No one moved. Sevs couldn’t tell if it was because everyone was determined to go on. Or if no one dared to throw themselves out of an airlock. Either way, the room was full of statues. Zim waited several seconds longer than necessary before continuing on.

“Good, I promise you all, if you do as I say, I will get you to meet our baseline. It will not be easy, but it is possible for everyone. I have the personal training skill at a high level.” Zim smiled as if that was bad news for them. “That means that if you are not making appropriate progress, then it’s your fault.”

Sevs had to consider how Zim worked for a crowd. He must have a decent boost of charisma. As well as a good baseline for it. Sevs could learn a lot from watching him. It wasn’t just what he said but how he said it. The pauses and cadence. It was timed precisely, so right when you were unsure, that was when the next blow came. Just now, he was perfectly comforting. Giving everyone real hope, twisting it, and only then they found it was a knife. The pressure he put on them seemed perfectly calculated to push them forward.

“Now, before the first lesson. I just tested your endurance and drive. Now I want to see your combat. Unfortunately, the world is a bit skewed away from higher-tier skill use. They are not useless. But there is very little magic, and with the weapons and armor, many high-tier physical skills are not nearly as effective as they are elsewhere. You will find general proficiency skills to be the best value here. Instead of mages, an INT build will tend towards engineering or the like. Dex maybe will be a sniper, pilot, or gunner. And so on. But because of this, we are going to learn basic hand-to-hand combat. Many of you will get the physical combat skill by the time we are done. This will be useful in close quarters. For longer-range combat, I will teach you to use the rifles you were issued. From that, you might get the Marksman skill, which will be useful for many different positions. Any questions?”

No one spoke. “Good. I imagine you didn’t get any of that, but we’ll get it through your heads. Who’s first?”

No one moved.

“Common, who can take me?”

Nothing.

“Typically, someone would have the guts to try. I would attribute it to you all having brains, but I know that’s not true.” Zim scanned the group. “Really? You are going to make me pick someone, huh?”

Zim waited. Sevs took a breath and was about to step forward. Then Jason saved him. He pounced. Apparently, Jason didn’t take ridicule well. Sevs saw his face was red from anger. Perhaps wisely, he didn’t give Zim any warning. Likely that was his only chance.

“Good, some guts. Now. Are you just out of control, or did you want to use surprise? You weren’t yelling as you tried to ambush me. That's a good thing, at least.” Zim kept up, a steady stream of commentary half insulting and half instructing as Jason swung at him. Nothing landed. Zim moved his feet slightly and leaned one way or the other, occasionally ducking under wild swings. Since Jason’s reach was short, there wasn’t much need. Every once in a while, he would put a hand on Jason’s shoulder or chest and slightly redirect him. Once Jason started to peter out, Zim grabbed his wrist and pulled Jason onto his face. "Needs stamina and control. You can’t pass out thirty seconds into a fight."

He pulled Jason to his feet by the call of his flight suit. “Who is next? Or do I need to start picking?”

This time Sevs stepped forward. “I think I will give it a shot.”

Sevs reached out his hand instinctively for the tap he was used to sparring to signal the start. Zim gave him a broad smile. He reached forward and grabbed his hand. His grip was crushing, and he threw Sevs behind him. “Bad habit. You can’t wait for me. That kid had the right idea.”

Zim nodded to Jason. Turned to face Sevs to continue, but Sevs wasn’t on his face. He had rolled with the throw, and Zim hadn't looked behind him. A low kick slammed into the back of Zim’s calf. It didn’t matter how tough you were; that could deaden the muscle, especially if the receiver wasn’t ready. Zim’s leg buckled, but to his credit, he stayed on his feet. Zim whirled around to block a right cross before it hit his head.

This time Zim wasn’t able to dance the same way he was with Jason. He took hits too. Not direct ones and not frequently. After a dozen strikes went by and Sevs showed no signs of slowing. Then Zim went on the offensive. Sevs slipped and rolled for all he was worth. Sometimes Sevs got in a counter, but that was rare. It was clear he was outmatched. Both in speed and power. But also experience. Zim clearly, wasn’t trying his hardest but couldn't just do as he pleased. Sevs figured Zim had a much higher level skill than him in Physical Combat, probably a tier three skill as well. And from the little time he had to observe him, he likely was more familiar with physical combat from previous interactions. Sevs prayed the tier three skill was striking one as he went for a takedown.

To his absolute astonishment, Zim went down. It wasn’t clean, so Zim was able to get a guard. Quickly he started working on an escape. It was all Sevs could do to prevent a reversal. There was no advancement in submission chances. Before Zim could flip him over, Sevs hopped back to stand ready. Zim rolled to grab his ankle, but Sevs skipped back. In that second, Zim was back on his feet.

This time the smile Sevs got was more genuine. “Very good. You have Physical Combat?”