This was the second night of patrol that Kujhade had to do. The first night was uneventful, as he had expected it to be. He had checked the cargo hold, the loading bay, the engine rooms, and even the hangar and he'd found nothing out of the ordinary. However, it didn't ease his mind at all. In fact it had him even more concerned that the bio-scan was still not working properly. It was a very important system because it detected any and all foreign living organisms on board. For the most part the scans were used to make sure no Hard Meat had hitched a ride on any of the ships. Their kind was especially destructive to any planet's ecosystem, and seeding them was careful work. If you were unmindful, you could carry them from planet to planet, risking the lives of an entire clan in the process.
So instead of being pissed off that he had been called to do grunt work, Kujhade had taken the task more seriously. After all, this ship held entire clans, meaning some of the hunters here had brought along their pups for training, and there were even a few females aboard. In rare instances, a couple would life-mate and thus travel everywhere together. Kujhade would not risk them by half doing his job. In light of that, he did the patrol this time with his full armor including his mask that had its own bio-scan installed. He even brought his favorite weapon. It was metal and appeared to be a short sword, but with the press of a button on its handle to release its magnetic hold, became a very long sharpened whip. He kept it slung on his hip.
Kujhade had reached the cargo hold this night as his last stop. He checked every corner and crevice. All of the ships supplies were held here except some emergency items, and of course weapons. There were plenty of the crates that the humans had dropped off with the females. There were medical supplies for both human and yautja, and also various items acquired from other worlds and conquered enemies. There was even a series of crates that acted as a sort of lost and found, where miscellaneous items were kept. They were odd and end things from all over the galaxies, including things from Earth.
Deliberately Kujhade moved through the orderly stacks of crates, and the various structures in the large space. His scan was engaged, and his weapons at the ready as he moved silently. The only thing he didn't have with him was his plasma cannon. He didn't want to damage the ship should anything come to that. Any other yautja would have laughed at him and called him a youngblood had they seen how cautious he was being, but something in Kujhade's gut didn't feel right.
He had almost covered the entire area when he stepped into something on the floor. Looking down he saw it was a goopy substance that trailed off to one side. Kujhade was no amateur. He had seen enough Hard Meats and their eggs and nests, to know exactly what this was, but how? Where had it come from? They hadn't had any aliens come to the ship except…..damn oomans!
"C'jit!" Kujhade exclaimed, but he didn't really have time to be angry. He had to dispose of them immediately.
He changed views on his mask in order to track the substance to its source. Not too far away the trail ended cold. There was nothing there, no eggs, no nest, not even a bigger pile of goop. There was just nothing at all. Quickly Kujhade did another sweep of the entire cargo hold and found nothing. Perhaps it had already found a host? His mind went immediately to Jasmine. They'd been out together and she had even spent time out of his presence. Enough time to get into trouble with a male, and enough time to become a victim of a hard meat's face-hugger. It was an unlikely scenario given what he knew about Hard Meats, but the small chance existed. First thing was first though. He would need to report this back to the Elder as soon as possible. Kujhade didn't waste another minute, as he headed directly to the Elder's quarters.
Despite her little scare the day before, Jasmine had scored big. Brenda had taken her to another of the ladies named Mimi, who gave her a nice amount of weed to replenish her stash. She'd grabbed up some new athletic shoes to replace her old worn ones, she had discovered she could charge her iPod the same way Kujhade charged his mask, and she could even play it over a sort of intercom system that could be confined to his private living space.
Kujhade was gone, probably all night. Jasmine lit up a joint, and started smoking. It wasn't a blunt, and she sort of wished she had a stronger drug, but this was plenty good enough. She put on her new shoes, and just tossed her old ones into the closet that was now her de facto bedroom. There was no mirror, but she just knew she looked cute in her Jane of the Jungle skirt and her now half shredded tank. She had eaten already, and found herself if the room with the fantastic view of deep space. Jazzy connected her iPod to the intercom system, delighted that it had actually worked. She could hear the music permeate the place, but couldn't discern any actual speakers. She didn't care where it came from, just so long as it worked. She figured a race who could travel the outer reaches of space could surely figure out Bluetooth, although her device was neither connected through Bluetooth or wifi. She chuckled to herself, thinking that should be a good selling point for that thing. The iPod, works in the last frontier.
Jazzy put Suit and Tie on repeat, and glided to the middle of the floor, lit joint in hand. She started to just move to the music, the movements at first feeling unfamiliar. Her curly hair covered her eyes and draped down her back, bouncing as she moved. By the second time the song played, she had finished smoking and was actually paying attention to her dancing. Jazzy had forgotten just how therapeutic it could be. It had been just her music and dancing that had gotten her through so much. She didn't know why she ever left it alone, in favor of drugs that would eventually ruin her. She let her playlist move on to another JT song, My Love. She used to always love dancing to it, and even remembered the routine she had created for it. By the time Kujhade came bursting through the door, Jazzy had worked up a little sweat and breathing harder than she wanted to admit. She hadn't heard him come in, so nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt two clawed hands grab her and spin her around.
