Author's Note: 'It's always the quiet ones' is a saying I always stick by. So far in the Al'kin Chronicles Universe I've created Jek'frey has been the quiet one. I hope this oneshot gives you a glimpse of the power yautja he really is. I also love the character Emily, I have huge plans for her. But so far she will only appear in oneshots I write every so often as she grows. Jek'frey on the other hand will be starring in his own story after the current one is complete. To followers and fans of this series I hope you enjoy this juicy one shot. To new readers – welcome and happy reading.
PS: I don't own predators (bugger)
"Begin." The command was low and firm, reverberating through Emily, down into her core. Smothering the nervous flutter of wings until she felt the cold whip of focus.
She would win. She would show them all.
Only having seconds to make her mark, Emily flicked her hand to the small table next to her. Coming away with her allotment of throwing knives. All perfectly balanced. All expertly crafted.
Brown eyes trained on the target in front and silence filling the twenty meter space, Emily launched her glistening blades towards their end point.
A first. A second. A third. The three thuds within milliseconds of each other.
Breathing out in relief Emily immediately relaxed from the throwing stance that had been drilled into her over and over again throughout the last month.
Silence once again filling the air as the computer calculated her shots.
'Head. Shoulder. Heart.' The computer relayed. 'Twenty-five points.'
The crowd suddenly launched into a roaring cheer and thunderous claps. The loudest was Trinity, the Halfling Yautja she had met in the Amazon Rainforest. "Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!"
She knew the quietest was Jek'frey. Her eyes flicking over the crowd to find her Training Master and saviour. His quiet claps were drowned out, but she saw them none the less. His mandibles pulled into a slight smile, his head giving her a curt nod of approval.
Happiness boomed through her heart. It felt at odds with the tight constriction in her throat and the tears that threatened. But she knew why. Knew there was someone important missing from the cheering crowd. Someone she loved with every fibre of her being. Her mother.
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. She chanted to herself as she stepped down from the podium.
Passing another competitor on her way towards the competitor's observation deck. The young Halfling yautja pup she knew as Dim'ik snarled low in English. "How pathetic."
She had seen horrors this pup couldn't even fathom yet. Didn't even know existed. Even at seven and a half, she was no longer a child of innocence nor naivety. The monsters had come. The monsters had changed everything.
Replying in a way Trinity had taught her, she hissed with venom like the snakes of her homeland. Flashing her teeth. Letting the Halfling pup know he was courting danger.
Having seen everything that transpired between the two unblooded, Trinity stood up and gave another cheer against the now settled crowd. "Show him whose boss!"
Mik'ail, her battle mate, pulled her down to sit again with spurning clicks. The pout on Trinity's lips caused Emily to chuckle as she found her chair to wait out the rest of the competition.
Waiting, the cold numbness that always lived in her heart magnified. The distant and indifferent claws seemed to have a grip on her soul. And though Trinity and Jek'frey both tried to keep her away from the nothingness of despair. It always crept up on her. Besides, how could they when it was now who she was?
Ever since watching her mother being tortured and killed before her eyes by bad bloods, she hadn't been able to distinguish between the coldness and herself.
Yes, she had been saved by Jek'frey – the Arbitrator designated to Earth. Yes, Trinity made it a point to speak, if not visit her every day. And yes, they made her feel beyond this sour darkness inside of her.
But she really, really missed her mother. She really, really missed her home.
"You were amazing." The tender squeak came from behind her and broke her internal focus. She turned to find a pup she knew was named Sam, or Sam'k as the yautja pronounced it in their language.
Smiling sweetly, Emily responded politely, "Thanks, when is your turn?"
The pup smiled, Emily noted that his fangs were only starting to peep through. She wondered if they were going to fall out like hers had done. "I'm not of age to hold a weapon. But I'll be like daddy soon!"
Emily giggled at the folly of Sam's promise, swivelling in her chair to face him, her back to the competition and crowd, she analysed the pup who looked at her in awe. Tuffs of hair sprouted from his crown like grass. Small tusks pushed out from the mouth area. Skin of creamy brown and mottled green gleamed in the artificial light of the small arena. Whilst his small hands finished in dainty claws that she knew would one day mimic the throwing knives she had held today. His feet, held with simple sandal straps, looked like her own. "You must be under five then."
Sam nodded, "I am four years."
From that Emily knew he must be in the training classes below her. That was where she had recognised him from, as well as heard about him in passing. Whispers of his abilities already surpassing the other pups of his age flew around the school. Even Jek'frey had murmured his admiration for the pup named Sam, pointing him out as they passed. Telling her what made him better than the others. 'He has been born with patience.'
Before she could ask Sam more questions, his father, a pure blood yautja, skin of jungle green and brown, reminding her of her home in the Amazon, appeared out from no-where and swooped Sam up into his grasp. "Sam'k don't speak to the Ooman child." Emily heard the adult growl at his son.
A deflated Emily watched as Sam cried, "But she made really good shots!"
