Author's Note: I am not new to fanfiction, but I am new to this site. This is also my first jaunt into the Predator/Alien genre, but I've always been a huge Predator/Alien fan (Just ask my friends and family...I'm a bit obsessive, lol). I always welcome constructive criticism so don't hesitate to tell me what you think. Please feel free to correct me or offer advice. I won't be in the least bit offended. This story will be rated M for language, violence, and other mature sitations in the future. That being said, I hope you get at least a small bit of enjoyment out of this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Aliens or Predator. I only own my own original characters.

Amentet

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Chapter 1

The once bustling space station was now essentially sitting dead in the water. The passageways once filled with chatty, smiling scientists running to and fro conducting their research now resembled the inside of a mausoleum. Its functionality lost, this place would now serve as a grim warning to others as to why man shouldn't meddle in things they don't truly understand.

The main power had finally given out not long ago. It would have been pitch black inside the tiny control room were it not for the dull red lighting being put out by the back up system. Perhaps mercifully, the power outage had also cut off the horror show that had been broadcasting over the security monitors for the past few hours. Thank God for small miracles...

"We can't stay here."

The woman jumped at the voice but continued to huddle in a darkened corner of the cramped space, staring absently at the floor in front of her. She was seemingly oblivious to the man who had just addressed her.

"Did you here me?" Capt. Tamarr Watts kneeled down in front of his colleague. He leaned in close, snapping his fingers in front of her nose. "Melissa?"

The young woman cringed as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes and shook her head vigorously back and forth. Negative. She would rather stay here locked in this room and die of starvation or suffocation or even stark raving lunacy than go back out there. She would not be venturing back outside beyond the relative safety of the four walls currently surrounding her. Nope, she liked her insides right where they were, on her inside.

"Mel..." Watts gently pulled her hands away from her face. "We have to go..."

"GO WHERE?!" Lt. Melissa Harris balled her hands into fists and slammed them into her thighs. "Everyone is dead...they're all fucking dead..." Her voice trailed off once again into tears.

Watts rocked back on his heels, rubbing a hand across his chin and ignoring the woman's outburst. He nodded to himself. "We can get outta here. We just have to get to the docking level and find a ship. Its only two decks down. We can make it."

Melissa threw her head back and laughed. It was a cold laugh, devoid of any real humor. "Only two decks down? You really think we're gonna get outta here?" She struggled to her feet and lurched across the small room to stare into the darkened monitors. "You saw them...we-we watched..." She pointed a shaking finger at the darkened screen. "We watched them all die..." Her entire body shuddered violently.

Watts stood then and carefully approached the woman. She hadn't been quite right since watching one of those alien larva chew their way out of Major Sandoval's chest cavity the day before. He turned her around to face him, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders. "Listen, Mel, I know this is some heavy shit, but I need you to get your head together for me. Alright?" He pulled her to his chest in an attempt to soothe her. "If we stay here, they're eventually gonna find us. We need to move."

Melissa mumbled against his shoulder, shaking her head weakly. Her tears soaked through the fabric of his uniform shirt. "I don't want to die. Not like this. Please..."

"Shh..." Watts rubbed her back between her shoulder blades. "You're not gonna die. We're gonna go down there and commandeer us a ship and you're gonna fly us the hell out of here. That's what you're gonna do." He pulled back to look at the woman.

She was young, only 22, and fresh out of the academy. What she lacked in age, she made up for in ability. She was a damn good pilot. He had been lucky to get her. Watts was certain Harris hadn't envisioned anything like this happening when she had joined the Corp. Hell, he was a seasoned veteran and he was still trying to wrap his mind around the situation. If anyone had told him he would be running around a space station like a pig in a slaughterhouse trying to avoid being flayed open by monsters, he wouldn't have believed it either.

Watts sighed as he stepped away from the woman all together to look at the barricaded exit. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather try my luck out there in the open than wait for them to come beat down this door."

Melissa seemed to startle a bit, her eyes widening at the images his words caused to play through her mind: claws, fangs, acidic blood, the rending of flesh. Deep down, she knew Watts was right. They couldn't stay here forever if they had any hope to survive. The Marine in her, thankfully, chose to rear its head. They needed to focus on an exit strategy. She nodded her head in agreement. "Okay..."

Watts looked back toward the woman. At least he had gotten her attention. He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Okay." Kneeling, he began to gather their equipment off the floor.

Melissa tried hard to push aside all the death, all the horror she had been witness to over the past 24 hours. Still, her mind kept conjuring images of black, snapping jaws full of serrated teeth and the silent, shimmering assassin that stalked the hallways. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pressed her shaking hands to her temples, willing the visions to leave her. Her eyes quickly snapped open again as Watts thrust her body armor toward her.

