-toned voice growled in pain as he looked at the damage to his arm. That had been a nasty little trick the Commander had pulled. Usually biotics were not meant to be used for anything other than forceful shoves during training. She had purposefully ripped his scales open with her energy, obviously not to the extent she could have, but it was still a forbidden move within the confines of training.
Apparently, training time was over, Kolyat thought resolutely.
The drell took the time to grab his discarded cloth shirt from the floor a few feet from him. He tore the material in half and wrapped it around his forearm securely; he did the same with the other half on his still bleeding knuckles. His left arm was effectively useless now, but at least he wouldn't get his blood everywhere.
Selene was beginning to pull herself off the floor across the mats. Her sweat soaked hair clung to her neck and face as she glared fiercely at him. Her scars glowed menacingly as she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side, clothed in only a gray cotton sports bra, her defined abs contracting with her deep breaths. The woman cracked her neck audibly, along with her knuckles as she flexed her fists at her side.
"Okay," Her voice was painfully hoarse as she spoke. "Now am going to enjoy kicking your ass."
Kolyat took a few steps forward as he fell into a defensive stance.
"Bring it on, Shepard," his deep voice rumbled with a confidence that surprised even himself.
The pair continued their fight, introducing their biotics to the fray. Kolyat watched with satisfaction as one of his biotic whips wrapped around the smaller woman's ankle. He pulled forcefully, intending to bring her to the ground once more if he could close the distance between them. Selene used the momentum to spin herself gracefully in the air, flipping out of the circle and landing with her fist against the ground, sending a booming shockwave of energy around her. Kolyat dove to the side, missing the energy by inches, but allowed his forward momentum to carry him closer towards his opponent.
The fight did not stay on the padded mats for long. The two moved between the cramped space of stacked cargo boxes which had been carefully assembled next to the sparing ring. Kolyat was forced to remain on the defense as his larger form struggled to maneuver through the tighter space. Shepard on the other hand used the environment to her advantage. She pushed herself off the side of crates like a pyjak swinging from tree-to-tree.
However, Kolyat began to notice that the Commander's movements became less impactful and precise the longer their match continued. Shepard's eyes blinked rapidly and she visibly shook her head, as if clearing it of unwanted images. She appeared to be affected by something and it was slowing her down.
Kolyat found his opening once more when she swung wildly and met nothing but air. The drell captured Shepard under her legs as he lifted the woman with a growl, before forcefully slamming her against a stack of metal crates. He tiredly held her in place with his own body, trapping her so he could catch his own breath. Judging by her rapidly rising and falling chest she needed to do the same.
Kolyat's left arm throbbed in pain as his blood leaked through the wrappings he had secured around his injuries. The Commander's black shorts were being stained, but neither of them seemed to care as their exhausted bodies rested against one another.
Selene leaned her head back against the cool metal he had her pinned against. The fight slowly drained out of her and her vision swam in a kaleidoscope of color. A cloudy haze filled her peripheral vision and the lights of the cargo bay felt as if they were blinding her. Something was terribly wrong and she needed to figure out what it was, now.
She could feel Kolyat's solid frame shift against her as he moved to look at her. She hated herself for the involuntary moan that left her lips, the sensation of his movement felt good on her hyper sensitive skin.
Kolyat froze at the tempting sound that left the woman's lips. His eyes carefully searched her face, and noticed her eyes were shut tight and her brows visibly creased as if in pain. But the slight pout to her full lips and the breathy sound that had just escaped had not sounded like it was born of pain, but of pleasure.
The blue drell began to take in the position he had her in against the boxes. Her back was pressed against the metal, his hands still supported her weight under her thighs, and her legs were locked firmly around his slim waist.
Well, this is compromising, the blue drell thought alarmingly.
Kolyat made to set her down and back away, but her strong legs prevented him from doing so. Instead, he carried the trembling woman to a crate that was short enough to place her on. He had to forcibly pry her legs and arms from around his waist and neck to lift her head in his hands. She still refused to open her eyes, but her teeth clenched in a pleasant hiss when he touched her.
