A/N: I'm excited to introduce my story on this site! These four thousand something words have gone through many re-edits (and this is only the prologue, not the main story line). Each chapter will be updated every month (refer to my homepage as of why), the other chapters will definitely be longer but below is kind of brief introduction to some key characters in the story.
Here are some words/terms:
-One cycle = 500 human years
-m-di h'dlak = No Fear
Prologue
Her eyes were not quite blue, more so mimicking the color of ice reflecting off an aqua surface. And her pupils were not round- at the moment- but slits, like the feline creatures on the planet Terra. Her stare did not waver in the slightest as he squatted low to inspect her closely. She hissed, baring teeth with prominent sharp fangs. He was almost six times her size yet her gaze made it clear she was prepared to fight him tooth and nail.
"You not want this one, warrior." the Merchant spoke, stepping beside the cage. His attempt to speak the hunter species' tongue was not perfect, but considering the copious clicks and vocal intonations within the small statement, he was almost fluent. The male was of Slovarian descent, that was the most Al'Nagarra knew of his trading partner. Short and plump, his height hardly surpassed the pup in the cage. Pinkish pale skin was stuffed into clothes that clearly did not fit, and large marble black eyes glanced to his possession warily. Al'Nagarra had been scanning the dim lit shop filled with rather strange, and often illegal, items. The Merchant came every half cycle to this side of the galaxy, bringing intriguing things from his travels; not once had the Slovarian kept any living things however. Living things usually were of high expense, and their upkeep even higher. But this was not just any living thing. It had been ten cycles since he had last seen a human. He thought them extinct.
"She is ooman, no?" she certainly appeared human, though he had never seen one with such light and animalistic eyes. Her ebony hair was a heap of thick, neat, curls, and were it not for the cloth wrapped around her waist, her dark skin would have been completely bare.
"Not entirely ooman. DNA spliced with feline species from Terra. Had want subtle changes, like enhanced sense of smell and hearing, but feline DNA overwhelmed human DNA. Too wild to make proper servant." as if on cue the small human begun to growl, the rumbling emerging from her throat low and threatening.
"I thought oomans had died out." Al'Nagarra said, cocking his head to one side and gently clicking together the tusks on his mandibles as his curiosity rose. Not everyone knew the story of the humans. They were a fragile species surviving on a fragile planet that seldom anyone visited. Every now and then his species would meddle on their planet; even he had gone there himself- more so out of curiosity than to hunt. Some species found them a delectable food source. But ever since the Galactic Seven, the irksome 'peacemakers' of his galaxy, recognized humans as an endangered organism they quarantined Terra- which was the only planet within that solar system containing actual life. Eventually, Terra was forgotten until its only source of light finally died. The explosion could be seen from light years away, it was that massive and powerful. Al'Nagarra specifically remembered looking up to his home world's sky and seeing an unusually bright and large star. No one knew for sure when Terra's sun died, but rumors were the planet was decimated and humans had been declared an extinct species.
"This ooman not from Terra. Not even born natural way. Grew in synthetic womb." Al'Nagarra would have inquired more of the human's strange birth. But he knew the Merchant would not be privy to give up such secrets. Either way, this pup's existence was illegal- splicing DNA was a dangerous procedure that could cause immense suffering if not done correctly.
"If she is no use as a servant, what exactly do you intend to do with her? Sell her as a pet?"
"Too feral to sell as pet. Ooman pup scares clients." Al'Nagarra snorted, disbelieving such a tiny creature could be so troublesome. He stuck a finger through the wire meshed cage, tucking in his talin to prevent injury to the Merchant's possession. Immediately she lashed out, small teeth clamped down on the appendage. Her head thrashed as she tried to rip his finger from his hand, yet his skin was much too tough for her immature fangs to pierce. She, eventually, came to this conclusion and halted her antics. Her eyes focused on his finger; perhaps her young mind was wondering why she was not drawing blood, despite the countless times she had done so to others. The Merchant rubbed his double chins, interested in her reaction to a foe she could not intimidate. The yautja, the hunter species, were a powerful and terrorizing presence in the universe. They loved hunting, and would hunt anything they considered worthy prey. They're brutal and had conquered numerous planets; even the Slovarians had once been enslaved by the Yautja tens of thousands of cycles ago. Their only redeeming quality was their honor, which dictated their whole culture. If the Merchant gave the ooman pup to this yautja, she would be well taken care of, though the male hunter would assure an uneasy lifestyle. Perhaps he was more suited to tame her wild nature anyhow. Perhaps she needed a yautja's strict discipline. Her upkeep was costing him too much; despite her size she ate like a beast, simply grooming her was a half day task, and he could not take her to a normal medical bay for health check ups (it cost him nearly four thousand pints to find a private physician, the bulk of the cost acting as hush money). He wanted to sell her for what she was worth, forty billion pints, but at this rate he was willing to sell her for cheap- if he could convince the yautja to buy her.
