CHAPTER 2:

Shooting Stars Across the Heavens

"Help! I'm stuck!" Leitjin cried as he ran through the hallways in a bumbling manner. He had been trying to put on an item of clothing his mother had sewn for him at home but it only entrapped his head and arms. Aru'Dre poked out his brown head from within his room and pointed at his cousin in exploitation with a cackle. Leitjin whined and yelled, "It's not funny! Stop laughing! I know it's you, Aru!"

Kahet walked down the hallway to settle yet another problem while Bakuub practiced his skills in his private quarters. Grabbing his whining brother who kept slamming into the walls, he pulled the cloth over his head with a forceful tug until it released Leitjin. Looking at the mangled item, Kahet was surprised at how easily it incapacitated his brother. His brother had made a wise decision in becoming a medic from his view. Leitjin leant against the wall and caught his breath before a panic attack settled in.

"It's a sleeping robe" Kahet said plainly to his brother as he gave him back the tattered item. With a raised brow, he trilled in pity, "How in the world did you get trapped in clothes?"

"It's confining! I'm not an idiot, all right" Leitjin snapped and fixed his ruined ponytail. He muttered to himself, "That's the last time I try anything mother gives me."

"You're alive now, so it's over" his brother declared in a self-righteous heroic voice and patted Leitjin's back, who gave him a blank stare. "I expect a thank you."

"You're my brother, you're supposed to protect me" Leitjin scoffed smugly with a small trill and ran back to his med station before Kahet could have a different say.

"No fair, you always use the 'brother' excuse!" he called back and shrugged to himself afterwards. He liked being useful, even if it meant rescuing his baby brother from the clutches of an evil cloth rag.

"Kahet, go ask Sau'Nak when we'll get there!" Aru'Dre yelled out from his nearby room, his mind already bored and aching to hunt something. Kahet groaned at being given a useless task by his slothful cousin. "It feels like we're getting nowhere!"

"Fine!" he growled and muttered to himself, "You lazy male."

He stomped towards the control room while mumbling about his cocky cousin but as usual, it was in good fun. If he was another unknown hunter, he'd put him in his place but he'd grown up with Aru'Dre so he was used to his antics and besides, he was family. The only time he could piss him off would be during a hunt where he became a bother, but it was rare since the male was actually good at it. He arrived into the room with his head down in thought as he spotted Sau'Nak in the corner of his eye.

"Where are we?" he asked, looking out through the clear window to see twinkling white stars and a bright yellow one in the center of it all.

"We are in the planet's solar system" Sau'Nak explained, as he split the main window screen in half to bring up a projection of the system they were in. He pointed to a large reddish-white planet on the screen that was zoomed in, "We are nearing the fifth planet here. We've just passed the sixth planet with the rings and should be within Earth's orbit by the end of the day."

"Where's Earth?" Kahet asked curiously as he looked over the chart containing nine planets and their moons. He remembered his mother showing him the charts when he was smaller but he'd never seen a close up image of the planet before.

"It's the third planet from the sun" his cousin stated and zoomed into the planet to give him a better look. Kahet looked over the blue planet covered with green patches of land while Sau'Nak continued, "Despite they only have one sun, the planet manages stable life unlike the others around it. Most of it is covered in water as you can see, but the temperatures vary over the entire planet."

"My mother told me" Kahet whispered as he watched his mother's planet rotate within the screen. It looked so pure and untainted from afar, almost like a glass ball that could break with the slightest touch. He wondered if his mother missed her planet after so many years. "It looks so different than ours yet my mother survived on our planet without any gear." Moving his eyes away to clear his head from his reverie, he said, "Have you put in the coordinates my father gave us? I don't want to land in a wasteland or an overpopulated city."

"It's been typed into the navigation course" Sau'Nak responded and cleared away the projection to reveal the full screen again. "We'd get there faster but this system has an asteroid belt so I have to bypass that, otherwise, it'd be a smooth sailing on auto-pilot."

"As long as we get there" Kahet said, giving him a shrug and then sat down in a co-pilot's chair next to his cousin. He knew the younger male was a good pilot, gifted almost due to his mother's training so he never worried. "I got a glance at the ringed planet, it was beautiful. I haven't seen one like that before."

"I suppose, I'm not one that's excited by planets though" his cousin said simply and put the ship on auto-pilot for now. Leaning back into his chair, he turned to Kahet, "All I see is a sphere of varying size everywhere I go."

"Your vision's different than mine" he pointed out and looked out the window towards the growing star that was Earth's sun. With a smile, he said, "I see a palette of colors with every unique planet and thing in this universe. Every place has its beauty whether it's in a sunrise or the smallest flower. You see in a spectrum dominated by heat while mines is by visible light so I'm easily entranced by the different hues I discover."

"I've used it with my mask before but I prefer my natural born eyesight" Sau'Nak said, not really seeing the appeal of it. His species aimed to be the best and they were after death match hunts against humans, who were rumored to be arrogant in their inferior skills. Uninterested, he stated, "Color may be interesting but it doesn't aid in survival. To be honest, I'd feel vulnerable without my sight."

"I like both, one's good for hunting, the other for exploring" Kahet said and placed his hands behind his head to relax. "Are the other planets suitable for exploration?"

"Not on land exploration, we don't have equipment suitable for it" he said, typing into his console to bring back the previous solar system projection. "The larger planets gravitational field would pull us into a crash but the smaller planets are good for a quick look."

