CHAPTER 11:
Flying Robots & Screaming Women
Bianca had switched from her cozy pink turtleneck into a lightweight tank top to escape the suffocating heat onboard. She'd gotten used to the chilly outdoors of Yosemite during the week and now felt as if she was in Death Valley itself with the heat the ship produced. Even the walls were warm to the touch! She didn't want to leave the room in fear of getting lost and possibly hurt so she'd decided to stay inside unless someone visited. However, the sauna setting wasn't working so well to keep her relaxed. She was in someone else's home though and thought it would be impolite to search around it as if she were familiarized with it. She'd been taught to respect unknown places and treat them as one would their own home so she would bear the heat and humidity.
"I'll be fine, I'll just read a book" she assured herself, shrugging and looking around the empty room. The other two women had left half an hour ago to explore boldly while she remained behind, too petrified to step foot on the alien vessel. Biting her bottom lip in self-pity, she sighed with a low mumble, "Why am I always left behind?"
Christina had decided to hear music while traveling around the first floor aimlessly and simultaneously devise an ingenious plan against that smug hunter for throwing his dirty rag at her. He grated her nerves more than Sau'Nak (hoping Marissa would plan revenge on him too) and awaited the hour when he'd submit to her greatness. Grinning madly, she walked the humid hallway while brushing her sweaty hair back but it only stuck to her damp skin. Great. The stupid humidity already flattened what little volume her hair had gotten from the chilly morning and grit her teeth when sweat trailed down the back of her neck.
I'll show him what Christina Pearson's all about, she thought mischievously as she brought her hands together to rub them sneakily. The sweat only made them more clammy and she grimaced instantly, wiping them off on her shorts. Gross!
She saw the navy skeletal alien, Shadow, and whistled loudly to catch his attention. He practically clung to the wall in surprise at the strange piercing noise and halted in place, wondering if she was declaring an attack on him. Humans were unpredictable after all. She jogged over to him as he climbed down slowly but she was unafraid of the alien after working alongside him. Unlike the yautja, he was perfectly calm throughout stressful scenarios and didn't scorn her with any words which made him okay in her book. Once the being sauntered over, she decided to pat his head immediately to show she came in peace. . .and to pat him (she couldn't avoid ignoring that itchy feeling that he needed to be petted). Shadow sighed at the motion since pups on board the Ade'k'ra did that when they visited him on the Science level to see their first hard meat and let her indulge. Sure, she wasn't a child but he'd learned they could be quite the curious species. Meanwhile, Christina pursed her lips thoughtfully as she touched his slick but hard head curiously as if the poor alien was an inanimate bowling ball. Finally, his skin reminded her of a waxy but tough apple's skin. There, she'd managed to quench that itch by solving that puzzle.
"So how did you guys meet?" Christina asked curiously and stopped petting him. She got the feeling he wasn't all for it when his tail lied limp on the floor and his bony shoulders slumped down. She decided to call that the 'kill me now' expression and saved him the humiliation by indulging in conversation. Her arched eyebrow raised as she pointed out, "Obviously you're not the same species. Excuse the bluntness but I like getting straight to the point."
'I met them while they were on a trip on my world', he explained calmly and the two walked together through the hallway he came from. She couldn't see if he was affected by the heat and if so, he was a pro at not showing discomfort. Sweat practically poured down her forehead and the dim lighting did nothing to help the temperate and Shadow explained part of his tale, 'My people shunned me when I matured into an adult due to my independent intellect unlike my brethren and different skin toning so I wandered the land on my own to survive, staying away from other territories that could attack me for trespassing. My species is fiercely territorial and will kill all intruders without warning. One day, I spotted their group while I wandered an unknown area with a curious mind for exploring and accidentally fell onto Aru'Dre as I climbed through a dilapidated tunnel that gave way.'
"He can't be very good if he gets caught off-guard and needs help from aliens like us all the time" Christina snorted with a superior smirk and let him continue.
'I escaped before they could attack but I encountered them again while they fought a group of my kind', he went on and straightened his back to take on a more bipedal form, shifting his weight to his legs rather than his entire form. For a moment, she thought he was going to walk with a perfect upright posture but his torso remained slouchy. Guess he wasn't built that way. Nonetheless, he recounted, 'I kept following them out of curiosity, I'd never seen another species before, but Aru'Dre didn't like it since I'd fallen on him and dislikes aliens in particular. He tried to shoot me twice before Bakuub stopped him, it is hard for their people to see mine as peaceful. I spoke to them about who I was and led them around my planet to secure my truthfulness while they finished their mission. They told me who they were, similar to your own situation, but they had never seen one like me from all of my kind. Eshin'Ga called me a unique anomaly, I still don't see why, I'm sure there's many like me out there. I asked to come with them since. . .well, I never fit in anywhere on my planet so I wanted to explore beyond the reaches of my land. I wished to see what lied above the sky and eventually, they agreed.'
"They're a serious bunch, huh?" she snorted with a wry smile and patted his head again but with a gentle stroke this time to show empathy for his own tale of life. In a way, he'd experienced the same as she except his whole planet was at his heels. How long had he endured all that? Shadow groaned to the strange action making her laugh.
'You've no idea', he told her absentmindedly and chuckled in a series of rapid clicks. It was the first verbal action he'd done that her own ears could interpret and she smiled at the sharp clattering clicks. His tail swung gently behind him and he admitted modestly, 'Apparently, my kind wasn't liked at all and I came to understand it the hard way on their mothership. It is a humongous vessel, called the Ade'k'ra and it was hard not to feel tiny amongst the sea of people that glared at you left and right. Feeling left out again, Eshin'Ga befriended me since she was a scientist onboard and because she also wanted to know more about my kind to debunk certain theories. Either way, we shared a nice camaraderie that's grown and now. . .well, I'm here so I must be doing something right.'