Sighing, Emily turned back to the field to find more competitors from her training group had come and gone. Their scores less than hers.
oOo
Finally the competition finished, having won it with her score of twenty-five points, Emily had received her first trophy. A gold hilted throwing knife with a symbol of an xenomorph skull carved into the blade. A promise of future excellence.
It was custom for competitors and their charges to congratulate the winner. But she was Ooman.
"Don't worry Emily, they're being sore losers. High Five darling girl." Trinity had found her through the buzzing crowd and rose her hand as she knelt to Emily's child-like height.
It was an Ooman gesture Emily knew well. It was something her and her mother always shared with a smile and a cheeky wink.
Instead of slapping her palm to Trinity's, Emily burst into tears and ran from the arena. Darting in and around tree trunk legs of different shades and colours to escape and disappear.
Straightening, Trinity looked to her battle mate, the love of her life, Mik'ail. "Was it something I said?" She clicked low in shame.
A masculine shrug a comforting trill, "Maybe she doesn't like high fives?"
A sigh their only warning of Jek'frey's presence. "No, she misses her mother."
"Will she be alright?" Concern dug a furrow between Trinity's blue eyes.
"None would dare touch her under my charge." Mik'ail agreed. Jek'frey was the best arbitrator they had. Which was why he had been assigned to Earth to begin with. Some called him the xeno-yautja, his navy blue skin unique amongst yautja-kind. The only place one could find such skin was on an xenomorph.
"She is alone, maybe I should bring her to the Breeding Moon." Trinity offered. A right she had as the Keeper of Birth.
Jek'frey hissed, distaste at her suggestion sharp on his tongue. "Ooman contact will soften her. She needs to pass her Chiva."
Trinity stepped forward against the aggressive whip, a knife suddenly appearing in her hand. "Don't hiss at me like that. I don't know if you've noticed big bird, but Oomans are more socialable than yautja. And at the moment, no yautja youngling is befriending her."
Jek'frey's red eyes weighed the grey yautja in front of him. Quickly Mik'ail stepped in, "You can train her physically, but if she breaks mentally that's it. Trinity has a point, Oomans are not as solitary as yautja."
Mandibles blowing out in a sigh, Jek'frey conceded. "I did think the yautja children would move to be-friend her. It is frustrating to see they keep their distance and insult her when she wins or achieves an objective better than them. " Jek'frey had even noticed that yautja adults kept a shaming distance from him. The 'Ooman Trainer' he knew they called him behind his back. When did yautja become so petty?
So being a Halfling was fine, but a pure Ooman was too much, too far? Ridiculous. He would put an end to this stupidity.
Trinity suddenly smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she looked at Jek'frey. "Congratulations on your charge winning. She really is amazing. Mik'ail and I have to go to a council meeting. Tell Emily I'll speak to her over hologram tonight."
Jek'frey nodded silently before Mik'ail slapped his forearm in a warriors embrace of friendship. "Congratulations old friend. Let me know when you're ready to return to roster. We need you out there."
"My priorities have changed." Jek'frey simply declined.
With a grim nod Mik'ail farewelled him and left. Jek'frey watched the newly mated couple leave. He respected both Trinity and Mik'ail and took what they had said on board. Every day he had noted Emily's sadness growing, and with it his frustration in his inability to help. Ooman emotions were something he didn't know alot about.
But even with the Halfling, Trinity's interference with Emily's development – the sadness continued to grow. So maybe it had nothing to do with Ooman emotions, maybe she did need to spend time with her own species?
He quickly shook his head. What was he thinking? No. Emily would stay here with him where he could keep an eye on her. With that internal confirmation, Jek'frey set off in search of Emily.
Locating her via the tracking device he inserted under her skin the day she was placed under his charge, Jek'frey found her in the training hall through knives into a target.
He took a moment to analyse the situation. Look before you leap.
The child's skin was a creamy brown and bespoke of the rainforest she had come from. She was no longer dressed in the tunic and leggings designated to the unblooded. Instead she had clothed herself in the shorts and t-shirts he knew she had brought from Earth. He knew the fabric was light in weight, suiting the increase in temperature pumped into the air by the vents above. Every knife she threw punctured the target harder than its predecessor.
From preliminary assessments, Jek'frey know Emily's strength lay with long distance weaponry and combat.
"Dahdtoudi." Little knife. His name for her since he had found her imprisoned in a cage by Bad Bloods deep within the Amazon. "Why did you run from Trinity? It was rude." Crying was also not an option. It distanced her more from the yautja around her since they were creatures who had evolved without tear ducts. But it had only been little over a month since she had lost her Mother. He didn't yet have the heart to tell her to stop.
Emily turned with red-shot puffy eyes. "I want to go home." She sniffed.
"Such nonsense." Jek'frey dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand, stepping closer to the Ooman child.
"I want to go home!" Emily screamed. "Take me home right now!" She pulled her trophy knife free from it's sheath and pointed it at Jek'frey. "This. Is. Not. My. Home." The words were growled out individually.
Surprise amidst other more frustrated feelings rose to the surface, Jek'frey knew though, his mandibles stopped any such feelings from showing. "This is your home." His voice dropped an octave. "And Dahdtoudi you shouldn't threaten your Master like that." His claws clicked along the metal floor as he started towards her.