"If interested, maybe you take her." the Merchant threw in the air. Al'Nagarra snarled.
"I do not want nor need a pet."
"I thought yautja like challenges, this one big challenge."
"You think taming a female ooman pup would be challenging?" Al'Nagarra had experience with human females. Compared to yautja females, they're not aggressive at all.
"She not fully ooman. And could be good use to you." the hunter clicked his tusks, thinking on the Slovarian's words. He brought his attention back to the pup. She was calm now, no longer trying to strike fear into him. She was staring at him with a youthful inquisitiveness.
"I do not know what she would need."
"No worry. I have instruction guide. I even sell her half price, 20 billion pints."
"20 billions pints!"
Perhaps Al'Nagarra was becoming gullible in his old age. He spent an hour of his time debating with the Merchant of why he should take on an illegal burden. He supposed what got to him the most was her extraordinary existence. She could be the only one of her kind in the whole universe, or at least in this galaxy. He hated the Merchant for knowing his weak spots. Male yautjas' were all about having rare things to brag about, it's what attracted females and established status in their pack hierarchy. He managed to negotiate the price to five billion pints (the Merchant refused to go any lower). The pup did not struggle when he brought her to his spacecraft. The moment he freed her from her collar, however, she took off. Her little legs had sped into a random direction.
At first he paid her no mind. She was merely a pup simply exploring her new surroundings. And they were the only two on board, so she would not come upon any other yautja. He did not expect her to find the engine room and he did not expect her to tamper with the spacecraft's main core. When he managed to track her down- the tiny thing was terribly elusive- he plopped her in his room and locked the door. Al'Nagarra pressed a finger to his temple- it had only been hours since he purchased the human and she was already giving him a headache. Fortunately he was old enough to be patient with her as he would with any pup. In his youth he would have certainly dealt a harsh punishment. With the human out of the way he gathered tools and begun working on the main core.
The device was a small, round, orb, molded from a piece of a star encased in a transparent metal that maintained its heat. It was hooked to a few thick and dense cords meant for harvesting its power. Apparently the pup had detached a cord and found it's texture pleasing for her teeth. The fact that she had even been able to unplug the weighty cord was beyond him. Maybe her outward aggression was a façade hiding genuine cleverness and intelligence. He found humans weak, but during his time on Terra he noted they made up for it with cunning tricks. Once the core was functioning again he immediately proceeded to the control room, inputting coordinates for his clanship and setting the spacecraft on autopilot. It would take a couple of weeks to arrive at his destination. By then he would housebreak the pup. The Merchant said she was four human years, to his understanding she could live to be eighty human years and possibly longer if well taken care of. He could not comprehend how humans lived such brief lives. The average lifespan for a yautja was at least fifteen cycles, and that was still young. He knew of a serum that could halt aging, but he had no intentions of dealing with a pup forever- in her prime years, he may consider it.
When Al'Nagarra went to check on the human pup, he found her sleeping form curled on his pallet, covered with fur blankets. He stood by the doorway, wondering what to do. The Merchant did mention that she took frequent naps, like Terran felines. He wasn't suppose to wake her during these naps as they were "good for pup's body", as the Merchant would put it. He crept closer, lightly stepping across his room as silently as possible- nonetheless her eyes snapped open and glared at him menacingly when he came too close. A rumbling growl sat in her throat. He crouched, resting his forearms on his knees. She didn't know his native tongue yet, and he didn't know a lick of Slovarian.
"Be calm-" he begun in his tongue, but suddenly paused...he hadn't given her a name. Oddly, it didn't take him long to think of one. He knew of a very beautiful and rare floral plant on his homeworld that strictly blossomed under a full moon (and full moons only occur every one cycle). By the time the sun rose the plants would have withered and died, their lives short, just like the humans.