"I like you, Shadow" she stated with a rare tone of gentleness shining through her harsh attitude and he tilted his head curiously. Sure, she wasn't about to get mushy with anyone, friend or family, but she wasn't an emotionless bitch. The corners of her lips hitched into a small smile and she admitted with a firm tone, "We're both aliens on board another alien ship trying to survive. You protected me and my brother back on that field so I won't forget it. That takes guts to do and I respect you for that. If you don't want to stay with them, I'll hide you in my house in Reno. It won't be easy but you're welcome to it."
'Thank you for the offer but I will stay here where it's safer', he said, touched by her suggestion. Shadow found it rare to find good friends, especially among a ship of aliens that hunted his kind for prestige, but the humans kept surprising him. 'Your kind does not know of other sentient life yet and I fear I could end up incarcerated for life inside a laboratory. If your planet was different and evolved to have alliances with other species, I would agree but your species has much to learn.'
"You're right, but it was worth a shot" she said casually with a shrug, heaving a small sigh through her lips. Though she wasn't keen on aliens, especially that stupid one that got on her nerves, she liked the skeletal Shadow. Looking at him, she pouted with an airily sigh of woe, "I could've had you as a personal guard- you're dangerous from head to toe, literally. A girl can dream though."
'One main reason why my kind is feared yet sought out', he pointed out simply and tilted his head slightly in thought. The human was apparently interested in his species since she'd obviously never met them and he indulged her curiosity. 'We're divided into categories as we grow whether as drones who simply tend to our leader, warriors like myself that protect our Hive, praetorians that will be the new leader, or even Queens. There are rumors of Kings but I've never seen one myself. Our species is androgynous unless you're the Queen but if she needs a random mate for reproduction, we will take a male reproduction role. We're very agile in any environment and our bodies are practically weapons themselves.'
"Don't I know it? I don't need a replay of the fight to know that" she laughed amusingly and fought the temptation to pat his round banana-shaped head again. He did just say he was a killing machine. She found it odd that he saw without any physical eyes and maintained perfect targeting accuracy but it only served to increase her intriguing.
'Go ahead, I can see your expression', he allowed hopelessly and leaned his head down to reach her height. She happily petted him again with a childish grin and he decided to enjoy it since he didn't seem to have a choice anymore. Humans were quite the curious creatures.
"Now, can you help me exact revenge on Aru'Dre?" she asked slyly after finishing her petting, eager to gain an accomplice in her pursuit. He stared at her bright face riddled with mischief with his nonexistent eyes and couldn't help but shake the front of his head in similarity to the hunters.
'He will murder you', he tried to ward off gently.
"Let him, I'll haunt him till eternity" she scoffed cockily and crossed her arms confidently over her chest.
The two chuckled together and kept walking down the dim halls of the first floor. Their echoes bounced off the metal walls as she told him the best tactics for revenge.
Marissa explored the second level of the ship carefully and stuck close to the walls, trying not to activate the sensory doors and accidentally stumble into something not meant for her. She'd spent the last twenty minutes deciding whether or not to ask where their bathroom was and had gone to Eshin'Ga embarrassedly before her bladder exploded. The older female led her to a large room on the second floor without complaint and instructed her how to use the high-tech toilet. Thankful, she'd used it quickly despite it was huge to her since she was smaller compared to them and was glad she hadn't fallen inside while the ship sailed through the sky.
It was worse than an airplane bathroom, she thought darkly as she walked through the main hallway of the second floor. Darn bladder, this is your fault! I've never felt so embarrassed.
She'd tried to find either Will and Christina to see how they were doing but found neither. God, she hoped Christina wasn't waging war against the residents onboard. Bianca had been reluctant to leave with her so she'd gone off on her own to discover the place. Sure, she was a little wary at first but nobody onboard gave her an eerie vibe. . .well, only angry vibes from Aru'Dre. She couldn't help but touch the beautiful and unknown alien carvings on the walls as they depicted yautja figures and unreadable symbolic words all over. Touching the artwork was a gift of a lifetime for a species like hers that didn't know what really lied in deep space and would treasure that rare allowance of peeking into another world.
Walking again, she found a large open room decorated with several seats made from a furry alien fabric and leather-like material. Duh, she wouldn't have expected anything resembling Earth furniture and liked the strange furnishings. There was a round metal table in the middle of the room as silver data pads lay scattered on top of it. She saw a large window to her left as the blue sky and puffy white clouds passed by in greeting. The ship was definitely moving faster than a regular plane, that was for sure. Curious, she walked across the room and looked out the viewing window, feeling lucky to have such an experience here. No one else would see this (or maybe others had and kept it quiet?) and she smiled to wonder if any kind of planes would see their ship. She doubted it, after all, ufo's were known to have invisibility shields and Bakuub's ship was no exception. She'd seen that firsthand when they landed in the forest. Her hands touched the glass, real glass- not that plastic stuff they used on planes- and looked down at the jumble of clouds rushing below.
"Marissa" a calm voice called from behind and she jumped startled, turning around to shove her hands into her jean pockets to appear undisturbed. Sau'Nak was standing before her with his arms crossed behind his back and she narrowed her eyes to his unwelcome presence. He sauntered over slowly to show he wanted to speak with her but she stepped away from him quickly. There were two sides with that guy from what she could see.
What does he want now? Criticize my family?, she thought defensively. Wait, shouldn't he be flying the ship?
"I came to apologize for my behavior back in your dwelling" he spoke cleanly without faltering and she scoffed at his automatic tone. Was that supposed to be an excuse? It was like a bully making a house call, you knew they were faking and they'd beat you up the next day.
"Humans accept apologies when they're honest, not offered out of duty" Marissa pointed out coldly and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd knock him off his high pedestal verbally to bruise his ego and show him humanity was not weak. "Will and Bianca may let you get away with that rude attitude since they're too nice to say otherwise but I'm not. You were cold and ungrateful towards people who gave you aid when you needed it without asking and did we get a thank you at least? No, your own leader had to do it for you and he didn't know us as long!"