"Not the risk-taking type, are you?" Kahet chuckled with a grin at his calm cousin. The male was always a rule-abiding person and looked to the rational and logical aspects for an answer to a problem. Plainly put, his cousin was one serious guy.

"Of course not, it would only worsen and arise even more problems" Sau'Nak said, shaking his head in disapproval. His father had always taught him that brashness brought death while patience brought respect. "I'm not Aru'Dre. You need one level-headed person to keep you all out of trouble."

"What about Leitjin?" he asked, trilling quietly. "He's happy all the time."

"He pleases people with what they want to hear, I don't" he stated plainly and sighed. "I'm studying to be an Arbitrator. I can't appease criminals one day like he does with patients, they're two different things. If I gave my criminals candy and a smile, they'd shoot me in the head and stick the candy up my ass."

Both laughed at the small joke, especially Kahet since Sau'Nak rarely joked in public. The joker was his twin, Sri'shan, who always prodded his counterpart to live a little when they spoke. The two males calmed and the hum of the ship filled the small room.

"Look at my father, he's humorous and serious" Kahet suggested and laughed. "And he's a damn good Arbitrator so far. You can always liven up."

"He's your father, mines is the scariest Arbitrator on board" Sau'Nak said with a small smile in return. "I was raised by two tough people, I'm meant to act the same way. Yours are. . .eccentric."

"Don't I know it" he trilled and sat back in his seat, relaxing into the seat with a lazy mumble, "I guess I should prepare my weapons for the hunt. . ."

Kahet slumped more into his chair so Sau'Nak looked over and asked, "Aren't you going to do it?"

"Nah, I'll do it later" he replied lazily and yawned. "I'm going to watch my mother's solar system fly by. It might be my only time for many years to witness it."

XXXXXX

(On Earth: Year 2016 A.D., USA, East Central California, Yosemite National Park)

"Stupid mosquitoes, you die now!" a blond woman named Christina glowered as she sprayed repellent around herself in circles in an angry manner. Mist sprayed around the area as she snapped, "Annoying critters, you don't help out the planet at all! All you do is bite people!"

"Should we help her?" a brunette woman named Marissa asked, pointing over to her rampaging cousin near the trees.

"Nah, let her rant" a light brunette male dismissed with a grin, keeping up with their current hike by being the leader. He took out a water bottle from his backpack's side pocket and drank some. "It's better than having her stomp over spiders in the campground."

"She's killing the wildlife" a black haired woman complained softly behind the man and glanced at her blond cousin at the back of the line. With a sigh, she said, "I'm surprised she hasn't been fined by now."

"It's Christina, she'll threaten to sue and scare off any complainers just by glaring" Marissa responded with a dull look. It was futile to argue with the raging storm known as her cousin. She pointed to her own gray eye and stated, "She has the evil eye."

The four cousins had decided to take a camping trip to Yosemite National Park for the summer before Marissa and Bianca returned to their college work. Christina Pearson, the current rampaging amazon, was twenty-six years old and had opened her own real state business within the city of Reno, Nevada, after finishing her business degree before agreeing to come here with her family and was now regretting every minute of it. Her sneakers were mudded while she kept scratching her bare itchy legs and used her sweater to bat at critters nearby. Her usual tamed and styled short hair was limp and wet around her sweaty neck. Nope, she wasn't made for the outdoors but for the lofty comfort of inside a condo overlooking a city. The 5'7 tall woman stomped through the grass while her blue-grey eyes glared at her twin brother, William.

"Crazy family" she muttered as she caught up to them while itching her bitten arms. She growled at seeing her porcelain skin blotched with red marks and remarked, "I hate the great outdoors. They should cut it down and make toothpicks out of it!"

Her twin just smiled a toothy grin and kept walking without a problem. Unlike his sister, he enjoyed the outdoors and liked to get away from the city once in a while. He had finished a degree in engineering in his past semester and was able to find a job through his parent's connections to work in Los Angeles, where his other two cousins studied. He was a jovial person most of time and always leant a helping hand, which made him the likeable one in the entire family. . .which wasn't easily said for his twin counterpart.

"I told you not to wear your fancy perfume, but did you listen?" Marissa scolded her older cousin as she drank some water. She snickered as she shot back, "No, you wanted to be Miss High Class in the outdoors. Enjoy the bites that accompany the perfume. Mosquitoes love it!"

Marissa Solarez was twenty-four with a 5'4 frame and had brought proper clothes to hike in. Like Will, she loved nature and was trying to find a home where she could live in peace, away from the noisy and polluted city of Los Angeles. She'd been born and bred there and was currently studying in the field of psychology while having a steady job to have an income to pay off high student fees. Being an only child with one deceased parent and another who abandoned her wasn't easy so she made sure to work hard to succeed. Unlike her older cousin, she enjoyed the small simple things in life, not the most expensive things.

"I'd rather smell good than musty!" Christina snapped back and spread her arms angrily, "And can we please go eat at one of the places here? I don't want to eat anymore bland omelets and gritty coffee!"

"Too bad, you agreed to come so you automatically signed up for everything in the package" Marissa snapped with narrowed gray eyes and smirked, "That includes the bonus mosquito bites and home cooked meals."

"Maybe we could eat out, just once?" Bianca asked meekly with a raised finger for attention. Out of the group, she was the shyest and rarely got angry, which Christina found creepy because no human being could be that way in her book.