It was obvious now that something was very wrong with the Commander, and Kolyat feared she would not be able to handle him carrying her to the medical bay.
"Shepard? Shepard, can you hear me?" Kolyat called to her. She did not respond, her head lolling drunkenly from one side to the other as his hands attempted to support her.
Kolyat tried again with no change.
"Selene," he finally called.
Her eyes snapped open suddenly, her pupils blown wide, nearly consuming the silver-green of her irises.
Shit, Kolyat thought.
She appeared to be having some kind of reaction to something and he knew he needed to get her to Dr. Chakwas and Mordin immediately.
Kolyat whispered a harried apology to the woman, before scooping her up into his large arms and sprinting from the cargo hold.
The light laughter and voices of the crew greeted Kolyat as the elevator announced their arrival to the crew deck. Some of the squad were already shouting how late they were before he rounded the corner.
The silence was unnerving as everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the unexpected scene of a bloody Kolyat carrying a weak and shaking Commander.
Thane shot from his seat first and reached their side in a heartbeat. "What happened?"
"Sheneedsmedicalattentionrightaway!"
Kolyat's pleading eyes landed on Mordin, and his hurried speech spurred the salarian to action. He was probably the only one who understood what Kolyat had said.
"Come. Into the medbay quick."
Dr. Chakwas was already readying a bed, having witnessed Kolyat and the Commander's dramatic entrance through the wide windows that looked out to the mess hall.
"What the fuck did you do to her?" Zaeed roared from the entrance of the medbay. A crowed of squad members behind him.
Kolyat ignored the man as he gently deposited the Commander into an empty bed. He could feel all the eyes on him as he stepped away from the woman, allowing the doctors room to work over her.
Kolyat couldn't tear his eyes from the bed, his normally formidable and strong Commander looking small and pale wrapped in the sterile white sheets. Kolyat was jerked from his stricken thoughts by a rough hand spinning him around. The punch that connected with his jaw was a dull afterthought of pain, adrenaline still pumping heavily through his body after his fight with Selene. His fear of what unknown illness had overcome her numbed him.
Regardless, Zaeed's attack sent him crashing into Dr. Chakwas desk, data pads flying off the surface.
Before the mercenary could continue his assault, the man was grabbed from behind by both Thane and Garrus. The two snipers pushed the struggling man back, causing more equipment to smash to the floor.
Dr. Chakwas spun around fast and made her way over to the raging mercenary in only a couple strides. Zaeed did not have time to register the small open hand coming towards his face.
The resounding, sharp sound of a slap rang through the metal walls of the medbay, freezing the three men fighting at the entrance in place.
Zaeed's face snapped to the side, though he didn't look like he was in terrible pain, he was certainly shocked. Dr. Chakwas' steely gray eyes glared at everyone in front of her as she addressed the larger group.
"That is quite enough. I want you all out of my damn medical bay before I start stunning people with my omini tool," she snapped viciously. "Mr. Massani you better not say a word. I want you to stop acting like a raging child and go wait outside."
Chakwas turned her glare on Garrus and Thane. "You two can stay. Tali you as well. Kolyat you are not going anywhere. The rest I want out!"
The medbay doors unceremoniously closed on the other's faces and the windows shutters followed soon after.
The doctor turned back to her work after that. The remaining four people in the room gathered together out of the way as they watch Shepard being worked on.
"So, what did happen Kolyat? Your arm looks like it has been chewed on by a varren and then to show up with Selene half unconscious . . ." Tali's tone was gentle but there was an undercurrent of suspicious, the woman was clearly concerned for her friend.