Why are oomans so difficult to deal with? Their rampant emotions run their logic, he thought and tried to get through the conversation to cross it off his list. Bakuub wanted him to do this and he would; it didn't mean he had to like it.
"I do apologize for that and for stating I was superior to you, despite the fact that-" he began matter-of-factly and she held up a hand to stop him. He flared his mandibles slightly in irritation to her disruption but allowed it. There wasn't a need for another verbal fight and he wanted to leave quickly to monitor the ship.
"Stop with the facts, you sound like a college lecture" she sighed with a frown on her lips and lowered her hand to stuff it into her jean pocket again. Softly, she tried to make him understand her viewpoint, "I was kind to you and I expected nothing in return but I didn't think you'd ever see yourself being so highly over me despite you were the one in our home using our things. Would you like it if I- an alien- barged into your home unannounced, demanded things, and spit it back in your face while proclaiming how mightier I am than you? How can you expect me not to be insulted? If that's your way of perfect intergalactic mannerisms, you have a lot of work to do."
He's like a block of wood!, she thought with annoyance. Is his entire species this way? I've looked at Aru'Dre and he's the same too!
Both individuals stared each other down to gain the upper hand in the conversation. Marissa wanted a real apology for all the help she'd given while Sau'Nak wasn't going to lower himself by doing so with a prey species. She was tiny under his 6'11 build and he could've crushed her in his palm but he had to give her credit on being gutsy. Unlike Christina who pissed him off with every word out of her strange mouth, Marissa was a neutral corner that sought compromises but she had her breaking point.
"You're right and I apologize" Sau'Nak said at last, quietly uttering the words under his breath. He would justify an apology with the verdict of an awful slip of mannerisms towards a civilian and that would be the end of it. Marissa's eyes widened to his words but said nothing as he went on calmly, "My words were appalling, contrary to the way I was raised to behave, and I hope you accept my apology. It will not happen again."
Yeah because I'll never see you again, she thought and avoided his face, not wanting to appear needy or triumphant over winning the challenge.
"Fine" she agreed quietly and looked out the window again through the corner of her eyes. She didn't want to argue with him anymore, seeking to leave this ship with a friendly ambiance. Quietly, she asked him, "Could I stay here for a bit by myself, please?"
"Of course" he said with a small nod and turned to leave for the control room. Haltering in his steps and without turning back, he spoke openly, "Thank you for your help today, Marissa. We will not meet again so farewell."
"Sau'Nak. . ." she called softly but hesitated on what to say. He gave her a side-glance with his ruby gaze and she murmured faintly, "Goodbye."
He nodded once and left quietly, his steps creating no noise whatsoever, making her sigh at the whole discussion. Well, at least it was over with. She sat down in one of the seats, which were pretty soft and comfortable against her form to relax in. She wondered about the stoic pilot and his impossible reasoning regarding her species but shook her head. There were enough problems and endless questions in her mind right now, she didn't need any more. Putting her backpack on the metal floor, she pulled out her wireless headphones and activated her digital music by voicing her playlist option. Hearing a stream of classical music flow through, she leaned back into the seat and hoped to fall asleep to let the tension roll away.
Bianca had almost fallen asleep on the soft bed covered by brown pelts made of who knows what when she heard the door swish open. Yawning, she opened her eyes to see not one of her cousins but a navy eyeless face staring at her with a row of sharp white teeth. The perfect picture for a horror movie.
"OH MY GOD!!" she shrieked in terror to high heaven and jumped up on the bed to escape. She chucked her book at the dark creature who dodged it easily with a mere tilt of his head as she tried to run out of the room. The blankets tripped her as she dragged them down with her and she kept screaming her lungs off while Shadow simply watched her without a making a move. It was humorous to him but he wouldn't laugh since the human believed he was a threat.
"Bianca, calm down!" Christina burst in through the door seconds later, grabbing the frightened woman off the floor (the blankets were dealing more damage than the poor Xenomorph) and into her arms to quiet her. Bianca clung onto her desperately, kicking the blankets off her feet frantically, and tried not to look at the frightening newcomer that stared at them quietly. The blond dismissed her terror with a scoff to explain, "It's just Shadow. He'd never hurt you, he's the nicest one here besides Leitjin."
"He has razor-sharp teeth!" she quickly pointed out but the words were muffled since her face was covered by her cousin's sweater. Bianca swatted the arm covering her mouth to pluck off lint from her tongue and suspiciously eyed the navy alien known as Shadow. He didn't even look human like the other ones!
'I am sorry if I frightened you but she is right, I won't harm you', Shadow assured her gently as he crouched down on the floor. 'I'm a passive being most of the time and I won't attack unless provoked.'
"I like him, he's crafty" Christina grinned impishly at her then towards Shadow, who happily wagged his tail at easy acceptance from an alien being. He didn't see what Aru'Dre disliked about the female, she was perfectly peaceful with him since they met. Her blue-gray eyes glinted mischievously to the sharp end of his tail and she pointed out gleefully, "And look at that wicked tail!"
"Chris, we're not supposed to be enjoying this" she whispered privately in warning and took a deep breath to calm herself. She was not having a good time ever since these aliens popped into the picture and was sure the monumental stress was sucking years off her life. Besides Leitjin and Eshin'Ga, she still felt frightened by the rest and knowing Shadow had no facial expressions unnerved her.
"What are we supposed to do then? Whine like babies? Absolutely not!" she snorted to the idea of appearing weak, something she would never do, and let the smaller woman go. Patting her head like a child, Christina told her excitedly, "This is the first and only time we get to hang with extraterrestrials, don't you want it to be memorable? I'm actually agreeing with Will on this one since it's only a few hours. Sure, I complained at first but I'm getting the hang of it, weird as it sounds. You should try it."
"I'd rather visit the Eiffel Tower" Bianca muttered under her breath and took a glance at the slim but deadly alien sitting down at the side of her rented bed. If Christina gave him passing grade for companionship, she could do the same. . .right? Hesitantly, she stuttered politely, "Ni-nice to meet you."