"Thank you, the voice of fairness!" Christina declared and grabbed her smaller cousin with her arm into a tight hug. Faking a sob, she exclaimed, "I love you, dear Bianca!"

Bianca Solarez who was twenty-one and also the shortest of the group at 5'1, was a pacifist and rarely got into fights, which couldn't be said for her elder cousins. She was studying to be a registered nurse at a community college in Los Angeles and would transfer over to Marissa's school later. Unlike the twins family who was supported well financially, she worked just like Marissa to calculate and pay off debts. She'd gotten a paid vacation from work so she decided to go with Marissa on her camping trip instead of staying at home on the couch watching soap operas and wonder who would murder who and baby drama. She rarely traveled out of Los Angeles so she jumped at the idea to explore with her relatives and hoped nothing would go wrong. Her voice was muffled as she tried to breathe over Christina's shirt smothering her face and groaned as she gave up and went limp.

"Maybe she should've done a double major in theater" Marissa mumbled to Will who laughed. She saw there was a halfway split and scoffed, "Fine, you whiners! We'll go out just once and that's it! We agreed to make our own meals and not waste more money than we need to."

"Good" the blond smiled smugly as her brother walked into their huddled group to cut in.

"Let's go! We're missing the waterfalls!" Will groaned urgently and ushered everyone over the path urgently with his hands. Once his sister began a conversation or goodness forbid, an argument, all movement would stop for at least half an hour.

"They're not going anywhere" his twin pointed out and took the lead without question. Grumbling, she muttered, "They've been there for hundreds of years, they won't disappear in a second because you didn't show."

"You don't know that, nature acts in different ways all the time!" he shot back and went to the front to argue his point in front of her. Their voices echoed as the other two stayed in the back, out of reach on purpose to stay out of it.

"I'm so glad I'm an only child" Marissa mumbled and trailed behind the quarreling duo. She didn't like arguing but she rarely relented on proving her point on important matters. Her target was the waterfall, not to engage in hostile chats.

"Hey! What's with the crappy satellite phone?" Christina spoke up to the others and waved said object around. She thrust it in her brother's direction and asked, "Will, where'd you get this? I can't tell if it's on or off."

Will shrugged carelessly, giving no answer, and went over to a bush nearby to look at a brown rabbit scurry away. Going deeper into the brush, he was about to head back when a group of rabbits sprouted out from the shadowed part of the area. Their claws scratched at his legs as they made their escape while he twirled around in surprise and tried to escape himself, his feet tangling in the bushes.

"Help me! Don't just stand there!" he yelled to his cousins who began to laugh at his misfortune instead, exploiting it further as they pointed. He fell onto the dirt and let the animals leave in their haste before getting up and looking over his dirt covered clothes. His arms didn't look any better either with thin red scratch marks. Still, while covered in dirt and leaves, he smiled goofily, "Aww! I love the free outdoors."

"I still have no signal" Christina pointed out irritably despite her brother's plight. Waving the silver phone around for a signal, she muttered, "Cheap phone."

"We're supposed to be one with nature, not stick technology into it" Will shot back as he began walking again. She grumbled incoherently and shoved the useless object into her backpack, not giving it a chance until it worked perfectly due to her impatience. He shook his head at his sister's disregard and scolded, "All this junk we create ruins our environment, it's surprising we haven't boiled alive from global warming due to rising temperatures over the years. . .or frozen, the theories are still loose on the effects."

"Don't start your hippie environmentalist talks with me" she groaned exasperatedly and pointed a finger to prod at his back, "I have business to take care of whether I'm here or in the city. Just because trees have no lives doesn't mean I have to also."

"The joys of business" Marissa said dully and rolled her eyes in emphasis. A smile then quickly appeared on her face, "I prefer medicine, thank you."

"Here, here!" Bianca agreed with her cheerfully. She looked forward to raise her voice to the twins, "We're supposed to be relaxing, not arguing. We're family, we're not meant to be killing each other in the woods."

Weird family bonding is what we're doing, she thought. We're meant to be happy, not angry.

"If I die because of him, you better be a witness" Christina blurted, pointing to her two cousins sharply.

"No one would convict Will, he's too lazy" Marissa laughed and flicked her hand to slap her arm at a pestering mosquito eager to bite her. Her light beige skin gained a new red dot and she itched it for the relief despite the hygiene rules.

"I prefer philosophical thinker" Will said and cupped his chin in thought. The women rolled their eyes at the statement and he shrugged with a cheesy grin, "Besides, we all know Chris is the one with homicidal tendencies."

"Keep poking at me and you'll be sailing down the waterfall without a boat" she snapped defensively and picked up a twig from the ground to chuck at her brother. It struck him on the shoulder and he picked up his own to throw at her. Thus, a stick hurling competition began.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Marissa intervened quickly and got hit with one branch on the head as she tried to halt their fighting. She stomped her foot and reached down to grab the stick to wander over and smack both of them over the head, "Stop it! No stick fights! We're not meant to rearrange forest objects to act out revenge."

"Fine!" both twins grumbled and hiked on together as she was left behind to rub her forehead, knowing that a red bump formed without the use of a mirror.

"We're choosing a nice eco-lodge next time" Marissa grumbled to Bianca as they resumed their pace. "With different rooms. Soundproof rooms."

"Oh! I'll look for specials online, they have coupons sometimes" her cousin said brightly as her brown eyes scanned the trees for any animal threats. She felt a bite on her forearm and she slapped it as she shuddered from having an insect bite her skin; she hated bugs. As an afterthought, she added, "And we'll get some with good mosquito netting."

