Predator Gothic
Part 6
Chambers. Mother Ship.
Jubilee had never really known what to do with herself ever since she'd been taken in by the clan. She was no fighter and the Predators had no need of servants since most of work was handled by machines or done by the aliens themselves who weren't above getting their hands dirty.
The only reason they'd taken her in was because one of the clan had been unwilling to leave a helpless human child alone to die of starvation or exposer. They weren't a species known for kindness, but they had a sense of honour and weren't above showing a rare bit of mercy.
In hindsight Jubilee might have been better off if she had been left to die. There would have been a chance that she'd survive long enough for a human rescue effort to find her. And if she had died, well then maybe she'd have seen her family again.
Still she didn't dwell on that. As she sat in the chambers of the man she'd been more or less given to, she listened to him and his teacher discuss the mission the apprentice, would soon be going on.
He was going to leave on a scout ship soon to check out worlds in a distant galaxy, and some of these words had human life on them according to early reports. That didn't really make sense to Jubilee, but it hardly mattered. What did matter was this was her chance to escape her currently unpleasant existence. She intended to seize it. Now she just needed a plan.
(Line Break)
Scout Ship. Pegasus Galaxy.
If anyone had bothered to ask me I would have admitted to finding this all very thrilling. After being picked up by my clan after being left on that Yautja space station, and after finding out that it was gateway to other universes, my mentor had spent time teaching me how to pilot a scout ship, which was surprisingly easy and could be done by a single person.
A lot of it was highly automated, you just picked where you wanted to go and away the ship went. It even handled the landing, although I didn't know how it knew where to land. The craft could even home in on the Clan's mother ship over vast distances.
At least I hoped this was true as I was currently in another galaxy in a different universe, having used the gateway station to get here. If something went wrong with the autopilot I was totally boned.
In theory I would be able to get back using my ship. Which had the ability to a multiverse jump, but couldn't produce the power required to perform it more than once so I would have get the batteries recharged after every trip, which could be done at the gateway station or at the mother ship.
At least that was my limited understanding. The human ship I'd spent some time on had at least been filled with recognisable things such as screens and keyboards. This ship was even harder to work with, and displayed information, when there was any, wasn't in English. However like the human ship everything was as user friendly as possible. In this case I suspected the controls had been purposely dumbed down for me.
My mentor, who over time was becoming less my teacher and more of a general guide, had helped ensure that I was well supplied for this trip, I had enough food and water packed away to last weeks, as well spare weapons, some tools, extra ammo, a spare quiver full of arrows for my high tech bow, and medical supplies. About the only thing I couldn't replace was my armour and mask. If they got damaged I'd have to return to the mother ship.
To make things even better this was my ship and I was free to travel as I pleased as long I followed the rules (like not letting the super advanced tech fall into enemy hands) and carried out missions for the clan leader.
Apparently the females of the clan were most pleased by all the information I'd helped one of them acquire. If it was worth a whole scout ship, one built for stealth and speed, and modified for human use, then the information must have value beyond what I could understand. Still I tried to image what it could have been. Star maps perhaps? The location of Engineer bases?
Of course this meant that there were more scout ships now than could be docked with the mother ship, but upon pointing this out my teacher had informed me that it was rare for all the docks to be filled unless the whole clan was summoned for an event. Like an unblooded right of passage, but there wouldn't be another one of for years. Which meant I didn't have to return for some time.
Which suited me just fine as life on a Yuajta mother ship was either boring as hell, or overly demanding, and my mentor had been training me very intently since I'd returned from my last mission and not just on using this ship. No doubt to prepare for going solo.
His last set of instructions were to scout, hunt and to return to the clan with glory. Which I assumed meant not to come back without skulls and other cool stuff needed to show off how bad ass of a hunter he'd turned me into.
I was just checking on some of my supplies when I found something unexpected. For some reason Jubilee was hiding in a crate.
"Hello" she greeted.
This was odd because she was suppose to remain in my quarters when doing whatever it was she normally did, in case I use for her. Not that I got much use from her, but at least her body heat helped keep my bed warm.
"What the heck are you doing here?" I asked her.
She quickly explained that she couldn't take life with the Predators any more and had stowed . She'd been hoping to sneak off should I end up finding some form of human civilization.
"I'm lonely" she admitted to me "I want to met new people, get married, have children...".
With a gesture I made her shut up.
"Fine, whatever" I said "I'll find somewhere to drop you off, and if anyone asks I'll say you're dead. Not that I think they'd care enough to enquire".
The next thing I knew there was a crying woman hugging me. It was not an enjoyable experience. Well not until after she stopped crying.
(Line Break)
Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.
Currently I was heading towards what seemed to be a human settlement while using my cloaking device so that no one could see me. Along the way I'd planned to kill a few things large and furry as my bed was going to need something new to keep me warn now that I'd dropped Jubilee off on one of the worlds I suppose to be scouting for the clan. I figured some nice furs would do the job, or maybe I should get a pet. Something loyal and not known for crying on people.
Not that there was proving much to scout out on these worlds or much to hunt. Every world I'd checked out had a limited human population with very primitive technology, and no technology, resources, or wildlife, or warriors worth mentioning.
