AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed! Hope you like this next chapter.
Guest: Glad you liked it.
Species reading this story:
Ooman female – 1
Predator - 1
There was no mistaking the alien towering over him for anything other than a Yautja. No other being Arthur had studied had that imposing height or wore that style armor than a Predator. The head swiveled around to look at him, for Arthur had run into the giant's back, and the Yautja snarled in outrage.
Before Arthur could move, the Predator swooped down, grabbing a fistful of the lad's shirt and drew the human up so that Arthur dangled from the alien's grip.
Arthur, to his everlasting dismay, actually squeaked when the Predator grabbed him, hauling him up so that the human was above the hunter. Knowing he only had seconds, if that, in order to divert this sudden crisis from escalating into getting his spine ripped out, Arthur turned his head and brought it down to his shoulder. Avoiding eye contact with an enraged Yautja was a must, the academy had taught him, and showing said angered Predator that you were not looking for a fight and submitting if you happened to get caught by one might save your neck…or it might not. It all depended on the mood of the hunter, and his age because if he was young your chances were slim whereas an older Yautja might be willing to let an incident slide if you showed proper respect.
What the Predator holding Arthur up was about to do the human had no idea, for a pounding of feet permeated Sullivan's terrified mind and he remembered his pursuers. So shocked and frightened about what might happen next, Arthur whipped his head around, ignoring the pain that sprang in his neck from the action, and saw the three that had chased him round the corner. The three humans nearly fell over themselves with the suddenness in which they stopped, arms flailing out and legs backpedaling in a hurried effort to come to a stop without running into the Yautja, or the human dangling from the hunter's grip.
A hush fell over the hallway; no one moved or spoke. The sounds from the crowded hub drifted down the corridor, so faint and distant that they were barely registering as background noise. A pin dropping at this instance would have been loud indeed, as it was, Arthur was sure everyone could hear the pounding of his heart as it echoed in his ears and sent the blood rushing dizzily to his head.
What would the Yautja do? What would the drug addicts do? Arthur did not look back at the hunter, instead he kept his wide open eyes on the three humans, each of them breathing heavily and Sullivan felt his heart plummet when he saw a knife was visible through the middle one's open jacket. The Yautja were funny about weapons, sometimes seeing someone armed set them off and other times they could walk on without looking back.
The Yautja moved then, for what reason Arthur was not sure, but the Predator shifted his feet to a better stance and that was all it took. Perhaps it was the drug induced state that prevented the humans' self preservation from kicking in right away, or perhaps they were too shocked by the sight of the hunter that they had frozen like deer in the headlights, not knowing what to do. Whatever caused them to stand there vanished when the Yautja moved; all three humans whipped around and took off, as if the devil himself were after them.
They disappeared from sight; the quick beat of their footsteps on the metal flooring echoing back to Arthur and the Yautja until the din of the hub swallowed them up. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that his pursuers had been frightened off but also because no bloodbath had erupted with him caught in the middle. It took a second, so relieved, as he was, that he had gotten out of a scary situation that Arthur forgot he was not quite out of the fire yet.
It took the grip on his shirt, shaking him till he but his own tongue, to bring Arthur's attention back to the Yautja holding him up. The Predator stared at him long and hard before dropping him, Arthur stumbled when he landed on his feet, fighting for his balance but once he had it the human's equilibrium was threatened once again. A rap of hard knuckles against the top of Arthur's head had the young human staggering once again, his arms flailing out to steady himself. His stability restored, Arthur grabbed his aching head as he looked up at the Yautja, whose shoulders were shaking and the hunter chittered down at him. Arthur realized the Predator was laughing at him, though why the human was unsure. That he had been reprimanded was certain, the hit to his head was like what a teacher or parent would do when their student or child had done something incredibly stupid and had, surprisingly, survived.
Now that his heart had calmed down, and his life no longer seemed to be in immediate danger, Arthur took a good look at the Yautja in front of him. Standing a little over eight feet, armed with only a short blade strapped to his leg, the Predator's sharp edged visor was more than enough to intimidate anyone. The hunter's hide was a mixture of black and green, the darker color being more predominate on his back and then dispersing around the front till it just looked like freckles sprinkled around the top of the chest. The toned stomach area was a light green, almost yellowish, and the tall male wore the customary netting over its body that regulated its heat as well armor pieces strapped around its waist and thighs.
Both the Yautja and the human were startled by the beeping sound that came from the watch on Arthur's wrist. Alarmed, Arthur stared down at his chronometer; his brain trying to comprehend that yes, the fifteen minute warning he had set before heading out was going off. If he did not take off right now the Spirit of Adventure would leave without him and he would be stuck on the station for who knew how long, of forced to book passage on some strange ship in order to catch up to his own.
Arthur looked up at the Yautja, "I've got to go."
Not allowing the Predator anytime to respond, Arthur ran for the hub, hoping that the crowd had died down. It had not, and Arthur was forced to slow as he pressed his way through the multitude of aliens and humans who flocked to the lower section of the station for their entertainment. Taking the escalator, Arthur was thankfully one of the few going up so he was able to run. Passing anyone in his way got him an angry shout but Sullivan ignored them, his mind centered on one thing and that was reaching his ship in time.
Past the shopping centers on the main floor, Arthur was able to sprint towards the docking pier where the Spirit of Adventure was. Without glancing at his wristwatch Arthur knew he had time, a couple minutes at best but he was going to make and he could not stop the relieved grin from spreading over his face as the airlock to his ship came in sight.
Thomas Arlington was standing just inside the airlock, no doubt keeping an eye out for stragglers.