'I am sorry to have scared you but I was curious about that unusual object in your hands', he said amicably to keep her calm in his presence and pointed a navy hook-like finger at her book. 'I meant no harm.'
Bianca raised an eyebrow in surprise, glancing at the book on the floor skeptically, and asked unsurely, "The book?"
Was he serious? He hadn't tried to eat her while she slept instead? Hmm, maybe she shouldn't have taken all those scary sci-fi films to heart when it concerned real aliens. Shadow nodded to her question silently and she picked up the book off the floor to hand it to him nervously, tan fingers lightly shaking as she held the text out. His sleek fingers grabbed the book and she let go before he could touch her. Shadow ignored her skittish behavior to study it closely, tracing his skeletal fingers over the hardcover before attempting to open it awkwardly. Bianca looked to her cousin for answers on the serene alien and asked quietly, "How does he see?"
"I don't know but I bet it's awesome" Christina smiled confidently with a firm nod. Bianca withheld a sigh to her cousin's enthusiasm towards the alien and wondered if she was the only one in fear of them. Fear was rational but Will had gone off without so much as a goodbye and Marissa said she would return half an hour ago. What was she supposed to do when everyone seemed to be getting chummy with extraterrestrials?
Christina grinned at Shadow and declared proudly to both, "He's going to be my new pal. Together, we'll torture Aru'Dre into insanity."
'I never agreed to that', Shadow butted in swiftly but she cut him off with a shake of her hand.
"You did when you met me" she stated automatically, dismissing his objection completely and Shadow sat down in a slump. Bianca watched her cousin order around the poor alien as she did most people on Earth despite their own say and she couldn't help but give him a sympathetic smile.
"Oh, a book is an object people read" Bianca spoke up, remembering Shadow's whole reason for entering the room and pointed to the book. He wanted to learn so she wouldn't withhold such a thing from him, it wasn't in her personality to snub people or aliens. Gently, she explained, "It's where we mostly learn our written language from and it contains many genres whether fictional or nonfiction. There's thousands of topics to choose from whether educational or leisure."
'Interesting', he murmured softly and looked through the pages with a delicate swipe of his finger, careful not to tear the page. He held no comprehension regarding the languages of humankind, only what his verbal translator allowed his mind to absorb, but knew that Eshin'Ga could help him with it. 'May I study it, Bianca?'
"Um, sure" she stammered lightly, finding herself in agreement to her cousin's opinion on his manners. He was much nicer than Aru'Dre in conversation and despite his fearsome physique, Shadow's mental voice was quite soothing.
As quickly as the words left her mouth, Shadow left the room with the book in his clutches as Christina chased after him with a chastising bellow, "Hey! You can't leave me! We're a duo now."
Bianca simply shook her head at the yelling, wishing Christina hadn't left her all alone again, and sat back down on the bed to gaze at the silver floor. She really wished the door could be locked so nobody else would enter uninvited and give her a heart attack. She didn't feel like socializing much due to the different species factor but she felt a twinge of envy, soon accompanied by guilt, that everyone was having fun inside the ship except her.
I'm such a chicken, she thought glumly with the usual case of self-consciousness. I'm on an alien ship and all I can think of is getting home while everyone's having the time of their life. It's like the jackpot for them! I should be joining them instead of being scared out of my wits in here.
Bianca hated to be the wet blanket of the group and kept trying to overcome many of her fears. This camping week was rolling all of them together and she was sure one more heart stopping encounter would send her straight to a psychiatrist. Fear was crippling but she didn't want it holding her back from enjoying the good things in life that her other family members seemed to be partaking in already. Standing up, she sucked down the fear knotting her stomach, though her hands were twitching nervously to her impulsively uncharacteristic idea, and walked towards the door. The sensor opened the door for her with a swish, causing her to flinch at the sound, and she cautiously stepped out with her sneakers making no noise on the floor. Her heart pounded against her chest as she expected one of the aliens to be waiting outside but saw nothing. Looking around to be completely sure, the hallway remained empty and she sighed in relief.
"I can do this, I mean, it's not like I'm the only one out here" she assured herself half-heartedly to keep her ounce of bravery going. She wringed her hands together and brown eyes kept a wary glance of her surroundings as she decided which path to go.
Left, I'll go left, she thought decisively and hoped one of her cousins would await her in that direction.
"Okay, one step down and. . .many to go" Bianca murmured weakly, nervous to the entire plan but determined to see it through. She had to or else she would have to admit to herself that she was a weak little chicken that feared every sound she couldn't find. Slowly, she walked the dim metal hallway to see what would lie ahead.
Meanwhile, Marissa hummed to a song in her media player while lounging in the common room (she found herself quite comfortable there) and flipped through a society magazine about the current 2016 Summer Olympics coverage and upcoming presidential elections. It was all everyone was talking about nowadays besides the usual celebrity babble. She didn't care for it, mostly skipping to the science section to see what the medicinal field was working on. Now that was her kind of news. She needed to relax her mind while she waited to arrive at home. The entire trip was like a luxury first class jetliner where you didn't bump into the person sitting next to you except with aliens as the owners. Hearing footsteps in her vicinity, she looked up to see Kahet entering the room with a tray of food in his hands. The two stared at each uncomfortably, the previous event lingering in both of their minds, until Marissa broke her gaze away and hid her face behind the magazine.
"What are you looking at?" Kahet asked smoothly, deciding to break the silence between them and put an end to it. He needed to eat and he wouldn't let an embarrassing incident with the humans stop him. The aspect of mating was a public subject among his own kind so he wouldn't be hiding who he was to please one human. . .even though those silver eyes of hers were quite an enchanting hue. Kahet didn't have anything against humans, unlike Aru'Dre, and wanted to see if she would shun him like others did or engage in conversation. He looked at the odd paper booklet she held and admitted, "I've never seen anything like that."