"Be calm Ko'ja." he purred softly, and this was the right move for her eyes begun to droop as the mellow sound washed over her. In less than a minute she was snoring lightly. Al'Nagarra continued his purr and positioned himself close to Ko'ja. His thoughts drifted; what would the clan feel towards his new pet?
Six years later…
It'd been awhile since he allowed her in the conference room and she was baffled that he let her join him after pulling her last stunt. His younger brother, M'ndhi, still had pale yellow locks after she mixed the dye into his hair cleanser. She had found it funny and thought he finally matched the 'sun' concept of their clan's name. Regardless, he had tried to gut her alive. Luckily Al'Nagarra stopped him and talked him out of killing her. Her punishment was polishing all of M'ndhi's trophies (skulls, bones, and gems that took a skilled warrior to claim)- her hands had been sore for weeks. For her to remain in the conference room she had to practice more yautja vocabulary, which she went through for the tenth time before becoming terribly bored. The small tablet in front of her crafted a hologram, showcasing the words she had to know by the end of the day. She swept her hand across the synthetic molecular sensitive hologram, and the words jumbled together. Gradually they spread out, forming a line of options to choose from. She could either continue her lesson or watch videos from the intergalactic web. She looked over her shoulder; she was positioned rather far from the central round table where the Elder and the higher ranks of his clan sat. They were conversing loudly, clearly in the middle of a heated topic. She smirked and turned back to her tablet, picking entertainment and neglecting her assignment. She took earplugs out of the little pouch, hanging loosely as a necklace around her neck. She put them in her ears and lost herself in the latest dance competition occurring on planet Sk'Ia. The contestant she was rooting for was none other than Myr, a female Boo'ran who danced with an eccentric grace. So far she had made it to the top three contestants- and in just a few moments the judges would decide who was the best dancer in the galaxy. Her eyes were glued to the screen, her expression blatant with excitement. The contestants stood on a large circular platform, their forms flooded in bright colorful lights. The host finally appeared and fortunately he spoke a common tongue, Slovarian, so she had no issues deciphering his words.
"And the judges have made their choice!" he boomed into his mic, and the audience immediately fell into pure silence. He held a golden envelope in his gloved hand, taking his precious time ripping off the top and plucking the results with his fingertips. His eyes alone saw the winner, and he greedily pressed the results to his chest, suspensefully glaring at the three contestants on stage.
"And the winner of the annual Galactic Dance Off…" Ko'ja leaned into the hologram, her eyes widened and she could barely keep herself from jumping up and down.
"Is…"
"Is! Is! Is!" she chanted back. The host looked at the results one more time.
"And the winner is!-" and the hologram shutted down. Ko'ja screamed at her tablet, pressing the screen rapidly, trying her hardest to reboot it. But the screen remained black. The tech was brand new, so it couldn't have malfunctioned. There was only one reason that Ko'ja would miss the biggest moment in Galactic history. Her eyes sharply narrowed towards her Elder. He held a miniature remote in his hand- it had complete control over her tablet. His deep amber eyes were stern- he was preparing to scold her for deviating from her work.
"Elder plea-" she didn't get the chance to argue, for he interrupted her with one barked order, "come!" and she kept her lips shut. She grumbled to herself, infuriated that she would not know whether Myr won the Dance Off. She dragged her feet to the conference table, standing before her Elder's chair. He grabbed her wrist and lifted her off the ground, plopping her right onto his lap. Now she had to suffer through his boring meeting, without the distraction of her tablet.
"Your attention span is too thin." he chided and clicked his tusks. She wanted to make a snide remark, but knew better than to talk back- especially at such a close proximity.
The meeting went on for three hours and there was no sign of a closing. Ko'ja had dozed off for a few hours and was startled awake by a screeching roar that reminded her of claws scraping glass. She glanced up and saw the largest alien she had seen in her ten human years of life. It was encased entirely in metallic black, and had a massive crown upon an elongated face with no eyes. It's mandible was open wide, revealing ridiculously razor teeth. Ko'ja's instincts immediately kicked into motion. She pounced onto the table, looked the alien straight in its featureless face, and hissed fiercely. It was only when the creature began to static, did she realize she was hissing at a hologram. The room erupted in laughter, the sound of rapidly clicking tusks echoed off the walls.