XXXXXX

"And then, the taxi pulled away with my cell phone trapped inside!" Christina finished in a dramatic pose over the warm fire in their campground. Her hand pressed against her forehead in a swooning pose as the other three blinked, puzzled by the oddly normal story.

"That's not scary! That's just an incident!" Will exclaimed and pointed his marshmallow stick at her. The women had been reluctant to use forest branches but he'd assured he'd cleaned them thoroughly at a stream nearby. He speared the white marshmallows on his stick and complained, "You suck!"

The four companions sat around the fire in their cozy pajamas as they told stories underneath the dark sky as dozens of stars glittered like diamonds above them. They had rented a cabin away from people so they would be within the wilderness of the park itself, not near other cabins on the outskirts that were assembled closely together like homes. The small cabin fit the quartet in one room and contained a living room/kitchen also. They had pitched in their money to rent it or otherwise they would've used tents, like Marissa and William wanted to in the beginning, but chose the cabin to not piss off Christina. However, she still threw a fit when she realized she'd have to use the public park bathrooms. 'It's practically a spa for germs' she'd said during the drive there until Marissa handed her a bottle of sanitizer and disinfectant.

"Whatever, I'm eating my ice cream" she mumbled, and proceeded to eat her French vanilla ice cream in peace. She savored the only processed food her tongue had touched since entering the nightmarish forest. It cost double the price than normally priced ice cream in the cities but it was worth it.

"Can't even tell a story" Will muttered in sarcastic shame and poked their campground fire with a stick to keep it burning. She looked away indignantly as she ate and he chuckled amusingly, "How shameful."

"Look, shooting stars!" Bianca spoke up eagerly and pointed to the sky while eating a hot marshmallow, the sticky goop burning her tongue. Her brown eyes watched the stars as she gushed, "They're gorgeous. I wonder where they fall, they're like wanderers of the heavens. I wish I had a telescope to see them."

"They better not land here, that's for sure" Christina grumbled as she licked her spoon clean. Unlike her cousins, watching the stars didn't appeal to her and seemed like a waste of time. She waved her spoon and justified a point, "Some of them could be satellites traveling around."

"Shut up and eat your store bought ice cream, Princess" Marissa snapped lightly and smiled at Bianca in agreement to her words. "I love this sight every time I camp outdoors. Nothing like this is ever seen in the city with all the pollution and lights that we have. All our advancements can make life better but it also has a consequence by ruining the planet's natural beauty. This sight is as breathtaking as a sunset and it makes you feel so tiny when you look at its endless depth."

"C'mon Christina, even you can't disagree when you look at them" her brother said, using his friendliest voice. Grabbing her by the shoulders as she ate, he pleaded loudly, "Enjoy yourself and forget the world in this wonderful isolation before I throw you into the wild to go find yourself!"

Christina pushed him away but looked at the stars overhead. They were beautiful, but they meant more to her cousins than they did to her. She found beauty within fashion and style, not in this manner. She didn't hate it but she sighed and let out a relaxed breath and decided to finally let it go and try to enjoy her time here. This was her vacation for the year and it would be better to place a smile on her face than a frown.

Either I can complain and feel worse or learn to enjoy it, she thought as she watched the twinkling jewels in the sky. Maybe I can adjust to this place, though it won't be easy.

"Look, there's another one!" Marissa smiled, pointing to their left. The snow colored star shot across the sky at an odd angle, however, making the four look at it strangely.

"That's weird" Will spoke up while staring at the area where the star had flown by. The white glow disappeared and he furrowed his brows, confused and curious about the event. "I don't think stars are supposed to do that. It seemed to swerve rather than flow in an arc formation."

Unless it's not a star, he assumed thoughtfully. What a strange phenomenon.

"Maybe it's a retarded star" Christina giggled as she stood up to throw her empty cup into a metal rectangle bin nearby which would be closed off at night to ward off hungry bears. She laughed to herself about the joke as she sat down while Marissa glared at her back.

"There's no such thing as a retarded star" she pointed out, not amused by it. Sometimes her cousin could be blunt and derisive to a point that almost drove her insane and she could only imagine what non-relative people thought of her. She shook her head and looked up at the sky to address it in her own respective manner, "The universe is a beautiful and unexplored territory all on its own. Don't insult it."

"It's being explored already, we've already mapped out the usable parts of Mars, it's only a matter of time before we send robotic beings to colonize parts of it for us and extract materials" Christina said simply and went to sit next to her brother again. Will shook his head at her rational thought and she pointed out, "Humans are conquering beings, it's been that way since evolution began."

"You're right, unfortunately" Marissa mumbled regrettably and pointed at her in defense, "But there are those who'll oppose that, like me. I'd rather explore and leave a place untouched, rather than ruin it to fit my culture."

"Hey, what if that star was a UFO?" Will interrupted the two and stood up to wave his arms around in a creepy manner. He looked at each of the women and eerily said, "Aliens supposedly abduct people in forests all the time. What if we're next? We'll be hauled off and studied just like humans do to animals for the sake of SCIENCE!"