"Thomas!" Arthur shouted, making a few aliens in front of him hastily move out of the way so he could keep running without interference.
Arlington looked up at Arthur's shout, and, as his lungs burned for air, Sullivan saw everything with startling clarity. The navigator's face twisted in anger and he stepped back further into the airlock, his hand hitting the door release and the airlock sealed. Arthur stumbled, his brain failing to understand what he had just seen and the young human stood panting in the hallway, eyes wide in shock.
"No." Arthur gasped, his body shaking from the adrenaline run that was no winding down. Startling forward, Sullivan made it to the sealed airlock, but the red light and the annoying access denied sound from the door release button confirmed that yes, the ship had gone and yes, he had been left behind.
Arthur was unsure what the best response to this kind of situation would be. Crying? Screaming? Staring stupidly at the closed door?
Either one sounded ridiculous to do, and at seventeen Arthur was not the screaming type. He had not cried since his mother's death when he was ten, so staring stupidly was his only option and how long he would have stayed there doing just that was unknown, for his commbadge beeped just then and Arthur hastily opened it.
"Sullivan? Where are you?" Captain Richards asked, his voice stern but Arthur hoped there was also a hint of concern present as well.
A tendril of panic shot up Arthur's spine, icy cold, and Sullivan drew in a shaky breath.
"I'm sorry, sir, I… I didn't make it in time." Telling the truth did not seem to be the best thing to do right now. Richards looked out for his crew, as much as a supply ship captain could, he was loyal to them so long as they were vice versa. Arthur was not about to point fingers at Arlington, especially since he was not even on the ship to properly do so. How would Richards react to the boy's accusation against his navigator? Arthur was only a junior pilot, learning the position and the ins and outs of piloting that no simulation could teach from the Spirit of Adventure's more experienced pilot, Jacob Lexington. In short, Arthur was expendable and whom would you listen to if you were captain? A man you have known for years or some pipsqueak who had only flown the ship three times in the past five months?
Arthur did not like his chances, and besides, confronting Arlington might be better than going to the captain. Crews were funny about such things anyway, if you had a problem you confronted it, you did not dance around it and go to the captain to straighten it out for you.
Richards sighed, "Alright, Sullivan, figured this might happen. Go down a level to docking bay 3 and you'll find the Impetuous, captained by Jay Reece. He's a supply runner, and his ship will be leaving in three hours for the same system we're going to. Book passage and you can catch up with us, understood?"
"Yes, captain, thank you."
Relief, startling warm, pooled into his stomach and Arthur took in a calming breath. His earlier panic subsided, the uncomfortable cold seeped from his body and Arthur drew on the reassurance of Richards' words to keep him grounded. They would be waiting for him then, in the Alpha Centauri System*, and it was not that far a trip from the Hornhead space station, only a week and if the Impetuous left three hours from now it would arrive during the Spirit of Adventure's shore leave so Arthur would be able to find his ship before it took off again.
Retracing his steps, Arthur walked back to the escalators, passing humans and aliens that he had hurried by only minutes before. The dirty looks he got assured Arthur that they remembered him and, hopeful to avoid any more confrontations, the lad ducked his head and tried to make himself look as small as possible. Thankfully he made it to the lower level without ticking off anyone and Arthur allowed himself to breathe easier.
Making his way to the docking bays where smaller ships could fully dock, Arthur had almost reached the third one, sidestepping cargo that different crews were unloading from one bay or another, when he saw a familiar, tall figure standing to the side of docking bay two. It was a Yautja, and Arthur was pretty sure it was the same Predator that had unintentionally saved him from those three junked up humans. Or at least he thought so, until he passed the hunter and looked at him. The Yautja glanced at him as he passed, before turning to speak with the alien captain of the docked ship in bay two, Sullivan hesitated before continuing on his way. The coloring looked identical yet the Predator had showed no signs of knowing him so perhaps he was not the same hunter.
Shrugging, Arthur made it to docking bay three and walked in. The Impetuous was smaller than the Spirit of Adventure, probably only requiring a three-man crew, possibly four. Arthur hoped they had room for him.
"Captain Reece?" Arthur called out, not seeing anyone near the vicinity of the ship. Some cargo was stacked around, probably waiting for pickup or to be delivered.
"He's not here," a seemingly genial voice said, and a man walked out from behind some of the boxed cargo, a clipboard in one hand where he had obviously been jotting down information related to the shipment.
Arthur froze and as the man raised his eyes to look at him recognition lit up those brown eyes until they blazed with hot fury. "You!"
Deciding to curse his luck later, Arthur spun around and headed for the bay doors as fast as he could. Swift the younger human might have been but it was a universal truth that docking bar doors never opened quickly, heavy and thick as they were, speed was just never a factor. The clatter of the clipboard on the metal floor and footsteps pursuing made Arthur stick his hands through the widening crack the doors were making and push in hopes of opening them faster.
Arthur was not sure if it actually helped, but as soon as there was enough space to squeezer through the boy leapt for safety. The hands that closed around Arthur jerked him off his escape path and dragged him back through the now fully opened doors. Sullivan managed to get off a yell before a hand clapped firmly over his mouth and he fought against the bruising grip that held him. Struggling, Arthur was turned around and he had just enough to see the angry face sneering at him before white hot pain sliced through his stomach, and his vision was filled with the sight of the bloody knife preparing for a second strike before he blacked out.
AN: Should I do a POV from the Yautja's perspective? Or just keep it from Arthur's POV? Also, based on the Predator's description does anyone have any cool name ideas?
* the Alpha Centauri System is the closest star system to our Solar System.