Note: This fanfic takes place after the novel Predator: Prey

Predator and AvP belongs to 20th Century Fox Films. Edana is mine thou!

Prologue might be a bit dull, but I gotta have some history on the characters, as well as some info about Ryushi for those who didn't read the book. And if you haven't read the book there are some spoilers here but I'll try not to ruin it for ya ;). This story also assumes Hunter's Planet hasn't occurred yet, so consider it a transitional fic. I'm expecting this to be a rather long, detailed story so enjoy!

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Machiko Noguchi meditated silently beneath the deadly warm rays of the desert planet known as Ryushi. Her skin had long since become somewhat immune the UV rays which pelted the oven landscape and her skin had become a darker, more leather-like color for it. The tops of dreadlocks were somewhat bleached as well making her Asian strands appear a brownish hue.

The only music to her mediation was the continual grazing noises of her three rhynth, a sort of space cattle, as they chomped greedily at breakfast, as the dry wind which crackled in the background. Her eyes closed, Machiko allowed her mind to replay for the thousandth time her recent adventure on the planet.

Ryushi was an unbearably hot planet, out of the way, and quiet. Almost ideal for raising rhynth herds, which sold well in the food industry of the interactive world. For three years these colonist ranchers worked and devoted themselves to their herds. And everyone's hard work paid off- a gigantic ship called The Lector came to pick up the massive number of space cattle and haul them off to market. That's when things turned bad.

Meanwhile, a group of young Hunters came to the planet. Dachande, the brave and honorable Leader of the pack let loose a number of Alien eggs for his unblooded to hunt. Somehow, things turned the wrong way. Humans saw what they should not have seen. Infected rhynth boarded their deathbed and the parsite Alien spread like a virus. Secret which should have been told were not.

With the mistaken loss of their Leader, the unruly youngsters created a war against the colonists and soon an army of Aliens joined the battle. Only after Machiko allied with the great Dachande were the Aliens and few surving Hunters destroyed.

A smile passed the woman's lips as her thoughts strayed to Dachande. In his last breaths he had branded her with his mark- a symbol she now proudly bore upon her brow. He left her with only a signal of honor and a name in his tongue- Da'hdtou-di, a name she would later translate to "Small Knife".

"Hey Maaaaaa-CHE-kooooo!"

Noguchi exhaled and opened her eyes. No, she wasn't alone here. Edana's bubbling voice was a constant reminder of that. The Japanese woman simply watched the burning sunrise, she didn't need to respond for Edana to find her and assume the same Indian-style sitting position nest to her.

"Mediating again?"

"I was."

"That's dull stuff. What's the plan for today?" Typical Edana. Impatient and ready to go.

Edana had been sent to the same asundered planet, just shortly after Machiko. The company practically gift wrapped her with the words "You're new intern" scribbled on a little note card tied to a ribbon around her neck like a puppy. If you asked Noguchi, she would have guessed the immature woman had a rich daddy somewhere who bribed the CEOs of Chigusa Corporation to give his little girl an internship. That's probably why she was sent here- a place where she could learn and not cause any trouble with inexperience and stupidity.

Not that Edana was stupid. There was keenness to those grey eyes, a sort of hidden intellect. The nineteen-year-old had the type of on-the-spot capability to come up with last minute plans, sudden organization, and of course, she had a bag full of smart-elect and witty comeback remarks.

Edana's abilities ended up saving the colonists of Ryushi. Machiko would admit anytime, when she first met the young woman, she was not impressed. Extremely feminine, saucy, and brazen, and having no problem whatsoever using her body to her advantage against men, Noguchi's first thoughts were to send the intern right back to where she came from. But the girl latched onto Machiko and while she was by no means submissive, Edana did as told with enthusiasm and speed. Edana grew on her and became a close friend. Everyone grew fond of the girl- and where Machiko was cold and distant boss to ranchers, Edana made up for with amiability so their job could be completed. Both women used their independent-leader personalities to work together.

That one night of hell proved Edana's aptitude. Machiko desperately needed to get to the medical lab and then the Lector, leaving a herd of panicking colonists in an excuse of a fort to defend themselves. Ackland, the epitome of assholes, was causing his usual antagonism and not helping an already jumpy crowd. Edana marched right up and yelled to his face exactly what he needed to hear to shut the hell up and obey her. In seconds she had a room full of people under her command. Machiko beamed with pride for her "little sister figure" before taking leave. Edana led the remaining colonists to safety and out of harms way while Machiko saved the planet.

Machiko glanced at the woman who sat beside her. Looking into the sunrise, soft light played Edana's high cheekbones and dark, lean frame. Her hair was almost as black as Machiko's had once been and even as the girl sat the tresses piled on the sand around her butt. Long hair went out of fashion a long time ago and most women who wanted the length without the hassle implanted a new type of wig which could be removed at any time. Machiko had let her hair grow, and much to Edana's dismay, formed it into dreadlocks with clips decorating it, like Dachande's had been.

"Today we're going to run a few miles." Machiko grinned, already knowing what Edana's resonse would be.

"What?! I hate running," Edana turned to her mentor and slapped her hands to her bare knees, "Let's practice our unique skills."

Machiko's smile dropped, "I don't think that's a good idea today." Edana wasn't talking about hand crafts or showy fighting tricks. Noguchi prided herself in her martial art abilities. Abilities she had perfect control over. Edana had an ability she had next to no control over. An ability extremely rare ability which few people could claim.A deep, engraving secret only Machiko and a very select handful of people knew about and even Machiko wasn't suppose to know. Because of that secret, Edana had decided to stay on Ryushi with Machiko after every other human left.

"We must keep out bodies trim and our minds sharp. How about we practice with melee weapons?" No response. "Edana?" Machiko shift her gaze which had trailed to the grazing rhythm to her friend. Edana looked at the sky with a sort of focused and glazed look all at once. "Edana?"

"Do you see it?"

"See what?" Machiko's voice sounded bored as she followed Edana's line of vision. Little tart was probably playing a trick on her. "I don't see anything. Enough of this-"

"Shh… watch."

Noguchi let out a sigh to make obvious her frustration and focused on the light blue sky. Only wisps of clouds decorated the horizon. Wait… something was there. A growing spec, followed by a black tail of smoke. Just a meteor… right? The object grew and it tumbled from the sky in a straight bee-line. The cracked earth rumbled a little when it made contact about a half a day's ride on a rhythm to the east.

The two women looked at each other. Edana's face had a wary, unreadable look. Machiko's face had a smirk.

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Yep….that's the prologue. I promise there will be more action! Feel free to R&R. I'm going to try to update at least once a week and reviews are mah fuel!