Marissa and Christina laughed at his dramatic suggestion as he posed like a mad scientist while mimicking the theme from the old X-Files show on television. Bianca, however, was frightened instantly from the unknown possibility it could happen. Unlike her cousins, she was startled easily by anything remotely fearsome. The others rarely watched scary movies with her for fear she'd scream her head off and possibly cry, which Christina hated. Marissa, however, adored horror genre and joined Will's singsong theme as Bianca let out a whimper.

"That's not funny!" she said nervously as she watched the sky suspiciously now. The fire gave her face an eerie orange glow as she spoke softly, "It could happen, you never know. That could be why people disappear all the time mysteriously in the forest."

"That's ridiculous!" Christina snorted and grabbed Will's stick of marshmallows. He gave a moan of complaint for his loss of a snack as she bit into one and said skeptically, "Aliens are a myth, it's not proven. So don't be a baby, they don't exist."

"You don't know that!" her twin objected as he yanked his stick back to place new marshmallows to replace the empty stick. Being the alien aficionado that he was, he quickly debated her belief, "There's a bunch of hypotheses on a variety of aliens out there. People try to find them for a living, you can't deny that they'd waste their whole life looking for something that can't exist. Sooner or later, we'll find something, you'll see."

"Were you reading one of your alien books again?" Marissa asked gently, smiling at him. She was on board with his thoughts and usually supplied him any books she picked up relating to those topics. She informed him of a recent book she'd gotten, "I borrowed one from the library that's new. It's called-"

"The Earthen Life Factor" the two cousins finished in unison and Will explained to the other perplexed women eagerly, "It's about the newly found planets similar to Earth in the Gliese 581 system and the probability of life among them. Also-"

"No more aliens, it's creeping me out!" Bianca butted in loudly and grabbed a blue blanket to cuddle into. It covered her torso and stopped underneath her nose. Marissa laughed at her childish look and stopped her talk about aliens to calm her down.

"Fine, but I still find them totally awesome if they existed" she murmured in a soft tone and Will nodded in agreement. She then bit her lip in second thought and said, "Unless they want to conquer us, that would piss me off. Then our planet would be screwed by both races-"

"Let's eat marshmallows!" Bianca blurted with shut eyes, purposely stopping the conversation, and stood up to stick more white marshmallows from the nearby bag onto her stick. The talk had already made her uneasy, especially in the dark lonely area they were at after witnessing the odd star. An alien could pop out of the darkness and kill them before they knew what happened! Placing her stick over the fire, she said shrilly, "No more alien or monster talks!"

"Aww! But Big Foot!" Will moaned in protest and laughed afterwards with a devious grin, "What about Nessy? It's all the way in Scotland or the Yeti? They don't live in a forest."

"No!" she snapped anxiously and ignored him by placing her hands over her ears. Will laughed and stood up to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in peaceful friendliness as she gave him a small glare. Marissa muffled a chuckle with her hand while Christina rolled her eyes and followed Bianca's idea.

"I agree with Bi, this is dumb" she said uninterested and stretched her muscles as she stood up from the log they all sat on. Licking her lips, she smirked, "Now marshmallow aliens, they'd be scrumptious and would be annihilated instantly."

"That's my sister, killing aliens by eating them" Will said in disappointment, faking a sigh and then took a bite from his marshmallow. He grinned to his sister as he joked, "She'd be a regular monster hunter."

"The only hunting I do is closing deals with clients" she pointed out blandly and stumbled around the dimly lit campground to look for something. She kicked away small twigs and rocks as she called back, "Where's the hot chocolate? I'm cold."

"It's inside, but bring me the rich mexican chocolate to make" Marissa called out to her. Christina turned around with her thin eyebrows furrowed as she slanted her hourglass hips to the left in question.

"Why? I have mine which has less sugar" she stated abruptly and pouted distastefully, "Yours has way more calories."

"But it's more delicious" Marissa purred in delight and hugged herself. "And it quenches my chocolate craving. Besides, I'm on vacation, I can indulge."

"Whatever!" her cousin sighed and stomped away into their cabin.

"You think we'll see anymore crooked shooting stars?" Will asked the remaining two. Bianca poked him in the ribs with her marshmallow stick three times to stop him. He swatted her away and cried, "All right, I'll stop! Jeez! You act like I killed your pet cat or something!"

XXXXXX

(Within Earth's Mesosphere)

"Who the hell turned my ship sideways?!" an angry Bakuub demanded as he entered his ship's control room with a heaving chest and clenched fists. His golden eyes narrowed with his furrowed brows as his mandibles flared furiously. Sau'Nak sat in the pilot's chair as the ship regained its steady speed and leveled angle while Aru'Dre sat in the next chair with a frumpy frown. The mahogany toned hunter reprimanded sharply, "We're entering an atmosphere here!"

"Were you on the toilet?" Aru'Dre grinned impishly and twirled around in the co-pilot's chair to face him.

"What the hell kind of question is that?!" his leader yelled angrily while the other male simply kept smiling. He hated his innocent look and growled, "No, you idiot!"

"Oh, then it was him" he said carelessly, pinning the blame on Sau'Nak as he pointed with a dark finger. Bakuub, however, didn't believe a single word of it. If there was another word describing Aru'Dre other than 'infuriating', it was 'troublemaker'.

"Aru'Dre, what were you thinking?" Bakuub hissed at him and flared his mandibles. The hunter enjoyed joking around but sometimes, he made the stupidest mistakes. He crossed his arms impatiently and waited for him to answer.

If he wasn't my childhood friend, I'd break him, he thought.