"I . . . I don't know. We were fighting . . . sparring in the cargo hold after she came down to find me. I managed to place her in a submission, but she broke through with her biotics. We both needed a few moments to recover, but she insisted on continuing, we –"
Just like before, Kolyat was pulled into his memories, his voice evening out as his eyes danced across the ceiling, as if watching everything unfold again:
The burn of her biotics sear across my arm. The pain is unbearable. Blood drips from the open wound onto her gasping face as I push her away. I clutch at the injury; she has not torn the flesh as much as she could. I stand, wrap my arm and hand in my shirt.
I face her once more, watch as she gets slowly to her feet. Her own shirt is removed and tossed to the side, revealing glowing scars and soft light brown skin. Her face, the picture of a beautifully terrifying fury and vengeance; the face of a warrior angel.
"Okay," she speaks in a painfully hoarse voice. Her soothingly deep tone lost after being chocked.
"Now I am going to enjoy kicking your ass."
Kolyat's memory stopped there as he returned to the group. Everyone collectively chose to ignore the more intimate details that had been shared through Kolyat's memory.
"Ah, believe I know what has happened. But just to be sure. Did you and the Commander have any other contact other than your fight?" Mordin turned towards the younger man.
Kolyat shook his head in the negative, confused by what the doctor was asking him.
"Kolyat, he means did you and the Commander have any other oral contact beyond your blood entering her mouth?" Dr. Chakwas' follow up was equally as unhelpful.
Other oral contact? A small voice in his head murmured.
"Kolyat," his father's voice was quiet, almost gentle. "Did you and Selene kiss or preform any other acts that would bring her mouth in contact with your scales."
Oh, that kind of oral contact, his mind registered slowly.
Kolyat's neck grew brighter at his blush, but he quickly stammered out a reply before the occupants of the room came to the wrong conclusion. "No! No. We were only sparring. Nothing else. I promise."
If the situation was not so serious, Garrus would have accused the younger man of protesting a little too much. Currently, the concern exhibited by the drell pointed towards the truth. Not that the younger drell hadn't thought about kissing the Commander, they were all sure of that at this point.
"Well, she seems to be suffering a violent reaction to your body's natural toxins. The oil from your scales, in combination with something as potent as your blood has caused her to fall into a powerful hallucinogenic state."
Dr. Chakwas' voice was calm as she injected the Commander with a sleep sedative.
The Commander had yet to say a word throughout the whole exchange. Her eyes remained tightly closed and her jaw was clamped shut. Kolyat observed that her hands were fisted into the bed sheets at her side. Her whole demeanor suggested she was in pain rather than any hallucinogenic state.
The blue drell's eyes shifted to the ceiling above, noticing the fluorescent lights were the same glaringly bright ones that were featured in the cargo bay.
"EDI," Kolyat called to the omnipresent AI.
"Yes, Mr. Krios?" The famine synthetic voice responded.
"Can you lower the lights in the medical bay, please?" He was not sure he had the authorization to make that request in a space he had no domain over.
However, EDI immediately complied. As the lights dimmed, the effect on the Commander was immediate. Her body unclenched and her eyes opened lightly. The concerned group of friends shifted closer, leaning over the woman. She offered a small smile.
"Hey, guys. Thank you for turning down the lights." Her voice was a weak croak.
"You doing alright, Shepard?" Garrus trilled softly, his subvocal calling out his worry in a language she could now hear, but not understand.
The Commander nodded, lifting two figures briefly in a V-shape. The unfamiliar gesture seemed to satisfy the other three, which eased Kolyat's own anxiety.
The blue drell watched as Garrus reached out a gently curled claw, running it lightly over the woman's exposed arm. He jumped back when Selene let out a groaned hiss and turned away from him. Her whole body tensed once more, her hips lifting slightly off the bed.
"Would not touch her. Hypersensitive skin could cause her great pain or pleasure, either one would cause embarrassment later." Mordin stepped in between Garrus and the slowly relaxing woman.
Pain or pleasure?