"You gonna be alright?" Watts looked the woman over. She seemed to have come to her senses if only a bit. He only hoped she could hold it together long enough for them to get off this God forsaken space station.

Melissa's lip quivered as she stared down at her equipment. Quickly stamping down the emotions that threatened to surface, she began to sort through her gear. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."

Watts reached out to squeeze her upper arm. Good enough for him. He motioned to her armor. "Put that shit back on. Strap it tight...lock down your face guard. I'll be damned if we end up being alien fuck toys."

Melissa nodded as she cinched her heavy flak vest around her midsection. She took a deep, shaking breath before strapping on her helmet and latching the dark tinted, polymer face guard in place. Picking up her discarded rifle from the floor, she snapped her last magazine into place. She only had twenty rounds left and two decks to transverse. She hoped it would be enough.

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He watched and waited, cloaked in the shadows of the dimly lit passageway. The two oomans would have to come out eventually...he hoped. When they did, they would no doubt draw the remaining kainde amedha to themselves. His plan was to dispose of the remaining hard meat as he had been tasked to do and hopefully, if the oomans were in any condition, he would get to spend a little 'quality time' with them as well.

What could possibly be better than hunting oomans and hard meat at the same time? He couldn't think of much that compared. Taking a mate perhaps, but there would be plenty of time for that later. He would have more than his fair share of wet, willing females spreading themselves for him once he returned from this hunt.

A lustful purr escaped him at the thought. Trophies or no, he wouldn't have anything to worry about. He had never suffered from a lack of mating partners. He was greatly sought after, a highly honored hunter in his prime: strong, virile, and deadly. It also didn't hurt that he possessed the physical attributes females found highly desirable in a mate and wished to pass on to their pups. He was always more than happy to oblige them.

The door to the room where the oomans had hid themselves hissed open tearing his thoughts away from naked, writhing females. He watched curiously as the first ooman eased its way out into the corridor. It took a couple steps, glancing around cautiously, before motioning for the other one to join it. A second, smaller ooman shuffled out behind the first, clutching its weapon to its chest.

The larger of the two seemed to be in charge. The big one communicated with the smaller through a series of hand gestures. The smaller seemed to understand what the other wanted and nodded its helmet covered head in agreement. Interested as to what they could be planning, he crept closer to the pair, careful not to bring attention to himself...yet.

Following at a distance, he watched as the oomans moved as a pair purposefully down the corridor. The larger one took the dominant position leading the way, while the smaller one was tasked guarding the area behind them from a rear attack. The hunter rumbled with approval at their tactic. They could be an interesting pair. He decided he would continue to observe them. They would make fine trophies for his collection if they lived up to his expectations...if the hard meat didn't get them first.

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'Damned if you do, damned if you don't...either way, you're fucked.' Melissa warily continued to back down the passageways behind Capt. Watts. She kept her rifle raised and her finger poised on the trigger, ready to let loose a barrage at the mere hint of danger.

So far, they had managed to utilize a ventillaton shaft to descend to the deck below the control room they had been holed up in. It had been an eerily quiet passage. There had not been so much as a glimpse of the horrific alien monstrosities that infested the place. There had, however, been bodies. Too many bodies.

Marine and scientist alike lay littered around the floor like broken toys. Some had obviously succumbed to the bugs, others she guessed had fallen to that other thing running loose. Melissa couldn't say for sure what it was, but it had taken on bug and human alike with devastating results. She had only glimpsed it on the monitors a time or two before the power went out: a ripple in the air, a shimmer in the corner of a room. The end result was always the same, whatever was foolish enough to get in it's way was swiftly dispatched.

Watts suddenly stopped causing Melissa to bump into him. "Wait."

Melissa looked back over her shoulder. "What is it?"

"There's something down there." Watts could just make out the shape of something moving through the darkness of the passageway ahead. The shape of the silhouette's oblong head told him everthing he needed to know. "Fuck! Its one of them..."

Melissa squeezed her eyes shut. "Goddamn it...Tamarr..."

"Shh...easy, Mel." Watts looked down at his rifle and checked his clip. "Its only one. We can take it. How are you on ammo?"

Melissa's finger tightened ever so slightly on the trigger. "I've got 20."

"I've got 14." Tamarr turned his head to look back at his partner. "We need to make every round count. We still have a ways to go, alright?"

Melissa nodded. "Right..."

"C'mon." Watts began his slow trek down the passageway toward the roaming monster. "We're gonna fuck this bitch up."

A pained grin stretched Melissa's lips as she followed her superior down the hallway, her rifle poised to fire. She muttered quitely under her breath, "Hoorah."

To be continued...

Just a short little something to get things rolling.

Till next time,

Amentet