"I didn't mean to, my foot accidentally hit the controls while I relaxed in the chair" he explained quickly and hoped his leader would calm down before he went on a rampage and killed him. He wanted to bag his first human trophy before dying prematurely. "It's not like I did it on purpose."

"Luckily, I came in here quickly when I felt the slanted angle or we would've made a 360 degree turn while piercing the atmosphere" Sau'Nak explained to Bakuub as he shot his younger cousin a glare. Aru'Dre, however, was oblivious to it and simply grinned.

"Really? That would've been awesome!" he spoke up excitedly and then flared his upper mandibles to grill the pilot, "Why'd you stop it?"

"We would've disintegrated into pieces in the atmosphere" his cousin hissed back roughly and punched his arm. Usually, he wasn't an aggressive male like most of his peers, but there were some situations he couldn't avoid.

"Oh" Aru'Dre said blankly and gave him a haughty look as he waved his hand, "Then next time, be sure you're here to stop my screw-ups before I remind you why you're our pilot."

Sau'Nak growled and shot back, "It was on auto-pilot and I was gone for only a few minutes to have a meal. Furthermore, I want you out of here until we land on Earth."

"I couldn't agree more" Bakuub agreed with a nod making Aru'Dre sulk.

"You just love getting people in trouble" he said unhappily to Sau'Nak with furrowed brows. As much as he loved his family, his bluish cousin could be a real stick in the mud sometimes. "When will you live a little?"

"I follow protocol and if you break it, I will enforce the penalty" he stated simply as he looked over the controls one more time to assure himself everything was in perfect order with no problems.

"And that's why you're the boring one in the family" Aru'Dre said with a smirk, hoping to anger him. He was always more than happy to make his cousin display a look of anger or happiness instead of the usual mildly interested expression on his face. He gave a grin to point out, "You sound like a machine."

"That's your opinion" Sau'Nak said calmly, not taking the bait. Pointing to the only door exiting the room, he instructed, "If you'd kindly leave-"

"Fine, I'll listen" he growled reluctantly and looked to both males as he stood up from his chair. "I won't ruin anything here that will cause the ship to spin no matter how cool it looks. I have better sense than that despite what you think."

He was about to exit when Kahet burst in, wearing only a loincloth while his dreads dripped water over his chest and back. Looking into the room, he barked furiously, "Who's the damn idiot who made the ship flip?! My eyes got burned by the cleansing wash and I almost broke a leg in the shower!"

"That's hilarious!" Aru'Dre cackled but Bakuub punched him in the side, hoping to finally silence him. The hunter winced and rubbed his side, "Ow! He almost broke a leg, that's funny!"

"Go to your quarters" Bakuub ordered angrily, not in the mood to handle any more drama from his crew. His friend was about to argue but he yelled, "Now!"

"Fine, but you guys have no humor whatsoever" he hissed in annoyance and left the room quickly in a huff. Kahet sighed at his cousin's antics and tied up his hair while his leg stung from his ankle to mid-thigh causing him to shift his weight to his left leg.

"Go to Leitjin" Bakuub ordered him and saw his hair dripping droplets of water onto the floor. He then added an order he didn't want to do himself, "Then clean up the mess."

"I almost broke a leg!" Kahet exclaimed sharply and grunted to his best friend, "Fine! You owe me a c'ntlip drink when we return to the Ade'k'ra."

Kahet left while grumbling about his crazy pick in friends and headed to Leitjin's med station. Sau'Nak sat back in his chair to pilot the ship securely without rest as they reached the landing coordinates. The atmospheric layers of Earth had gotten cooler and lighter so it wouldn't be long now before their trip ended.

Looking over at Bakuub as he typed into his console with perfect precision, he said, "We will land in less than an hour."

"Good, I'll gather the crew once you land to instruct them" he said with a nod and exited to let him carry on in peace. He needed to ready his armor if he was going to go hunting the following day.

Sau'Nak nodded back without looking and made sure everything was accurate on his computer. He didn't want to land anywhere near a city on accident and get spotted. They needed somewhere to hide the ship and cloak it before anyone saw it. Earth's technology was advancing, despite its inferiority to theirs, so he had to make sure there was no chance of detection. Sitting back in his chair as he logged in the landing coordinates, he let the ship fly on its own again in Earth's dark sky until he'd manually land it.

"Hopefully, Aunt Iliana's forest is not gone by now" he muttered to himself. She'd given him a safe location to stay at that had provided coverage for her and his uncle when they lived on Earth years ago. "Wherever this Yosemite is, it better provide coverage."

XXXXXX

(In Yosemite somewhere, 1 am Pacific Time)

"I still don't see why you picked me to come" Marissa mumbled as she wiped her watery eyes. She had almost gone off to sleep when Christina called from across her bed to go to the public restroom with her. Now, the two were walking up an incline while Christina used her flashlight to guide them in the pitch black darkness.

"The buddy system" she stated positively while holding her flashlight tightly. She pointed it in every direction to make sure no people or animals were there to surprise them. "I'm not about to get lost or kidnapped in the dark. I've got too much to live for. Besides, Bianca's too wimpy to come."

"Hey! She's just skittish" Marissa objected in her defense and pushed her cousin lightly from behind. She shivered and stuffed her hands into the long sleeves of her sweater. "No sane person wants to be here in the cold at this hour."

"I know but when my bladder says it has to go, it's gonna go whether I like it or not!" Christina snapped, angry at her body for not making the nature call sooner. The two cousins walked quietly, one in a blue two-piece pajama and sweater; one in shorts and a sweater.