The only amazing thing I'd found so far was a Stargate, Pegasus design I was sure, which at least told me what fictional universe I was currently in. It was possible that I was going to end up in a crossover comic that had the ironic twist of the Predator actually being human under all the armour.
Not that there would be much to show in this comic as I intended to avoid contact with the locals. I was going to check them out because I'd need to record how primitive they were, so that the leaders of my clan would see that they weren't worth hunting. I might not be the most charitable of souls these days, but I was human despite how much I'd embraced Yautja culture, as such I had no desire to see my fellow humans be hunted by Predators, or used as breeding stock for xenomorphs.
I suddenly stopped dead it my tracks as I'd just heard a female someone, a human most likely, screaming for help. On a whim more than anything else I decided to go and see what was wrong. I followed the female's voice to a clearing where I saw that the woman was tied to a post.
"Please someone anyone help me" the woman cried out.
No one was around as far as I could tell so I uncloaked and walked over to the human female. As I moved she sensed me coming, but she couldn't quite see me since I was coming up behind her.
"Who are you?" she wished to know.
I ignored her, and trigged my wrist blades, which I was using in place of the gauntlet claws for a change, and cut the ropes holding the woman up by her hands. The female picked herself off the ground and turned to face me. She was startled by my mask, but remembered her manners.
"Thank you for saving me" she said
I was already thinking of leaving. I really shouldn't have aided her as I was here to hunt and scout for the clan, but I hadn't been able to help myself.
"Who are you?" she asked while rubbing her sore wrists.
"You may call me Gothic" I told the woman.
"My name is Doctor Keller" she told me, without being asked "Jennifer Keller"
I figured she was, I'd seen in on her the show, weird as that was to think about, but I had no desire to mention it, and since I had nothing more to say to her, I then turned to leave.
"Wait please" the woman called out "I can't go by myself the villagers might catch me".
Wouldn't her friends notice she'd gone missing?
"Could you come with me please?" the woman begged
I considered this.
"There are things I need to do" I told the woman "I shouldn't have gotten involved".
She looked as if she had no idea what to do.
"I'm sure that my commanding officer will reward you for my safe return" she said after a few moments.
While the people of Atlantis were sure to have something I wanted, I was starting to wonder if I should go with sex. She was attractive, and it might be a while before the next mating season.
"Sex!" she yelled, after I proposed the exchange.
Wow she seemed very shocked by the idea.
"I just saved your life" I reminded the lady doctor "The people here were going to sacrifice you to the Wraith if I'm any judge. You'd think that alone would be enough".
Doctor Keller looked around.
"You want to do it here?" she asked "But the villagers might come back, with their friends, and I have to find the guards the Colonel sent with, and its dirty out here".
That was actually possible, and with numbers they could be a danger. Well not to me I'd just turn invisible, but it would make saving Keller rather pointless if I let her die.
"I have a ship nearby" I told the woman "I'll fly you to the stargate after you thank me for saving your life. Or you can try to make it back on your own".
My bed might be cold these days, but at least it was clean and reasonable comfortable. Plus my ship was fast.
Despite not really having a choice, or at least not having much of one, the lady needed time to think about what to do next. Which seemed really odd to me as it wasn't as if I was being totally unreasonable, she was a healthy female I was a healthy male. Perhaps I'd deviated much further away from a normal human than I'd imagined.
"Yeah okay" she agreed "But we'll have to be quick. I had a couple of guards with me. They might be sacrificed next".
As long as I could fuck her at least once I was happy to help, for a while at least.
(Line Break)
Control Room. Atlantis.
Rodney Mckay watched as Jennifer Keller walked through the gate, and he wrapped her up in his arms when she ran to him, not noticing a first the man that came through with her. He only noticed the newcomer after Samantha Carter asked for the man's name.
"Put your hands in the air right now, and tell me who you are" Colonel Carter ordered.
While the soldiers around them had their guns pointed at the unknown man. The man himself remained silent and followed the order.
"Wait don't hurt him he saved my life" Jennifer Keller yelled "His name is Gothic".
A few more tense moments passed and then things began to calm down.
"Lower your weapons" Sam orders the soldiers, "Gothic I want you and Dr. Keller to with me".
They headed for the conference room where John Shepard's team soon joined them. After everyone had sat down, Sam Carter turned to their guest.
"Who are you?" she wished to know.
"I am Gothic" he said "Blooded warrior of the Shadow Blades Clan".
That meant nothing to anyone else so it best just to get on with matters.
"Nice to meet you" Samantha Carter said, before she turned to Jennifer Keller, "What happened on that planet, and where are your guards?".
She really couldn't thinking of anything else to ask the unexpected visitor. Besides Doctor Keller had mentioned that her life had been endanger, that seemed more important than anything else.
"When I was finished treating the survivors of the Hoffon drug, the villagers captured us and then tied me to a post to be sacrificed to a wraith that lives near the village I guess since they took me further away from the Gate not closer. I would be wraith food if Gothic hadn't come along".