"What the fuck?! Scared the shit outta me!" Jazzy shouted, her heart pounding in her chest.
Kujhade said nothing. He had just come from telling the Elder about what he'd seen. He was now running a scan on Jasmine just to be safe. He flipped through every single range of vision he had, and relaxed his grip only when he found nothing wrong. He finally let her go, visibly relaxing as he reached to take off his mask.
"What in the actual fuck was that all about?" Jazzy asked, with a bemused look on her face. She took a good look at him, having never seen him in full predator regalia.
Relieved, but also quite agitated, Kujhade placed his mask on the charging station and uploaded the night's patrol to the ship's database. He started taking his armor off, but when the mesh did not retract into it like it was supposed to, Kujhade growled low in his frustration. She could sense his disquiet and became concerned herself. After all, whatever had him appearing to almost be worried, might be something she should be just as worried about. Jazzy went over to him and lay a cautious hand on his arm. Kujhade whirled around with a grunt, and stared her down.
"Sorry," Jazzy said inching her hand back. "I just wanted to help you get that off," she said, slowly inching her hand back over to his arm.
Kujhade stared at the small hand coming his way, but didn't move or protest. She reached up to where she thought he was pressing, but she was going the wrong way. He grabbed her hand in his own, and guided it to a button on the armor just above his ribcage. He really shouldn't have been showing her how to work his armor, just in case she got any funny ideas about using it, but right now he was too frustrated to care. She had asked him what was wrong, but he didn't want to tell her. She probably didn't know what Hard Meats were, and he didn't feel like going into it.
Her delicate fingers managed what he could not. The mesh around his body slid into its housing without issue. He guided her hand again to where his armor released from his body completely, starting with the shoulder guards. Jazzy reached around his back to feel the small manual latch, and his shoulder guard fell. He caught it before it could hit the floor, and placed it on its stand behind him. Without having to be guided, Jasmine used her left hand to release the second guard.
There was something about this moment that was intimate for her. Maybe it was because she knew that this act wasn't something that a being like him would allow someone else to do. In that moment, she understood how sacred it was for him. His armor, his weapons, his person, were all closely guarded and yet he was letting her touch them. With that in mind, she tried to be as gentle and respectful as possible. She slid her hand down his side, and lightly touched the handle of his prized weapon. She looked into his eyes for silent permission, and when he nodded ever so slightly she removed it from his waist and handed it to him.
Kujhade had went completely rigid, but did not protest her offer to help him take off his armor. He had to get over this touching business and quickly. How would he mate if he did not even wish to be touched? The reality was that he had never been touched by anything he wasn't fighting, including the mothers of the two pups he had. Having lived a life without affection, did not allow one to become accustomed to it suddenly. However, he was discovering that he wanted what Jasmine seemed to be offering. She was different, she expressed herself differently, she wanted to talk to him, and from what he could see she wanted to be around him.
Jasmine had squatted in front of him and was undoing his shin guards, tapping his legs so that he would step out of them. She placed them to the side, but did not rise from her spot. Instead, she glided her hands up his calves, feeling them, touching his thick hide and feeling its strange texture. She felt how uncomfortable he was, and she also felt how much he was forcing himself to tolerate it. Usually in these situations, she would leave him alone once she saw he was unreceptive. This time she kept going. Jazzy was young, and at times could be naïve, but she wasn't stupid. Jasmine understood clearly that Kujhade intended to have sex with her at some point, probably in the not too distant future. She didn't want to admit that his constant walking around pretty much naked, was having the desired effect. Alien or not, Kujhade was built like an Adonis. There was not a single area of disproportion anywhere. His tree trunk legs, huge muscled thighs, and the ripped abdomen her hands were now plastered on, were breaking down her resolve. She'd told herself that she couldn't, wouldn't become attracted to anything with mandibles and no nose, but that was crumbling to itty bitty pieces. Kujhade was everything that millions of years of evolution had hardwired her to desire in a male. Kujhade was quite literally the strong hunter gatherer, possessing every trait that one would imagine came with that title.
Jasmine had completed the journey up his body until she was back face to chest with him. She looked up into his face. His mouth was closed tightly and so were his eyes until he opened them. Kujhade couldn't find words for it. Her touches were like the bellows to a small fire, stoking it until it became a roaring flame. She lay her head upon his wide chest, with her arms around him. He was relaxing into it, when she began to do something else to him. Her fingers toyed with the tips of his tendrils, eliciting a startled grunt and a purr. She stopped, unsure now if she should have touched them, but his continued purring encouraged her. Jazzy caressed the thick hair again, rolling the ends gently in her fingertips. Kujhade couldn't stop his eyes from fluttering a little, as he tilted his large head back and gave in to her hands.
"You like this huh?" Jazzy asked rhetorically. It made her feel accomplished that she found something she could do to get this reaction. His resounding purr told her that he liked what she was doing very much.
Jazzy pressed her body up against his tightly, while she stroked his hair even more. Purposely, she rubbed her breasts against his hard chest, her nipples hardening from the intense vibration. She couldn't have explained why she did what she did next, but she still blamed his purring for it. Jasmine licked his chest, hesitantly at first. His purring faltered, but his hands that had been at his sides like a soldier, had found their way back around her shoulders. Then she licked him again, trailing her tongue along the hard plains of his chest, down to the rippled landscape of his abs.