Kolyat replayed the breathy moan that Selene had given when his body had shifted against hers down in the cargo hold. His experience with relationships and sex was relegated to a few moments of heavy teenage kissing, one relationship that had not ended well, and a couple involvements with individuals that had not lasted longer than the next morning. However, he was knowledgeable enough to know that Selene had definitely not been in pain when he held her.
The thought caused a pleasant warmth to travel up his spine as he thought about her making that sound under entirely different circumstances. Him causing those sounds. A shiver raced through his body.
He quickly banished the inappropriate thoughts, not wishing to disrespect Selene by fantasizing about her, especially in a situation that had ended with her in the medical bay.
A sudden thought of dread gripped him as he turned to the doctors. "Is this a normal reaction for humans? Or is she more sensitive than most?"
Thane noted the carful way Kolyat formed his question, as did the doctors. The younger man wanted to know if Selene would always react the same to coming into contact with a drell. His brain idly wondered if he could ever interact closely with the woman without sending her into an incapacitated state.
Dr. Chakwas supplied the young man an answer she hoped would ease his mind, "Each person, regardless of race, reacts differently to different psychotropic substance. Usually the effects of drell fluids causes a powerful high that is enjoyable for humans. This is why certain mixologist choose to add them to cocktails. However, the potency of your blood caused an overdoes effect that, though it is not deadly, caused the reaction you see right now. However, Cerberus managed to bring Selene back with a strong immune system that should flush out the toxins by morning."
Kolyat looked mildly relieved, but his hidden question had yet to be answered.
Chakwas continued in a natural tone. "Most likely, if she was to encounter the same situation again, her body's new enhanced germ response would remember the interaction. Simply put, she will not suffer the same reaction again. Possibly just a mild high at the most."
Kolyat did a great job of not looking overly pleased with the news, but his father and Chakwas could not be fooled.
Garrus and Tali appeared to be focused on their relief rather than second conversation. The pair volunteered to notify the rest of the crew of Shepard's condition and to explain to everyone what happened.
Garrus encouraged Kolyat to wait a few minutes before leaving, to give those that were understandably worried time to cool down from any anger they were directing at him.
Kolyat knew the man was protecting him from another confrontation with Zaeed, who could be seen leaning impatiently against the wall in front of the medbay as Tali and Garrus exited.
"Alright, young Mr. Krios. Let's see about that arm," Chakwas pointed to the chair next to her, giving no room for Kolyat to argue.
The blue drell remained silent as the woman worked on him. Not even flinching when she stabbed him with several different medi-gel applicators, as well as a bone fracture serum for his knuckles. Within a few minutes she was wrapping his injures with clean gauze and bandages.
"Okay, looks like you will survive. I suggest keeping those wrapped for the next twenty-four hours to make sure the scales fuse together properly. The dark energy residue from Selene's attack made it so it takes longer for the medi-gel to completely knit your tough skin together."
Dr. Chakwas smiled at him as she finished. Kolyat nodded in thanks. His gaze drifting back to the quietly sleeping woman on the bed to his right.
"Will she really be fine by morning?"
Mordin, who had stayed to take additional scans of the Commander to ensure her system was indeed doing what Dr. Chakwas said it was, answered. "Yes, certainly. Most traces of drell toxins are already being killed off."
Thane placed a strong but gentle hand on his son's shoulder as he spoke. "She will be okay, Kolyat. Shepard has survived much worse."
The other two in the room nodded in agreement.
"We should leave the Commander to rest now."
Thane motioned Kolyat to the exit. Kolyat briefly thought about asking if he could stay and sleep in the medbay tonight. However, he did not want to raise even more suspicion and get probed with awkward questions.
He chose to leave, sending another thank you to the doctors before exiting.
The mess hall was significantly emptier than before. Only Mess Sargent Gardner and Garrus remained. The kindly Sargent placed a bowl of steaming thick soup in front of Kolyat as the younger man took a tired seat at one of the empty tables. The drell ate quietly as his father and Garrus chatted lightly with one another.