Putting the magazine down, Marissa saw him take a seat next to hers on the brown chairs that strangely resembled cozy recliners and followed his curious gaze to the magazine. She smiled at seeing his green eyes trail over the black letters as he read them under his breath inaudibly. What the. . .
"How do you know written English?" she asked astonished, surprised he knew it so perfectly. His vocal chords verbalized them with a raspy bite but the fluent pronunciation was there nonetheless. How advanced was his species? She kept staring at him and Kahet found her face similar to his whenever he asked his father for hunting stories during adolescence. He didn't mind the prying and assumed it was her way to gain his friendship which he rarely found among his own.
"I learned it when I was a child" he answered easily, returning his gaze to the paper and read a few sentences below an illustration depicting human swimmers. He raised a thick brow at the paper and asked curiously, "You compete for prestige worldwide every four years?"
"It's an Earth thing" she chuckled modestly about her world's sports and saw him tear off a piece of raw meat from his plate. She grimaced slightly at the red blood seeping out below the meat, hoping whatever creature it was hadn't suffered, and Kahet teased her by holding out a small piece while he licked away blood off his lipless mouth. It was practically a scene straight out of those scary sci-fi films.
"Hungry?" he asked wittily and she immediately shook her head. Why wasn't she surprised that he was a carnivore? The teeth were a dead giveaway. Marissa wasn't much of a meat fanatic unlike Christina who ravaged it on a daily basis and she couldn't help but smile when he tried to nudge the piece in her direction again. He chuckled softly at her reaction and assured, "It's not bad for oomans. . .I think."
"No, I'll play it safe, thanks" she chuckled to his unsure assumption, not wanting to offend him but he merely tilted his head to return to his meal. He was really nice despite their friends intervening and liked his company out of all the aliens there. She could see the kindness in his movements along with Leitjin's and the resemblance between the two. Of course, Kahet was the capable fighter from what she'd observed but whoever raised them did good on those two. It almost made her wonder how his species lived and behaved on a daily basis. She gave him a sincere smile and mumbled, "I'll shut up now so you can eat. I'm sure you're starving after being captured like that."
"I enjoy the company, it's not every day I meet an ooman" he disagreed with a friendly trill and ate another portion of his meat, savoring the taste after going days without eating. He usually ate a day before his hunt to keep a light stomach but after the entire ordeal, he was going to eat tomorrow as well to satiate his appetite. She smiled at his compliment and took off her headphones to listen to him; that trill sound really tickled her hearing. He glanced at the small objects and asked intriguingly, "What are those?"
"We listen to music with them, they're voice activated by modern technology. . .it's probably nothing compared to yours though" she explained easily and showed the red headphones to him as he paused his eating. His green eyes hovered over them with a light purr of curiosity, wondering where they stuck such a device while Marissa wondered a similar question about him. She looked around the sides of his face and asked hesitantly, "Eh. .Where are your ears? I've noticed you have none so you can't really use them like we do."
He chuckled deeply to her puzzled expression and ceased his humorous laughs before stating calmly, "They're internal like our nose but very acute. I can still smell the chocolate on your breath from an hour ago and your heart rate is increasing now."
They're so odd, she thought with fascination as she blushed at his comments. She was starting to understand that their species was much more open and blatant than hers. Similar but so different.
"You're sure you don't want to try yautja cuisine?" he invited again with that alien smile of his, motioning to his plate with an index finger. "It's not the best but it does its job. In my culture, we share food off our plates if our family members wish to have a bite. The only person I don't allow is Aru'Dre, I grew tired when he cleared my plate five times and banned him."
She grinned at his genial hospitality and laughed to his joke about his loud companion. It was strange to see how Kahet and Aru'Dre were polar opposites despite being blood relations. Her mind itched to study the psychology between such a family but shook it aside to enjoy her time with him. He was an acquaintance, not a clinical study. The last thing she wanted to act as was her government who took no care to get what they wanted.
Marissa was sure her female cousins would freak at what she was about to do, probably to yell something about germs and sanitation. Her gray eyes wandered over the food to see that most appeared to be lightly seared reddish-brown meat with some odd yellow and round purple vegetables piled neatly to the side. She saw something that was round, spongy, and brown; definitely not trying that! She shrugged and grabbed some whitish yellow string-like vegetables and ate them. Chewing them slowly, they tasted similar to a cooked sweet onion but with a crunchy texture. She was used to eating foreign food when she traveled, mostly from outside stalls in marketplaces, and wouldn't be egocentric and picky about it. Kahet watched her curiously, waiting to see if she would swallow the food or spit it out. He hoped on the former before she decided he was too much trouble than he was worth and left.
After swallowing the food and seeing no sudden allergy effects, Marissa puckered her lips in thought and nodded agreeably, "Not bad."
She grabbed a few more of the same vegetable and he trilled happily that she partook in such a meal that was contrary to what he'd been taught about the human species. He assumed they'd be hypocritical, arrogant, and stubborn in their ways but obviously, their data files needed to be updated. He already had a human mother to prove otherwise, which reminded him to speak with her later before she worried. If his mother held a tiny inch of worry, his father would be on him like stink on a dirty human. He snapped out of his ponderings when she smiled and told him, "I like vegetables."
"No! They're awful" he whined with disgust towards his least desirable food and took a bite from his meat to emphasize his point, "Meat is so much better."
"For you, maybe" she laughed amusingly to his argument and wiped her fingers on a brown cloth next to his plate as he snorted. He was quite the conversationalist and forgot about returning back to the room like she promised as she became engrossed with his company. A delighted smile formed on her lips and she spoke appreciatively, "Thanks for the bite, Kahet."
He dipped his head in return to her respectful manners and cleared his throat gruffly to bring up another topic. To Marissa, it sounded like a choke and she was about to perform a Heimlich maneuver if needed but he raised a hand to settle her back down as he laughed softly to her concern. Humans were so skittish to him and the females always humored him with it. With calming ease, he brought up, "I wanted to apologize for making you feel uncomfortable back in the forest. It was never my intention to cause such. . .calamity to our interaction. I would never disgrace any female which is what I tried to explain but my brother, that sneaky medic, obviously swayed your opinion of me with his words."