She threw the knife at him with a scream.
Expecting it, Jek'frey caught the blade with a growl. His wrist locking tight around the hilt as he plucked it form the air.
Towering above her, he dropped the knife and reached for Emily with firm and gentle hands. His grip tightening around her forearms as he lifted her to meet him face to face. It happened so quickly Emily still had a shock look on her face, her brain still trying to work out why her feet were no longer pressing into the training mat.
He hissed at her, giving her a slight shake. "To question what Paya and Cetanu have taken away or provided is to live outside the moment. If you live outside the moment, you are a ghost. Don't be a ghost Emily, you're so much more than that." He didn't know if she would understand what he was telling her due to her young age, but he continued, "I saw it that night as I released you from that cage. Saw it as you pulled the sword from one of your fallen warriors and chased after the escaping bad bloods. You have an immortal fire. Let it burn. But don't let it fall to ash."
Brown, teary eyes stared into his soul. For a split second he saw understanding flicker in their depths, watched as the fire cooled from its raging inferno. With a high pitched wail, Emily broke into tears, her hands reaching for her saviour.
Pulling her into the warmth of his chest, he let her clutch to him, rocking her side to side in comfort, purring to calm her down. "That's right, let the water come. Let it quench the fire for a little while."
OOOOooooOOOO
Later that week when Jek'frey was home alone and Emily visiting Trinity for the night, an expected ring sounded through his home. Right on time, Jek'frey thought as he pressed the control pad to the entrance open.
"Greetings." The brown-green yautja on the other side clicked politely as his hand stretched out in a warrior's greeting.
Clasping it, Jek'frey followed through with his own welcome, "Thanks for coming Simiq."
Motioning to the yautja to enter, Jek'frey did a quick check of the weapons the yautja carried over the threshold. "This needs to be quick, my pup will be finishing his flexibility training soon."
Turning from the closing door, Jek'frey joined Simiq in the lounging area. "Sam'k?"
The yautja nodded fondly. "He has surpassed his peers, his trainers are contemplating whether to move him to the year ahead." He clicked cheerfully as he looked around the room for the item of his interest.
Locating it, Simiq made a beeline straight to it. Picking it up and caressing it with awe. "The Sword of Cetanu." The unconscious trill fell from his mouth.
Jek'frey watched the warrior fondle the weapon passed down to him from generation to generation. No metal or bone was able to stop the swords flow. Impervious to acid and fire, the sword was legend amongst yautja.
"When you told me you wanted to barter it, I couldn't believe it. The Gods favour me."
Jek'frey nearly rolled his eyes, a gesture he had picked up from Emily. Instead of speaking he continued to take in the selfish arrogance that was Simiq.
"I will give you my ship to be given ownership of this weapon."
Having no intention of bartering it, Jek'frey's mandibles lifted into a smirk. "You're ship is a pile of junk compared to the ship I already have." His clicks brutal.
The arrogance in Simiq faltered a split second before recovering. "I must have something you want if you want to barter with me." His huff of confidence disgusted Jek'frey.
"You do have something I want." Jek'frey trilled.
"What?" Simiq eagerly clicked.
"Your son to spend time with Emiki." Even with mandibles, Jek'frey watched as confusion glittered Simiq's facade.
"You will give me this sword in exchange for my son to meet on a continual basis with Emiki?" Confusion led Simiq to clarify if he had heard correctly.
"No." Jek'frey observed as the yautja in front of him visibly relaxed. "I'm not giving you the sword."
"What?" Tiny muscles stiffed as mandibles and hair tubes flared.
"If your son meets with Emiki on a continual basis I'll let you leave this room alive." The cool calm of the statement made the threat even more deadlier.
Raising the sword in the air Simiq hissed, "Threatening me goes against the laws of barter."
"I am bartering with you. I will give you life in exchange for Sam'k spending time with Emiki." He clicked matter-of-factly. "I won't remove your head and spinal cord from your skeletal system. I won't skin you and sell your hide at the market place. I won't feed your meat to my hunting jackals."
"You won't be able to kill me." Jek'frey knew Simiq was clutching at loose ends, watching as he unsheathed the sword and raised it high in the air. "I will defeat you with this."
Sighing Jek'frey let boredom wash through his system, "That's not the Sword of Cetanu." Unclipping his own sword from his belt. "This is."
"How dare you!" Simiq hissed, "This is dishonourable."
Jek'frey huffed in laughter, "You must inform an Arbitrator immediately."
Simiq hissed again raising the sword to bring it down to attack.
"Be careful warrior, even if you die this night I will ensure the current distance between Sam'k and Emiki will be shortened immensely. Your only decision should be whether you want to leave this room in pieces or as a whole."
"Fine!" Simiq roared, lowering the sword. "I accept your barter."
Shaking on the agreement, Jek'frey trilled, "You can keep the sword."
Note: Emily's name is Emily when spoken in English and Emiki when spoke in yautja.