Her music had kept playing in the background. It landed on one of her favorite sexy songs, and she moved her body sensually along Kujhade's front. She turned her back to him, and moved her body seductively running her hands along the front of his thighs.
Music was strange, but her movements were very familiar. It was as if she were begging him to mate her right here and now. He opened his mandibles wide, taking in her scent. It almost made him dizzy. He didn't even know what he was waiting on. She could neither fight nor hurt him. There was nothing that could stop him from breeding her, until he was sure she was carrying his pup. All of that was the bravado of an awakened libido. He reached an unsure hand down to her hair, and stroked it as she had done to him. She allowed it, but it didn't seem to have quite the same effect. Jasmine had turned back around to face him as the strange music ended. Her skin was warm, and her pulse was quickened.
Kujhade's palm was on her cheek, and she could no longer care about how inhuman he was. At the moment, he was a male and she was a female and that was all that mattered. Despite the circumstances surrounding her arrival, he had taken her with him, and he had cared for her as much as she thought his kind could care for a woman. He wasn't any worse than any of the men she had encountered in her life. As a matter of fact, he was quite a few notches better than most of them. For instance, it was clear what he wanted from her, yet in spite of having every advantage, he had not forced her to bed him. It was more than what she could say for more than a couple of human men she had the displeasure of knowing.
She didn't know if she was truly ready for sex with Kujhade, but Jasmine decided that she should probably not waste time with it. If he wanted her, he might be running out of patience for all the teasing going on between them. Jasmine reached for his loincloth about to pull it down, until a large clawed hand stopped her.
"No," Kujhade said as softly as his deep rumble would allow.
"Okay," Jasmine said in a small voice, feeling embarrassed for perhaps being too forward.
Whore
She pulled away and started going towards her closet room, until that same hand tightened its grip. She turned to face Kujhade who was still shaking his head.
"No," he said and pulled her to his bedding.
Jasmine could have protested it. Could have insisted she sleep in her own room, which he was gracious enough to create a mini pit in. She could tell him no, or otherwise decline, but who would she be fooling? Maybe him if she lied hard enough, but she couldn't fool herself. Jazzy wanted very much to lay in bed with Kujhade.
He stepped down into the furs, gently tugging her along. Jasmine kicked off her shoes and followed. Kujhade had never felt so unsure about anything in his life. It was all so new, but somehow it just seemed right. A hunter lived by his instinct, and there were very few hard and fast rules to follow. He found that for this situation there were simply no rules at all except that of the hunt. Do not harm the innocent who cannot provide sport, do not kill children, and do not forcibly mate any female yautja or otherwise. He was well within the law on all counts. He did not intend to do anything to bring himself dishonor. To prove it, he did not remove his lower cloth. Kujhade's only desire right now was to feel another presence. To experience what it would be like to have a female around him, close to him, wanting him, and touching him. He had done a bit of research on some human mating rituals and things they considered intimate, and sharing sleeping quarters was one of the things he'd found highly interesting. It was an odd notion that the act of getting sleep even while in the same space could be tied to coupling, but he wanted to try it. He wanted to see for himself if he felt any closer to her after this night.
Kujhade lay down, bringing an apprehensive Jasmine to lay beside him. She lay on her side facing him. At first he lay on his back, but even though they were technically in close proximity, it still seemed too far away. He rolled over to face her, her eyes glued to every place on his body that she could see. She finally looked into his face. With a tentative hand she reached out to lightly touch his lower jaw. Slowly he opened all four trying to encourage her exploration. Her fingers touched his inner cheek, and he struggled not to snap his mandibles closed. Her hands didn't linger long at his mouth. It traveled up reaching for his brow, then for his upper crest. He leaned forward to allow the exploration, marveling that it felt very nice to be touched in those places. He reached an arm around her, making deliberate moves so that she wouldn't become frightened. She shocked him when she instinctively moved closer, and brought his arm down around her small waist.
"It's okay to hold each other," Jasmine said as she nestled herself in the circle of his arms.
He purred in response and gripped her tightly in his embrace. The feel of her heartbeat, her soft skin, her large soft breasts, her feminine scent, all told him that his instincts were correct. This may not be tradition, but it was right. This was right. Dare he think it, they were right together.
It was time now for the ship's bio-scan to be brought back online. She'd had her two days to incubate. It was tricky business to not be accounted for while in the bowels of a well-protected Yautja ship. Now it was time for the second part of her programming. Nothing less than the annihilation of this Yautja clan ship. The only other objective was to bring back the technology. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Only a little more time before she was strong enough. She only needed to infect a few women, and then she could complete the task given to her. They'd combined her DNA with that of a frozen Xenomorph Queen. All of the strengths, but none of the weaknesses. She didn't need to lay eggs. All she needed to do was to infect, and she could breed lesser versions of her unique kind. Human ingenuity at its finest, courtesy of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. They were building a better future.