"Yeah, for an innocent man, he sure can spin a web" she chuckled bashfully and he blinked curiously to what a 'web' was. Marissa decided to keep her words to basic understanding without metaphors and restated, "I mean, I agree. I shouldn't have overreacted over their immature blabber."
She let out another laugh and admitted amusingly, "I'm the mature one even though Will's older than me so that kind of contradicts that statement." With a subtle blush on her beige cheeks, she added in modestly, "I'm not xenophobic in my view unlike Christina so I don't mean to offend you in any way when I reject such ideas. I'd do the same towards humans I met too so. . ."
"Completely understandable" he replied with a smile and she nodded quietly with relief that she didn't come off as snobbish. She gave him an earnest smile and Kahet decided to spend his time with this particular human rather than the others. He wasn't like Sau'Nak who completely brushed off unimportant conversation or Leitjin who conversed with anyone that lent an ear but rather a person who was comfortable in a small group setting. Relaxing against the chair, his black claws tapped his now empty plate and he asked, "How is Earth like?"
Is it like my mother described?, he pondered thoughtfully. The way her life was before she met my father and joined our people. She always keeps some information out of her tales but she never tells me why.
"Climate, geology, technology, . .?" she asked carefully, offering several categories, motioning with her hand to receive a lifeline from him. Her planet was a huge topic to compact into one conversation and pointed out, "Earth is a very broad subject."
"Average life" he requested easily, nodding to himself at what he wanted to know most, and briefly glanced at the black backpack resting by her feet. He could see different papers, clothes, and objects hidden inside and simply asked, "What do you do as an everyday person on Earth?"
"I go to school and study" she answered with a small shrug and he tilted his head in confusion as his brows furrowed at the admission. The human wasn't even a decade older than him and she was currently in school? How long did her species study for? Marissa didn't notice his stunned expression and continued shyly, "I also work to pay off my school debts and afford the basic commodities of life like food, shelter, and clothing."
School?!, was Kahet's thinking as he looped the same word over and over. He was already at a profession, going on ten standard years, and this little female was still getting an education to survive? He couldn't see why they needed so much intellect since her species barely reached a century of life while his surpassed hers tremendously. These oomans love to study, don't they? Mother does the same at home even now! No wonder she boggles father and I.
"You. . .still. . .study?" he deadpanned slowly as drawled the last word, making an unpleasant face as the idea sent unfavorable shivers down his spine. She laughed warmly to his baffled expression as he shook his head to confess distastefully, "I hate studying. I hated waking early, sitting for hours on end, and learning topics I would have no use for when I became an adult. I finished my schooling when I turned fourteen. Happiest day of my life. I celebrated by deleting every piece of information off my slate, a digital item we use instead of paper, and burned any papers I did use."
Though I did accidentally ruin half of Leitjin's, including a monthly project he had been working on, Kahet remembered embarrassedly when his ten year old brother bawled loudly before his parents with the remaining ashes of his work while Kahet held an innocent grin that his father didn't buy for a second.
"You learn that quickly?" she asked amazed to the fast absorbing knowledge this alien race apparently possessed. No wonder their technology was remarkable by far. She felt tiny and insignificant next to him all of a sudden and it wasn't because of the height difference. Sheepishly, she bit her bottom lip and told him, "People on Earth learn till their 30's or later to master their professions. I still have years to finish mine."
"I will pray for you" Kahet teased lightly, giving her the most sympathetic look he could muster. She slapped his forearm playfully but stiffened a second later with alarm, remembering he was a stranger and her customs could mean something entirely different in his society. He trilled softly to her gaping expression and eased gently, "It's all right, Marissa. I find it is better to speak when one's comfortable and I would smell the hostility if you did try to harm me in any way. We can learn much from each other through conversation."
She nodded meekly as she safeguarded her actions but Kahet released another of those soothing trills she enjoyed hearing and steered the conversation back on topic, "Why do you study for so long? Is it mandatory?"
"No, every nation has their own laws but here, once we're eighteen, we're free to choose" she explained carefully and gave a small smile as she saw that his eyes weren't leaving her face for a second. Apparently, he wasn't kidding when he said he was interested in her world. She liked that. Obviously, he wasn't going to conquer and pillage it but she felt acceptance from such an act. She twiddled her thumbs in her lap and confessed with an unabashed smile, "I like studying. . .there I said it. Most people would cringe- hey, don't do that!"
Marissa laughed loudly as Kahet made the same dismayed face she described and heard him return the same laugh in his own version of trills. It was a shame she couldn't share his company after today. She cleared her throat to stop the giggles and went on to finish her story, "If I wasn't so thirsty for knowledge, I'd have never acknowledged the possible existence of other worldly beings like you. And behold, here you are, talking to me like a normal person I'd meet while walking down the street. It's impossible and arrogant to assume that out of so many galaxies we've discovered so far, none could hold life. There's tons we haven't found either since Sau'Nak told me about two other species that travel by here."
Which is also creepy in its own way, she thought disturbingly at the idea of silent intrusive aliens entering her world without anyone knowing. It was like identity theft for her poor planet.
"It's strange how the universe works" he replied in agreement and she met his deep-set emerald gaze. His eyes were so unnaturally human, the others had red and golden eyes but Kahet held a human shade that was almost eerie. She watched him set aside his metal plate on a nearby stool-looking silver table (there was no way for her to describe it without relating it to her own furniture). He sat back in his seat comfortably, crossing his bare feet at the ankles, and asked with a serious tone, "Will you forget what happened?"
"How can I? This is like a dream, people would kill for this" Marissa blurted instantly but bit her bottom lip for her choice of words. She really needed to pick her language use before an alien who'd just fought off obsessive government agents. Her cheeks brightened with a rosy pink of embarrassment and she rephrased nervously, "I mean, nice people who believe in you, not those who captured you. . .I'm not giving off a good impression, am I?"