"Why do you sleep in shorts? It's cold here" Marissa scolded as her cousin's teeth began to chatter in the dark. She chuckled softly in regard, "Stubborn woman."

The two reached the dark bathroom together and entered quietly. Marissa went on alert in case there was someone inside but Christina charged in and shone the light in each stall with one hand while using a bat she brought as protection in the other. After making sure no one was inside, she gave her cousin the bat and went inside one of the dark stalls.

I can't believe I'm using this, she thought dismally and she pursed her lips as she watched the toilet nervously. I'm having my butt detoxified, if possible, once I get home.

"Why a bat?" Marissa asked curiously, looking at it as she waved it. Most ordinary people would carry a wooden bat, but her cousin decided to bring a heavy metal bat. She posted herself at the entrance like a guard while watching the outside cautiously. "We had mace."

"A bat would scare off a person more than mace would" Christina called out from her stall as she did her business, her mind screaming against the possible bacteria. "Mace blinds, while a bat breaks their bones. It's just easier."

"Mm-hmm" she said and looked at the sky, taken in by its beauty all over again.

Beautiful, she thought happily. I could spend hours just looking at it. Too bad I don't have time for astronomy classes.

From her right, she heard a rumbling noise pass overhead in which she went outside to look. Pointing the light into the sky, she spotted nothing out of the ordinary but she could still hear the noise pass by. It was almost like an airplane's engine or similar right above her but there was nothing, just a perfect sky.

No planes pass by here though, she thought. That's strange. What could be making the sound? There's nothing-

"Hey, where's the light?!" Christina shouted from inside the bathrooms. Forgetting the incident, she quickly ran inside and pointed the light to the stall. The blond woman sighed in relief and snapped worriedly, "That's better. I thought you'd gotten kidnapped! Don't scare me like that, Mari!"

"I'm sorry but I heard something" she apologized as Christina finally finished her business and opened the stall. She went over to the sink to wash her hands in the icy water, her skin shivering from it, while Marissa asked, "Did you hear something just now?"

"No, why would-" she started when she felt the earth tremble lightly and froze in shock. Marissa grabbed her arm in a reflex and quickly led her to the doorway. The two women stayed there while the ground kept shaking. She was used to earthquakes in Los Angeles and wasn't bothered by them while they unnerved the strict blond.

"Is it an earthquake?!" Christina yelled, a little frightened. Her fingers dug into Marissa's arm protectively and ordered, "We have to get to Bianca and Will!"

The two grabbed each other's hands as they ran into the open and walked back unsteadily as the ground shifted their feet around. It wasn't the best idea but they needed to check on their relatives to make sure they were safe. They walked down the small slope and the movement stopped instantly making Christina stumble forward but she balanced herself before she fell headfirst. Marissa looked into the trees to see if any damage had been done or any sign of distress but nothing.

"Let's go" Christina said cautiously and the two walked back to their cabin nervously. She was tired from all the surprises today and didn't want to be taken back by another quake. Her feet crushed the small twigs underneath as she muttered, "I've had enough adventure for today, thank you."

"It had to be an earthquake" Marissa rationalized despite her mind poked at the rumbling noise as something questionable. What could it have been? Planes had lights to pinpoint their location but she saw nothing. Seconds later, an earthquake hits?

Too many odd things have occurred tonight, she thought and shivered from the mysteries. I don't want to be out here anymore.

"Whatever it was, it's over" her cousin stated and they walked on in silence.

Arriving at their cabin, they locked their door tightly and sighed in relief for getting home safely. Both women went to their shared room and found their other family members still asleep. Marissa got into bed quickly and warmed up in her covers while trying to forget the whole incident entirely. It didn't seem right and it kind of scared her. She didn't want to know what happened right now, she just wanted to sleep it off and forget. Christina, however, was never going to wander to the bathroom at night again and cursed at the quake. Looking over at her snoring twin who slept on the bottom bunk of the twin beds, she snorted and felt like flicking a spitball at him like she used to when they were teenagers.

"Can you believe he just slept through that?" she hissed to Marissa. "And here I was worried about him."

"I guess they didn't feel it" she answered quietly and sighed blissfully at the warmth in her bed.

"Let's get some sleep, if another one hits, I want to be knocked out" Christina mumbled as she cuddled up to her blankets. She punched her pillow and grumbled, "I don't like earthquakes."

XXXXXX

"Not a bad landing" Sau'Nak said to himself as he powered down the ship but left the invisibility cloak on. Despite it was nighttime on the planet, he wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Finding the area was fast but he didn't like the dense coverage of trees since they could damage sensitive areas outside the ship. Nonetheless, he found a place with fewer trees and had landed there. . .after taking down two or four of them. Hopefully, no humans nearby would see it in the nighttime but the landing tremors may have been felt.

No matter, he thought. If any oomans come near to investigate, they'll be picked off if they're worthy.

Standing up, Sau'Nak stretched and walked out of the room as the door opened automatically for him. He walked to their common room where the group had already gathered. Bakuub nodded to him in acknowledgment while Aru'Dre looked excited already. The pilot snorted softly and couldn't wait to sleep himself after being awake longer than any of them.

"Now can we hunt since we're on the stupid planet?" he asked eagerly to Bakuub as his golden eyes looked up expectantly. The leader sighed and reminded himself he was the poster boy of the perfect Young Blood.

