1
The sun burned incessantly, the heat rising from the rich vegetation, coating Glax'll's skin with sweat. The mask that covered his face fed him with the mix his body needed for sustenance, but it could not stave off the relentless temperatures that battered at his crested skull. He shook his dripping dreadlocks and jumped across to the next tree.
His prey stood below, oblivious to his presence. It's four legs playing lazily with the undergrowth as it covered it's excrement. It's large, powerfully jawed head sniffed the air, catching a whiff of Glax'll's scent. Above it, in the branches, stood the Predator, his shoulder blaster getting a bead on the three laser marks that rested on that same bone-crushing head. The beast roared and sprinted into the undergrowth just as Glax'll fired his blaster, reducing a patch of plantlife to it's component molecules. Glax'll growled impatiently and unstrapped his retractable spear, jumping from tree to tree in pursuit.
The beast crashed through bushes, low-hanging tree branches, and toppled saplings in it's efforts to get away. Glax'll kept pace with it, his powerful leg muscles springing him onwards. His spear was poised, ready to make the final, deadly throw.
Suddenly, a brutal blow struck him in the chest, sending him somersaulting down onto the forest floor. The beast heard the crash behind it and saw the Predator on the ground. It snarled and turned, scraping it's hind limbs, making ready to charge. As it bowed it's massive head, there was a sound like a whipcrack, and a searing beam of light shot out of the treetops, passing straight through the creature's skull. The beast tumble to the ground with a crash that caused the ground to shake beneath Glax'll, jolting him awake.
He looked up to see Gerr'ka, one of his fellow hunters, skinning the beast with his tools. Rage flooded through Glax'll's glowing blood. He leapt to his feet and charged Gerr'ka, bringing him down next to the already stripped carcass. They wrestled around on the ground, trying to free weapons from their hiding places to rip and rend each other. Strong hands intervened.
"Enough!" growled an authoritative voice. Several tribe members were with the one who owned that voice, pulling the two brethren apart. They were held fast by tethers as the leader of the group stepped forward.
Griss'na, the leader reached up and ripped the breath masks from the combatants faces. Their quad-jaws immediately opened, yelling threat and counter-threat. They struggled at their tethers, but they held fast. "Silence!" shouted Griss'na above the din. The young tribe members stopped.
"In all my years as leader of this tribe, I have never seen such dishonour in these contests!"
Gerr'ka hung his head in shame. Glax'll glared at him.
"Gerr'ka, you were seen by the judges cloaked and attacking Glax'll while he was about to make the kill. Do you deny it?"
Gerr'ka faced the chief. "You always favour him! You told me that the contest was about trophies! About winning! I did what I had to do, Father!"
Griss'na openly flinched when his son named him in front of the others. "But not at the expense of the honour of the tribe!"
"I don't care!"
"No," said Glax'll sardonically, "You obviously don't."
"Talk with respect to your future chief, Glax'll," Gerr'ka snarled.
"Not any longer, Gerr'ka," said Griss'na almost sadly.
"What do you mean?" For the first time, there was fear in the young Predator's eyes. A fear that this dishonour in front of many may bring the ultimate punishment, one which he would never survive to learn from.
"There is only one course of action that can restore honour. You must make the ultimate sacrifice."
Gerr'ka shook his head. "No."
"You must die by your own blade, or face the cord. Honour or dishonour. It's your choice, Gerr'ka."
Gerr'ka bowed his head in defeat. "Very well. I will fall on my sword."
Griss'na nodded and marched away with his honour guard. Those that remained released Glax'll, leading Gerr'ka away to the city to face the tribe's justice.
__________________________________________
The city square was packed to capacity. Word spread very quickly through the Predator community, and Gerr'ka emerged from the shuttle that had taken him here to the snarls and growls of the rest of the tribe. Two tribe members flanked him, spears pointed at him, leading him to where Griss'na stood with his mate, Gaan'flek. Gaan'flek was almost the same height and build as the Chief, apart from the obvious physical differences. She cradled a child in her arms, another hunter in the making, the baby lazily suckling on her breast.