Her last sentence caught him off guard and Kahet laughed to her shy admission, finding her censorship very amusing. He tilted his head to the right, depicting both curiosity and friendliness, and clasped her shoulder gently with his hand. The fabric of her clothing was rougher than what females on the Ade'k'ra wore and wondered if it itched her. How could she stand such a scratchy fabric? Females were to wear soft and delicate cloths to accentuate their femininity but also show that they were held highly over the male population. He could feel the swell of her clavicle bone under the brown cloth as her shoulder was dwarfed by the size of his green hand. She stiffened lightly to their first physical contact, surprised by the quiet gesture, and noticed his palm was warmer than her own. His species must have a warmer body temperature while she'd assumed he was cold-blooded like the reptiles he resembled from her planet. Hmm, just another tidbit to add to her files.
His green eyes sparkled with mirth and he spoke confidently, "Marissa, if I didn't enjoy your company, I would've hightailed it out of here long ago. I only have one rule: Be yourself."
Marissa eased the constant worry of tiptoeing around the alien man and gave his fingers a light pat with her own to motion she was all right. His flesh was indeed warmer than hers and the skin of his fingers was much smoother than the area around his knuckles. She didn't want to let go, wanting to run her fingertips over his hand plenty more times, but that would turn things awkward again.
Apparently, he used body language also though she found it strange at how clearly and quickly he was deciphering her behavior. She couldn't even catch a blink of his! He released her shoulder with the lightest of touches and took notice of a small square object sticking out of her bag which urged the question, "What is that?"
She looked to her open backpack and answered, "A camera, we take images with it"
Marissa bent down to grab her bag and Kahet stared at how easily she connected her chest to her legs without hesitating, wondering why she was so flexible with such a delicate body. Humans weren't supposed to be conditioned that way unless they were warriors. . .weren't they? At the risk of sounding stupid, he asked carefully, "How. . .why are you so bendable?"
That didn't sound right at all, Kahet said in his own mind and hoped he wouldn't scare her off.
Instead, she laughed quietly to his curiosity and indulged his mental itch, "Yoga. It's an exercise that teaches flexibility over time but is also a stress relieving activity. I started during my first years in college to keep me level-headed. We have many sports that include such exercises to increase flexibility and endurance."
Damn Leitjin and his adulterous jokes, now I really have to scrub my mind about her, he thought wretchedly and tried hard not to think on what that human could do with a lithe body like that. And what he would do to a body like that.
Marissa was oblivious to his mental conflict and handed him the camera so he could examine it, biting her bottom lip from inside her mouth in hopes that his sharp claws wouldn't scratch her camera. She still hadn't paid it off yet. His eyes observed the small device while her own watched his reptilian hands move, enthralled with each muscle contour accompanied by movement as his bones shifted under the scaly flesh.
"Our technology is more advanced for image scanning" he told her absentmindedly and pressed a small round button at the top to see what it would do. The bright white flash went off and struck his eyes within centimeters, making him yelp to the unexpected surprise as his eyes stung instantly. Marissa grabbed the thrown object in mid-air to save hundreds of spent dollars while Kahet blinked his eyes furiously and hoped he hadn't foolishly blinded himself with a human gadget. The brunette couldn't help but snicker softly at his childish expression: glazed blinking eyes, a gaping mouth, flared twitching mandibles, and furious head shaking to make it go away. His sharp hearing detected the sound and he pointed at her, although a little sideways.
"Warn me next time" he growled defensively and his vocal chords gave off rapid clicks of annoyance. His vision wasn't getting better and he began to rub his eyes furiously, really disliking his mother's vision inheritance at the moment. Complaining, he whined loudly, "All I see is a colorful blob!"
"Your eyesight will come back. . .I hope" she comforted gently and really hoped that their camera flashes weren't damaging to alien corneas and lenses. He gave her a small glare despite his blindness making her laugh harder. She didn't want to be rude and quickly apologized between laughs, "I'm sorry, Kahet, but your expression. . ."
"Hey, there's my cousin!" Will's voice spoke up perkily as he entered the open lounge making Marissa smile to his never-ending fun while Kahet looked around the room aimlessly.
"I can't see anything, Marissa!" he accused her, trying to hide the growing worry in his voice, and closed his eyes to rest against his seat. That's the last time his curiosity gets the best of him.
Damn ooman genes, he thought grimly and felt Marissa pat the top of his hand softly with hers. He was taken aback by the contact but his mother always said humankind was a species that had a knack for touching whether angry, sad, happy, or for no reason. Being half-human, he didn't mind it since his mother had cuddled him like a precious gem since birth. . .even to the present when he returned home and had her latched on despite he towered over her frame. Human civilians could be quite amusing. He allowed her touch as her thumb ran gently over the top of his and he relaxed easily. Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion? It hasn't even been two minutes.
"I'm sorry, Kahet" she apologized sympathetically, feeling guilty for laughing at him. That wasn't the best tactic to begin a good friendship. Will grinned slyly at her kind gesture and was about to say something but she silenced him with a piercing glare. This was not the time to screw around or she would go after him with the metal bat again and this time, he couldn't escape while in mid-air transport.
Using her free hand, she reached into her bag and she pulled out a plump snow white robot measuring one and a half feet tall and put it on the floor. She pushed a round button located on top of its round head and its blue visor lit up with two electric blue orbs for eyes snapping to attention from behind. It held no physical mouth but used three little lines resembling the mouthpiece of a cellular phone to communicate. It began to play upbeat instrumental music from within and its pudgy arms moved to the side to dance crookedly. Marissa grinned at the tiny robot and joked deviously to give Will a taste of his own medicine, "I'll give you Will's robot as compensation. How 'bout it?"
"No, not Bill! I paid good money for him. . .well, his parts at least!" her cousin cried out frantically and reach down to snatch his beloved robot back. As much as he admired aliens, he wasn't giving up two years of work over to them. They probably had better AI's anyway! Stroking the robot's plump tummy, he held it to his chest and assured in a whisper, "It's okay, Daddy's here. Oh, you're shaking, it's okay."