"No thanks to you" Eshin'Ga said with a glare. Aru'Dre growled defensively in return in which she laughed, "It's true."

"There will be no hunting as of right now" Bakuub instructed all of them, which received a loud groan from Aru'Dre. He ignored him and continued, "Sectors of this area must be cleared for hunting and then we will begin. Also, since this is a new planet and we are still inexperienced, I want us to hunt together or at least in pairs close with each other. Remember, we were granted this special hunt and we must be careful to complete it with honor."

"If you're scared, you can tell me" Aru'Dre grinned humorously and patted the taller male's shoulder. He snickered softly and soothed, "It's all right."

"Get off me, fool" he growled in return and smacked him away, causing the medic and scientist to laugh. The sepia hunter smiled for his achieved reaction and settled himself into a seat in the room, surprisingly listening to his friend.

"I only want to explore" Leitjin spoke up while standing next to his brother who gave a cautious glance. Eshin'Ga and Shadow nodded in agreement, ready to catch their first samples of the planet. Scientists rarely visited Earth from her clan so she could get serious information that could boost her position while Shadow would keep it to himself and hope that he would get some kind of recognition despite his species.

"All right, but Sau'Nak will accompany you at all times" Kahet said firmly to each of them. "You will take turns every day until we say so. Be careful and do not approach any wildlife, whether ooman or non-ooman, at all times. We don't know their reactions to spotting us and we can't risk it either."

"If we loose Leitjin, who'll patch us up?" Aru'Dre asked with a wide smile, patting Leitjin's back. The medic just sighed and said nothing.

'That's not what Kahet meant', Shadow said and looked at Bakuub. 'Eshin'Ga and I will scan over the area while you rest for the day'.

"It's nighttime on the planet so it's rare that any oomans are around" Sau'Nak informed the group as he looked out the only window in the room from his spot. "Once morning arises, the sectors will be finished being scanned and you can begin. I'd suggest hunting near dusk since Aunt Iliana informed me that oomans are still out at that time and it will make a hunter more inconspicuous in cities or most settings."

"Thank you, Sau'Nak" Bakuub said sincerely with a nod and addressed the group who were still eager to explore, "We will begin tomorrow so prepare."

"No, I wanted to kill something now" Aru'Dre groaned childishly and pointed to him. "I hope you get hit in the crotch while running in the forest."

He conjured image in his mind and laughed loudly as the other group members sighed. Bakuub growled and smacked him out of the chair, "Get out of here and prepare."

Everyone left towards their respective quarters, their voices echoing in the hallways anxiously, except for Leitjin and Kahet. The younger of the two sat down and yawned due to his lack of sleep.

"When you go, don't get near any oomans" Kahet ordered firmly as he looked at him. He didn't care if something happened to him but his younger brother was a civilian and he wouldn't let anything happen to him. They were on a dangerous planet and he wanted Leitjin to take all possible precautions. He sat down in a chair next to him and stated, "They cannot be trusted and I will not have you injured. Follow Sau'Nak's orders at all times, he's level-headed on all missions and won't risk any danger."

"What about you? What if those beings hurt you?" he asked protectively, narrowing his eyes. He knew his brother's position was always risky but he didn't want him to die if he could do something about it. He was a medic, he was meant to cross any dangerous lines to help a comrade.

"I'm a hunter, if I am caught, I will die honorably" he stated of the unchanged law of their people. With a grin, he said, "And take as many as I can down with me."

"What if they cheat during the Hunt?" Leitjin asked softly, flaring his lower mandibles. "I will not have you dead by those kind of tactics. If so, we never should've picked them and you could've waited until you were older."

"I can take care of myself, but I want you safe" Kahet said sharply, pointing to him. In a softer tone, he continued, "As your older sibling, I will make sure you're protected, Leitjin. You're not experienced like I am and I'd blame myself if you were injured out in this planet after trying to keep you safe. Heed my advice and stay close to the ship."

"Fine, but I'm still going to look at oomans" Leitjin grumbled reluctantly and crossed his arms. He wasn't a good fighter like the other males but he wanted to do something on his own to prove himself. That was what their culture was about, proving oneself and keeping that respect. Also, he wanted to see his mother's people in their natural environment. His brother glared at his rebellious comment and he corrected himself, "From afar, all right!"

"When we get ready to leave, I'll take you with me to explore in the cities" he said sincerely to his brother in a compromise. He may have been firm when it came to his brother but he didn't want to shut him out of rare sights of any planets. Leitjin nodded happily and trilled making Kahet smile, "All right then, now go to sleep."

"You're not mother" he said in defiance but stood up to yawn softly. "But I'll listen, only because I really am tired."

Kahet chuckled to the comparison and patted his brother's back as Leitjin left the room sleepily. The green hunter then left to his own quarter to rest for a few hours as the ship's dim lights turned off to conserve energy. Tomorrow would be a day where he would gain new trophies and impress his peers with his skills once again.

XXXXXX

End of Chapter 2. And we introduce the rest of the characters with their bright, harsh, and wacky personalities. Over time, they'll develop into better or worse people, everyone has a different view on it. I decided to keep the meeting themes within dark foliage, similar to Iliana's and Kantra's first meeting. So thanks for reading and your previous review, and hope you enjoy the story as it develops. I try to make my stories long and this one will be no different. As for artwork, I've fallen behind since I've gotten addicted to playing Killzone 2 recently so I apologize.