Garrus explained that he and Tali had informed the rest of the crew what had happened, and that Shepard was going to be fine. Grunt and Zaeed had apparently demanded to see the Commander, but Garrus had been firm in his refusal. The two senior squad members of the Normandy dismissed everyone to their rooms, earning an indignant huff from Miranda.
The Cerberus appointed second-in-command resented not only being kept out of the loop regarding Shepard's medical care, but also being dismissed like any other member of the crew. Garrus' predatory growl and Tali's crossed armed stance and empty stare through her helmet had cut short any protest that the woman was about to make.
The squad had been successfully placated and now the tired turian was going to bed. He bid the three other men goodnight and walked off to the forward battery.
Thane asked Kolyat once more if he was alright. The younger man answered with a quiet mumble that he would be fine, and that he just wanted to wash up before turning lights out for the night cycle. Thane nodded with understanding and gave his son the space he was asking for.
Kolyat placed his empty bowl with Gardner, thanking the man for the delicious meal, before moving on to the crew showers. He stripped himself of his clothes, sending the soiled garments to the laundry room. He was carful to not move his bandaged arm directly under the spray of hot water.
For a while, the only thing Kolyat did was rest his forehead against the cool metal of the shower wall, allowing the jet of hot spray to beat against his sore muscles. Normally, drell partook in sand baths or stone polishing in order to clean and buff their scales. Showers with water were only preformed when they had particularly made a mess of themselves. However, Kolyat had come to appreciate the daily bathing ritual. The warm beat of the water soothed his aches and pains, and remined him of the persistent rainfall on Kahja.
He found that taking his shower late into the night cycle after dinner usually afforded him the privacy that was so scarcely found aboard the ship. The solitude allowed his mind to wonder and reflect on the day's events. Currently, his head was filled with thoughts and images of what happened in the last hour.
Kolyat knew he had been foolish to lose track of his training. Unfortunately, the knowledge that three months had already passed and he still he had not been allowed to join the ground team on missions had begun to irk him. He told himself he needed to be patient; three months were hardly a significant amount of time to develop skills like the ones the squad possessed.
Regardless, Kolyat was beginning to feel useless on the Normandy, his days were filled with studying and training while everyone else got to join Shepard on one mission or another. They even had important research and duties regarding the improvement of the ship that Kolyat had yet to contribute to.
Kolyat scrubbed his body clean, rinsed, and shut off the water. As he dried his scales off, and wrapped the towel around his waist he remembered the comment Selene had made before she attacked. It seems that you are in need of a lesson on what I consider weak and fragile Mr. Krios.
Judging by the fight she had given him, he would suspect she did not think of him as weak after all. Selene held absolutely nothing back, and if not for her trick with her biotics, he would have actually won that battle.
Not being any less confused than when he had entered the shower, Kolyat crept silently through life support. He dressed quietly for bed, careful not to wake his father.
As the younger drell stretched out on his cot, he thought of his Commander in the medial bay only a few yards from his room. He recalled how strong her thick legs felt wrapped around his waist. Her body, cloaked in soft skin around firm muscles, the kind of human flesh that was alien to a drell's scaled skin texture. She had felt sinfully good in his hands, pinned against the box and his own body.
He secretly wanted to greedily replay the images and sensations that his perfect mind could dredge up like a living fantasy in his mind. He wanted to remember every hitched breath, every subtle movement of her body against his own, the silky strands of hair falling in her face—begging to be touched—
He forcibly cleared his mind, allowing him to finally submit to sleep. His last thought was a sliver of hope that the Commander would not be angry with him tomorrow. He also hoped he would survive any encounters with Zaeed and Grunt.
Author's Note: My sister managed to edit the chapters early. Both chapter nine and ten have been posted together!
We hope you enjoy these two chapters. Chapter eleven may take longer than a week to post, only because it is over twenty pages long. We will try to get it posted in a timely manner.
Thank you for continuing to read ^-^