Chapter1: Alea iacta est...
There he stood atop the beast. The Ooman Vaughn who had become the hunter. He grabbed a hold of one of many large spikes lining the creature's back. He held tight as the beast bucked and writhed under him. Vaughn threw his hand back, raising the wrist blade then dropping it in an instant and plunging into the beast's eye. The large blades dug in with little effort, gouging the right eye of this swamp beast. It let out a hideous roar as is swung its head from side to side, and shook its body trying to get the man off. Vaughn took one look at the two young Yautja and shouted "run!" and they took off towards a nearby grouping of trees.
The man dove off of beast's back and into the nearby water with a splash. The beast staggered about, its one good eye strained with rage as blood dripped from the other. It sniffed at the air, and caught the sent of the two young Yautja, but it didn't care for them anymore, it wanted the man. It slowly stepped down into the water as it began to whiff small traces of him. It moved further out, and held it's head down close to the water, still sniffing. The jaw of the beast almost touched the water as it continued to search for the synthetic man, a quite unique scent.
There was a calm that crept over the entire swamp, the bugs stopped buzzing, the wind stopped blowing, and water seemed to turn to glass. The only sound was the heavy breathing of the beast. Suddenly an arm shot out of the water, shattering the environmental neutrality. The blades jutted up into the tip of the bottom of the creature's jaw with a quick and deadly precision and force. Before the beast had a chance to react the arm guided the blades effortlessly down to the throat of the creature and tearing out the bottom of its mouth. The blades tore through its flesh and reached it's chest. A long bloody fissure gaping from it's neck. The beast made a horrible sound as it stumbled away. It shook with convulsions as the blood poured from its slashed throat. It turned back the way it came to see the man rising from the water like some kind of mystical being. This monster's final thought would be the first of this kind it had ever had, fear.
The creature now lay dead in the water, as Vaughn walked up onto the nearby land. He stood there for a second, looking around. Then he flipped open the tiny wrist computer on his left gauntlet, tapped at a few buttons, then began speaking.
"I have the Young bloods, ready to return." He spoke in Yautja, a tongue that he had spoke in for quite some time now. The two Young bloods stepped out of the trees and seemed to radiate shame.
"Why did you leave?" was the stern response they got from Vaughn.
"We... we are sorry" one of the Yautja began to make an excuse, then gave up. A small sleek ship de-cloaked as it came into position over them. It hovered down into a landing on the soggy ground with its near silent engines. Vaughn and one of the Yautja made their way towards it, the other stayed behind for a second.
"But what about..." The young blood who stayed behind timidly motioned towards the corpse of the beast. Vaughn turned back to him and said "If you think your getting that trophy, then you have more to learn than I thought. Leave it to the scavengers."
The ship exited the orbit of the small planet and quickly jumped to hyper speed.
"We have to hurry if we want to catch the Arbiter." Vaughn said as he sat on a side bench seat in the back of the drop ship.
"So how about telling me why you thought it was a good idea to leave on your own?" Vaughn said in a slightly more friendly tone than before as he took off his mask. He had changed much in the time he had spent hunting. His hair had darkened again, this time to an almost black. He was now 6'6", five inches shorter than the average predator, but for a human he was big. His skin had taken a dark tanned tone and it complimented his new muscle mass nicely. He wore his new hair back in dreadlocks that stretched to his shoulders, ornamented with black and golden beads.
"Well I...I thought that if we could get a big trophy like that, that we would have more honor than any of the others." One of the young bloods said. Vaughn laughed and shook his head.
"Yeah well… don't be so hasty in the future. The hunter's greatest weapon is the knowledge of his prey." The pilot of the drop ship looked back at them after checking a display.
"It looks like we caught up to the Arbiter sooner than expected, they have entered the orbit of Kelos." Vaughn stood and walked to one of the windows as they fell from hyper space.
"Good, we've caught up with them with no problems... And even better, I love Kelos!" He said with a smile. The drop ship docked in with the huge bronze cruiser soon after. Vaughn made his way towards the bridge after he told the two young bloods to report to Ka'jeal. The big doors slid open as the man walked up to them. He entered the bridge and strode up to the large chair with Vanguards on each side. The Arbiter sat there, flicking through some files on a small computer screen. Vaughn took a knee.
"My lord, I've retrieved the young bloods." The arbiter raised his brow and spoke. "Ah... that. Yes, good."
"And let me be the first to say that I'm happy that you have decided to visit Kelos again." Vaughn said, his head still bowed. The Arbiter motioned for him to rise as he pushed the computer display to the side.
"Ooman you have served me well, much more so than I had ever expected. You have visited Kelos before but always with your mask on for fear we may confuse them, but this time I want you to play a larger role.
Their simple people view us as gods as yours did long ago, but they have begun to grow smarter. Some of their citizens want more proof that we are gods, and while we could just as easily force them to serve us, voluntary servitude is much simpler."
"What is it that you want me to do my lord?" Vaughn said as he tried to figure out where this was going.
"You shall travel to the surface of Kelos, and convince them that you are a God that has taken their form, proving our divine powers. Their physical appearance is nearly identical to yours so you should have no problems."
Vaughn nodded. He had learned long ago that not every problem had a physical solution.
"What will they want to do Grand Arbiter?" Vaughn asked as he thought about it. The Arbiter shook his head as he pulled the monitor back in front of him.
"I do not know, but do what you must to prove to them we are gods. I have more important matters to attend to. Take two escorts along with you, Kelos houses a blooding temple and although it is not the time of blooding, ritual beasts are dormant within." Vaughn stayed silent, He knew his place as an Ooman among these Yautja meant he could never participant in a blooding. As much progress as he had made, and as accepted as he was, they would never let him forget his place. "Be gone now, I have matter to attend to." The Arbiter said as he dismissed Vaughn.
"Your will be done my lord." Vaughn left the chamber with haste.
"Kaj… hey Kaj you there?" Vaughn said through the intercom channel to Ka-jeal's room. The door slid open and Ka-jeal came walking out in full armor. His pearl colored plates where a stark contrast to Vaughn's own gold shaded ones.
"I already know about it, Oh mighty God!" Ka-jeal said with a theatric bow. Vaughn laughed as he struck a heroic pose.
"So do you think, I have the look down or what?" He said with a smile. Ka-jeal rubbed his chin and looked away.
"You are without a doubt the ugliest god I have ever seen!" Ka-Jeal said dramatically. They both laughed and hit fists together.
"So you're in I assume?" Vaughn asked as they began walking down the hall.
"Of course I am my brother" Ka-jeal replied.
"Alright, I'll meet your in the hanger in a minute, just let me get ready… oh, and grab someone else to, I'm supposed to have two escorts." Vaughn said as he ducked into his room. Ka-jeal nodded and headed off towards other rooming areas