Samantha Carter turned to John Shepard
"Are you ready for a rescue mission?" she wished to know.
He nodded.
"Always, just give us 10 minutes to get ready" he replied.
"I want to help" said the stranger.
"And why is that?" Carter asked.
Not that she wanted to turn away aid, she wanted to know why it was being offered.
"Mostly because I need something to report back to my superiors about possible targets for their hunts, and better they go after Wraith than you guys" he answered.
Hearing that made Carter want to ask even more questions, but that could wait. One problem at a time.
"Very well, but we'll talk about your people when you get back" Samantha Carter said.
(Line Break)
Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.
We all remained silent until we'd reached the border of the village. Then we'd gathered in a circle to make a plan.
"Okay this what we will do, Ronon, Rodney, you'll enter the village from the rear and free the guards, from what the Doc told us they're being held in a store room near on the outskirts of the village. Major Lorne you and half your team will enter from the right, I'll take the other half of your team, enter from here and make some noise so everyone is focused on me. Teyla and Gothic will remain here and guard the Doc. Rodney and Ronon will bring the guards to you in case they've been injured" John Shepard said "Once the villagers realise we've taken control I'll be having a few words with who ever is running this dump".
With that everyone moved into position, leaving the Doctor and Teyla alone with me.
"I hope everyone stays safe" Jennifer said to Teyla
She sounded worried. As she should be as while the mission should be a simple one this was a John Shepard mission so there was a fifty percent chance a Hive Ship would suddenly show up.
(Line Break)
Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.
"Mission complete lets head home" John said.
Things had gone well for a change. The villagers hadn't put up a fight, hardly surprising since their greatest weapon was the spear. Shepard had told them off, and the two guards had been saved. All in a days work.
Everyone followed John out of the village. When the men arrived they found Teyla on the ground with a bleeding cut on her head. John ran to her and helped her to sit up.
"What happened?" John asked
Anyone watching would see the worry on his face.
"A Wraith he came out of nowhere and I couldn't stop him" Teyla replied, still a little dazed.
Normally she could sense the Wraith, and she had been able to this time, but her abilities were far from perfect. She could still be taken by suprise.
"Where's Jennifer?" Ronon asked.
"The Wraith took her" Teyla replied "And Gothic went after them. They went that way".
(Line Break)
Primitive Planet. Pegasus Galaxy.
"Its dead" I reported, once I was back outside "And there's a whole lab here in cave, hidden by a hologram".
Which hadn't fooled my bio-mask at all. The hard part had been killing the Wraith before it could feed off the nice doctor lady. I'd never expected something so human looking to put up that kind of fight. Still it was very much dead and I had its stunner pistol as a trophy. I did consider takings the space vampire's entire head, but I figured that would freak out the Atlantis people.
"You coming?" John asked after deciding to come back later with a full science team rather than investigate the cave now "I'm sure Colonel Carter will share information on the Wraith if you can tell us about your people".
Well it wasn't as if I knew anything about the Predators that could be considered classified information and the more info I brought back on the Wraith the better.
"Might as well" I said.
(Line Break)
Infirmary. Atlantis.
After sharing as much information as I could, and after being given a small recording device full of information on the Wraith, which I would go over fully later. It was requested that I come to the Infirmary for some tests.
Which was fine with me. As long as they kept their mitts of my technology I was happy to share info. Perhaps a look at my biology might led to some medical discovery down the road, and I didn't all feel bad about warning them about the Yautja. I might be Predator in culture, but I was still a human being. Well mostly.
Keller took a look at the blood sample I'd provided with some sort of Ancient machine, and made some noises that might mean something good or bad. Either way it sure had her attention.
"Well whatever they did to you its really messed with your body chemistry" she told me after studying a readout "Elevated hormone levels, there's an increase in white blood cell count as far as I can tell, more so than is normal for a healthy human, but there's no sign of any infection. I don't know what it all means or how it was done".
I had some ideas.
"My thinking is some sort of transfusion of Yautja blood as well as some drugs" I said "I think they actually made me part Yautja, on some chemical level, maybe they even altered my DNA. Its just a gut feeling".
Keller switched on another machine.
"Okay let's get a full body scan going" she said "You'll have to take off your armour".
I didn't feel modesty much these days.
"Eager to get me naked again Doctor?" I asked.
She blushed slightly.
"Normal clothes don't get in the way, but you're wearing metal, and that can interfere with the scan" she explained.
Sounded reasonable.
"You know I did save your life twice" I reminded her "Perhaps later you'll pay me back".
This time she very noticeable blushed.
"I'm not that kind of woman" she said.
That's not the impression I'd gotten earlier.
"What so your the ungrateful kind?" I asked.
Keller looked around.
"Okay, but please don't tell anyone, and let's be quiet about this" she requested "I hate when people gossip about me".
Well she wasn't that quiet during sex. And while on that subject at some point during these tests I should ask about by my fertility. Just to check if I was sterile or not due to the modification work the Predators had done to me.
(Line Break)
Infirmary. Atlantis.
Several weeks later Doctor Keller decided to share some news with the senior staff. It didn't go down so well.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" Rodney McKay yelled out.