Gerr'ka stood before his chief, who stepped forward. He unclasped Gerr'ka's trophy belt, where so many different skulls, small and medium sized, dangled. Then, he removed Gerr'ka's bandoleer, where an equal number of small skulls and finger and claw bones hung swaying gently.
The ceremony took place in complete silence, as though Griss'na did not acknowledge the Predator that he was stripping of all status and worth. Griss'na offered Gerr'ka the sword with which he had to perform his final act, the act that would restore him to honour and allow him to be buried with his trophies.
Glax'll stood a little behind the chief, his expression blank.
Gerr'ka took the sword, his grip slick on the hilt from the sweat on his palms. He looked at the serrated blade and realised that he was not ready to die yet, not even for the honour of a decent burial. He reversed his grip on the hilt, pointing the blade at his stomach. As he swung the blade down, he side-stepped and skewered the guard to his left in the midriff. The guard roared in pain as the blade was pulled out, opening the wound further and splattering his glowing blood onto the floor of the podium.
As he removed the blade, Gerr'ka switched his grip and swung the blade heavily, decapitating the other guard before he could react. The Chief was so stunned that he did not react immediately. Gerr'ka took his chance and leapt from the podium, using the heads of his fellow tribe members as stepping stones towards the shuttle. Shouts and cries of alarm swept through the crowd. Laser sights flashed into life from several crowd members, firing off laser shards from every direction. All of them miraculously missed Gerr'ka as he jumped off the crowd and ran up the side of the ship and into the entrance. He pressed a button and closed the doors behind him, running for the cockpit.
A few Predators hammered at the entrance door as the engines hummed into life. A bright glow issued forth from the thrusters and the tribe was forced to move away. Having no heavy artillery made it impossible to Gerr'ka making his getaway in the ship as it lifted off the ground and hurtled into the sky, heading for outer space, and freedom.
_____________________________________________
Griss'na sat before the City Council, the ten most senior tribe members, discussing the unprecedented events of that fateful day. Never before had a tribe member refused honour. Never before had one chosen the path of dishonour by murdering his fellows and fleeing from his duty and responsibility. Many Council members remained silent through the exchange of words, so shocked were they by the events at hand.
"Gerr'ka must be pursued," said Griss'na, "His honour has been severely compromised, and there is no telling where he will go and what he will do."
"I know where he is going," said a voice from the shadows that echoed throughout the chamber. The figure stepped forward. It was Glax'll, playing with his discus. "As for what he will do…he'll probably do all that he knows. Hunt."
"But where?"
"His ship is heading for the other side of the galaxy. If I may be permitted, I would like to go and capture him so that he may receive our justice."
A murmur ran through the council. Clearly, this was an idea they all agreed on as there was much nodding of heads. Griss'na looked into Glax'll's eyes.
"Are you sure you are ready for this, Glax'll? You have not passed the final trials."
"Consider this my final trial, my Chief. If I fail, then I will not return. It's as simple as that."
Griss'na nodded. "What you say makes sense, of course." The Chief turned to one of the guards. "See to it that Glax'll has access to the armoury, and ready him a ship to pursue Gerr'ka."
The guard nodded and walked out of the chamber to make the arrangements.
"Glax'll, your wish has been granted. Your actions will be rewarded on your return."
Glax'll bowed and marched proudly out of the chamber to prepare for his journey.
__________________________________________
Glax'll stood in the armoury, a massive room which he never thought he would see this season. He imagined himself doing at least two more seasons before being allowed to hunt on his own. Now, suddenly, here he was, making ready for his first, and possibly his last trip.
But the prey was a little unusual to say the least.
He was hunting one of his own.
In the entire history of their race, Glax'll had never heard of that happening before. Hopefully, his actions would ensure that it would never happen again.
He remembered playing with Gerr'ka when they were children; hide and seek games to hone their hunting and stealth skills; the time when Gerr'ka had stolen the cloaking device from his father and used it to terrify him in the forest; when they first started weapons training and got equal scores in the discus throwing. All these memories came flooding back, all of them now tinged with an air of sadness at his friend's sudden turning. Honour was everything to him. It was everything to the Tribe.
And it had to be preserved at all costs.