"There is no threat Ko'ja." her Elder assured, although she had been come to this conclusion. A rush of heat consumed her cheeks, and she hurried back into her Elder's lap, burying her head in the crook of his arm. She felt his claws gingerly scratch along her scalp.
"You should be proud little one," she glanced at him curiously- what exactly had she done well, other than embarrassing herself.
"m-di h'dlak. You were face to face with a foe larger and stronger than you, yet you did not hesitate to stand your ground...but I suppose that was never something I had to teach you." and he was right. She had always been ready to fight to the death with anyone perceived as a threat, no matter who it was.
"That is a good quality to have, little ooman." An ancient of their clan, Yeyin'ja, conveyed,
"Sei-i, it is admirable." M'ndhi added, much to her surprise- she thought he still hated her.
"What is that thing?" Ko'ja asked her Elder, pointing to the unknown alien species now frozen in place. Her clicks had improved significantly ever since she figured out that the yautja click she hears in their speech does not originate from their tusks but by their tongues tapping inside the roof of their mouth (and depending on the word their teeth). The clicking of the tusks was merely a form of bodily expression that was no different than someone motioning with their hands when talking.
"We call it kiande amedha," he responded.
"Their kind has a hive mentality. Do you remember what that means?"
"Numerous subjects faithfully follow the orders of the head of the group. The head of the group is usually female, which we call the queen, and without her guidance her subjects become unorganized and often die off shortly after the queen's death or disappearance." Ko'ja had never encountered a hive type species larger than a yautja. And as she inspects the alien closely she noticed its dome was terribly familiar- she was sure she had seen rather a few of them in her Elder's quarters, as well as M'ndhi's quarters when she was doomed to shining his trophies. As her eyes traced the kiande amedha's long and thick spine she remembered a specific weapon her Elder had with a similar angular structure. She was sure she had even seen its teeth before.
"Before us is the Queen," her Elder continues,
"She can lay hundreds of eggs in a single night. And has skin nearly resistant to every metal in the universe. Her tail is tipped with a weapon sharper than most of my own blades, as well as her talons on her fingertips and toes. She is also equipped with a special kind of acid that melts through anything save for her own skin. And has the strength of ten yautjas. She can sense movement from over three miles away. She can adapt to any environment. And she can go into long periods of hibernation when food is scarce." Ko'ja gazed at the Queen Kiande Amedha with a new found amazement,
"She is worthy prey," she said aloud, and the others in the room nodded their heads in agreement. Such prey is the reason why her Elder bore the title that proved his rank as one of the top warriors of his species. To kill this creature required skills only the most experienced yautja have. If Ko'ja could acquire such a status, she would earn the respect she so desperately needed amongst the hunter species. She was already ridiculed for being human- and no one took her seriously, not even her Elder.
"This Queen will be my chiva." she declared and M'ndhi snarled in disapproval,
"You are female. Females do not take part in the chiva." and there were multiple grunts of approval.
"You forget, M'ndhi... Of that one clan." Yeyin'ja spoke, and the room became quiet once more, each reflecting on the yautja's statement.
"What clan?" Ko'ja questioned.
"There is a clan composed only of female yautjas who chose the hunt over child rearing. They have not been seen for…a long time..." her Elder fell into a solemn silence. Ko'ja's brows drew in concern. Since she had been introduced to the yautja species she had yet to come upon a female of their kind. Whenever she inquired her Elder about them, he spoke briefly and usually was quiet afterwards.
"Is it dishonorable for a female to prefer the hunt?" she said after a lengthy moment of no one making any kind of noise.
"No…" her Elder replied. She made no other comment about females, and eventually the meeting was shifted back to its original topic.
Four years later…
She was sure she was dying. Blood had come from various places of her body, but for it to come from her nether region was a first. And so much had come from it, no matter how she tried to bandage it. She didn't remember any activity she could have done to wound her vagina, and there could be no other explanation other than she's dying. So she wrote a long letter to her Elder and left it by his pallet, then went into the bathroom and sat in the massive shower, bleeding out, and waiting to die. By the time Al'Nagarra found and read the note, it'd been well over six hours since she remained in the shower. At first he was boggled by what she meant; he thought she was actually hurt and truly bleeding out. But when he realized where the blood was coming from he could not contain his laughter. All this time, his poor pup had been confused and prepared to be embraced by Cetanu, the God of Death. He could only blame himself for not explaining her predicament earlier. Ko'ja had reached an age in which she could officially bear children.
