I don't own AvP or Predator.

Thank you, Minkutei, for my first review!!

Chapter 2: Confession

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Edana's long tresses patted atop the rhynth's hide with every jaunting stride. Machiko's own dreadlocks tapped her back with every step, the colored beads which she had decorated within her mane clacking out a beat to match the beast's movements. The two were riding out to investigate the crashed… whatever it was. Edana ran a hand through her hair to sweep it out of her face before deciding to pull it back into a ponytail at the base of her neck.

Edana was muttering something about the heat and wiping sweat off her breasts, but Machiko wasn't listening. She wasn't even paying attention to the temperature. She was entirely focused on the fading streak of smoke dissipating in the distance. That was no meteor. The dull glint it gave off when it fell, the hum in the air before it landed… Machiko had a good idea of what it was. It had to be a ship or something of the like. It couldn't be human though, right? All databases were alerted of the two women's presence on the desert planet, so a human ship should have landed closer….

"Um… hello? Ryushi to Machiko?" Edana waited for her day dreaming friend to respond before peeling a clod of dried mud off Daisy's neck and chunking it at the back of Machiko's head.

"What?!" The Japanese woman turned back to glare at the grinning girl and quickly regained her composure. The landing scene was a quarter mile away behind a plateau, close enough now to act serious. Noguchi halted her rhynth, "Let the girls scrounge around here for a bit, we're walking the rest of the way." With that she swung a leg over and leapt off her mount.

Edana was tempted to throw a snide complaint but opted against it- Machiko had a knack for making excellent decisions and Edana had a feeling something… strange… was going to happen. Noguchi was a little too eager to explore the meteor and Edana had a feeling the older woman wasn't speaking about what was going on in her mind. Edana gracefully slid off Daisy and landed without a sound, scratching her pet behind the ears before jogging to catch up with Machiko.

"There's something you're not telling me, 'Chiko. You wouldn't be this interested in a fallen rock." Edana had a playful smirk, looking at her friend from the corner of her grey eyes. Maybe she could get her to fess up.

"Mmm. Shh." Then again, they would be at the site soon enough and Edana could find out on her own.

As the two closed the distance, Noguchi went into stealth mode. She slunk, crouched and poised as she moved. Edana had no idea what she hell the woman was doing, but mimicked the actions. This was probably some trick. Maybe it was a party from the company and Machiko was just messing with her. They approached the last ridge of cracked dirt and sand; Machiko fell to her belly and crawled the rest of the way with Edana a half-length behind her. The women peered over the sand. And were shocked by what they saw.

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Tek'neh bellowed curses at his hunting pack, lower mandibles spread aggressively, ordering each warrior a job. He was the Leader of his clan and the pack he traveled with was no mangy group of ch'hkt-a unbloods. He traveled with a few of the finest warriors of his clan. True, warriors typical hunted solo, but for this hunt Tek'neh had invited three others.

The desert planet seemed good enough to deposit the hard meat eggs on. The weather was favorable, the planet was away from the reaches of other intelligent life forms, and no other Yautja had used the planet in several decades. Excluding an unblooded pack out on chiva which had yet to return. They were currently presumed dead, or maybe they had changed planets without alerting the mother ship. Maybe Tek'neh would find them here. The ship's computer's had not been updated on the terrain, making the yellow planet's topography a challenge. It also led to technical difficulties. When the ship entered the atmosphere, the solar heat and other variables had conflicted with the ship's calibrations. Nothing serious, and of course nothing the warriors couldn't handle. The landing was just not as graceful as it should have been.

Tek'neh spat at N'ck-tha, the pilot, and cursed as he walked passed. The other male growled at him, but Tek'neh was examining the ship. It was fine, and as soon as it cooled it would be practically good as before.

"Release the egg-bearer" Tek'neh commanded to no one in particular. One of them would do it. He watched the pregnant robot roll down the ship's ramp and over a dune before it disappeared. It would travel a good ways before releasing the eggs near suitable hosts.

The Hunter was suddenly struck by the prying feeling of eyes bearing into him. He swung around, his wiry dreadlocks clacking against his armor. Behind his mask, he switched vision modes and scanned the perimeter. Thermal vision was useless- the planet was too hot. Tek'neh thought he spotted two black bumps duck behind a ridge and he stepped forward, growling low in his throat.

"Tek'neh. Have you spotted something?" Bor-krek stepped up beside him, also switching vision modes to scan the area. Bor-krek was a good warrior, and fell just under Tek'neh in the clan's hierarchy. Tek'neh continued to growl for a moment before falling silent and straightening himself. Maybe he was simply excited with the idea of running with his clan mates in hunt soon and on edge. "No." He turned to the ship, Bor-krek scanned the area once more before following.

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This time Edana was ahead of Machiko as the women ran back to their rhynth.

"What the hell was that? Were those more of those hunters?!" Edana slowed enough to match stride with Machiko. The other woman didn't respond, she appeared to be in deep thought. "That one almost spotted us! We need to alert someone Machiko or we're gonna be S.O.L.!"

Both women hopped on the rhynth and kicked them to a horribly clumsy run back towards home. Machiko had yet to say anything. And she didn't, not a word the entire way back. Edana continually looked back to make sure they weren't being followed. Once back at camp, the panting beasts were given some water and the two ran inside. Machiko paused to look up at her queen's skull before entering.

"Okay, first thing's first. We need to find a good place to hide until they leave…" Edana was throwing supplies into a bag at a nervous speed.

"Edana"

"I think I have enough water to last a few days, food also, maybe enough to last four days."

"Edana"

"What about the rhynth? We should hide the girls so they don't get hunted"

"EDANA!"

The young woman stood up straight and looked at Machiko with a puzzled expression.

"Edana, I'm going with them."