On his home world, he knew females had small ceremonies for their 'coming of age'. But it would be another three years before all yautja had to return home. The trip back home was the main reason the Elders from other clans have begun to converse so frequently. It had to be specifically coordinated, otherwise they could displease the females. An angered yautja female was already a handful to deal with, a whole angered colony could wipe out his entire clan. Their bad side, hopefully, would not be Ko'ja's first experience with them. Al'Nagarra convinced his ooman that the blood coming out of her was not an indication that she was dying. He washed her himself, and tried to explain to her why she needed to stuff a tiny cup into herself (he had bought the product years ago, as it was in the guide book, and thanked Paya for being prepared). He was sure a female could explain it better, and give a much better demonstration. But at least he tried, and eventually she got it. This was the easiest part of her transition, unbeknownst to him. Al'Nagarra was quite old and not as sexually active as his younger kin. He did notice she had a strong scent, but he could easily block it out- the young generation of his clan, however, found the task a bit more difficult.
It was common for Ko'ja to spend hours in the training bay with the rest of the young bloods after Al'Nagarra's session with them. They helped her practice hand to hand combat techniques and sometimes let her mess around with some of their staffs- the lightest weapon she could actually wield. The young bloods were used to her and nicknamed her 'Dahtoudi'- little knife. She had come into the area in the middle of a session, and all fifteen of them were effected instantly. There was no time for their teacher to react, as they all started fighting with each other. This was typical behavior when a female in heat was close to a group of males. Whoever proved to be the dominant male got the chance to woo the female- which was a whole other battle itself. Ko'ja was terribly perplexed, and Al'Nagarra was forced to become violently aggressive towards his students. Afterwards he didn't have a choice but to lock her in his quarters until her heat subsided. She isn't a yautja female, who are physically stronger than males. If any of his students had forced themselves onto to Ko'ja, her amateurish fighting capabilities would not have saved her. Al'Nagarra didn't originally have any intentions on teaching Ko'ja how to properly fight, but he realized, if he were not around, she had to be able to defend herself. She was locked in her room for two weeks; one week for her heat to end and another for the scent to disperse. The very next day, he brought her to the training bay much to her dismay as it was very early and she did not appreciate her sleep being disrupted. But the space was typically occupied later in the day and he wanted to train her alone without distractions.
The first month he spent building her strength and endurance, making her lift weights and run long distances for hours. The second month, he schooled her on different types of weapons and their uses, letting her get of a feel of each one before she settled on daggers, kunais, and other small weapons she could actually close her fist around. By the fifth month of training she had a good grasp on her weapons of choice, and her hand-to-hand combat skills significantly improved- she had even managed to land a surprise jab to his face. By the ninth month he let her spar against one of his best students- of course his student won the match, as his experience in fighting outmatches Ko'ja's, but she did not make it easy for him- she broke his student's arm and probably would have broken more limbs if given the opportunity. By the fourteenth month she was a seasoned fighter and Al'Nagarra no longer had to worry over her safety. However, her new found abilities gave her a driving passion to become apart of the hunt.
Without his knowledge, she forged her own weapons (thanks to his top student, Mir'Ka, who apparently became incredibly fond of her and got her whatever materials she needed and taught her the basics of weapon crafting). She was dead-set on becoming a hunter. It was a revelation he did not agree with, but he found it impossible to deny her of it. So when it was decreed that his top three students were ready for a chiva, he enrolled her as well. Of course he received major backlash, all of his clansmen rejected the notion that a human (forget that she's female) would take part in the sacred trials. But this was something she wanted, needed in fact. Years ago when she was a mere pup he had made a conscious choice to bring her into his reality- and this was his reality. His species took great pride in hunts, and she was raised with those ideals. Perhaps if she had been amongst females, her decision could have varied, but she had spent all her life surrounded by well bred warriors. She had just as much a right to take part in the chiva, and no matter his clansmen's' disapproval he would not deny Ko'ja her rights.
A/N: Thanks for reading! And feel free to leave any comments.