"Will, it's not alive!" Marissa exclaimed with a laugh to his care towards the inorganic robot. She should've never introduced him to the Transformers fandom. Kahet finally got use of his sight back and raised a brow ridge when his first image was the male human cuddling the toy like a child. Will simply hugged the toy again before placing it back on the floor with a fond pat on the head. Marissa saw Kahet's awkward stare and explained the strange situation with a defeated sigh, "It's his adopted non-living child. He's been working on it for a while from scratch and turning it into an A.I. robot. Right now, he's using music to decipher speech patterns before going into verbal language itself."
He's embarrassing me in front of him, Marissa thought in dismay and hoped Kahet didn't think she and her whole family was bonkers. He's good with machines but a goofball with people.
"He's a peculiar man" Kahet commented privately to her, looking at the man who gave an order for the robot to dance in rhythm with him. Marissa only groaned embarrassedly to his kooky dancing and blushed lightly when she noticed her hand was still on top of his, giving a nervous chuckle as she clasped her hands into her lap. The yautja didn't notice her fluster and nodded to himself to state respectfully, "But he's honorable."
"Dance with me guys, it helps him evolve" Will told the duo optimistically who gave him a puzzled look altogether. He sighed at their lack for excitement and wondered where Leitjin was at since the yautja medic was curious about everything and anything without a care of what people thought. Clapping his hands, he urged them with a friendly grin, "C'mon, don't be shy. We're grownups, there is nothing we can do now that will embarrass us unlike our teenage years. Remember that retirement party for grandpa and how I accidentally tripped Christina into the five tiered cake? She got like half of the vanilla cake on her while I got a itty bitty piece and an ear yanking from gramps."
Marissa gave Kahet a pleading look and negotiated, "Could we trade families?"
"I think mine would drive you more insane" he trilled jokingly with a smile since she hadn't met his entire family. He was sure his parents were like nobody else's with their brazen personalities. One of many reasons why most females rarely wanted to meet his family when he sought a relationship. His mother would then smack him over the head and tell him to choose a better female and as always, he listened to her.
Speaking of his unconventional family members, he saw Aru'Dre enter the common room to scope out all the loud noise and his golden eyes spotted the ridiculous dancing human and robot. Before Kahet could give out a warning, Aru'Dre walked over and kicked the robot out of his way like a football without stopping as he went to find a place to sit at. Marissa gaped in shock to his actions while Will cried out in horror to his fallen robot, who'd flown halfway across the room, and scrambled over to fetch it.
"No! Bill!" he wailed woefully as he saw it sprawled on its back on the floor and scooped his robot into his arms. The white robot now held a big hairline fracture running down the side of its white round head while it kept gurgling out the dance music with a static flat voice. Hugging it, he yelled indignantly at Aru'Dre, "You monster! You killed Bill! Do you've any idea how much I've paid for it?"
"For that, he shall pay!" Christina's voice shouted out of nowhere and a blue hardcover book was hurled to hit Aru'Dre smack in the middle of his forehead where his crest began. The hunter roared angrily as she entered the room with Shadow behind her, targeting her slim figure as she grinned smugly. She pointed her perfectly french manicured finger at him and declared protectively, "No one and I mean nobody hurts Will or Bill unless it's me!"
"Gee, thanks" Will muttered to her distorted sisterly love and tried to squeeze Bill's head to reduce the large gash, hoping none of the chips were broken inside. That would cost hundreds just to buy the pieces alone. The sepia yautja, however, wasn't trilled in the slightest to her newly arrived presence there.
"I'm going to kill you!" Aru'Dre vowed spitefully and stood up, his entire body rigid with fuming tension. Oh, how he wanted to throttle her pale neck with his hands until she turned whatever color humans did when they died of asphyxiation. Kahet kept a close watch on his hotheaded cousin in case he tried something without Bakuub's consent. Aru'Dre had a tendency to get sloppy when angry while Kahet kept himself composed, plus his experience would have the younger hunter pinned down under his foot in no time.
Christina merely grinned coldly and crossed her arms to point out smugly, "You can't kill me, I'm unarmed! Shadow and I had a long interesting chat about your Hunter ways, my hideously ugly friend."
"I'm not ugly, you are, you wicked beast!" he exclaimed childishly at having his good looks insulted by prey of all people and clenched his fists tightly until they dug into his flesh. He turned sharply towards Kahet and demanded with a bark, "Are you sure I can't kill her?!"
"Hunter ways?" Marissa asked confused as she remained clueless to their real profession and reason for exploring Earth. Did Christina know something she didn't? Looking at Kahet, she asked carefully, "You're a hunter or something?"
"Yes, you should ask your cousin since she obviously knows" he murmured regrettably, hoping she wouldn't overreact to that aspect of his life. He wasn't ashamed of being a hunter and would protect his culture just as other species did. Marissa eyed him warily as she stopped glancing at their feuding friends and he wondered if she'd stop talking to him because of it. Humans were frightened easily and he'd begun to enjoy speaking to her but if she ran. . .well, he wouldn't stop her. Every adult was responsible for their choices, after all.
"There's so much we don't know about each other" she stated quietly, more to herself, and would ask her cousin about what she learned later. She didn't want to be drawn into a false sense of security only to be backstabbed. . .but he seemed so nice. She gave him a meek smile and mumbled delicately, "Maybe it's better to stay ignorant while this moment lasts instead of finding out harsh truths?"
Kahet opened his mouth to answer but a new pitter patter of feet nabbed his attention as Bianca stepped into the room from where her chosen path led her. Everyone's eyes turned to her and she turned pink from the sudden spotlight but her brown eyes saw a book on the floor, next to an angry Aru'Dre, and she scolded, "Shadow, you promised to take care of my book!"
'Christina stole it from me and she's very persuasive', he explained shamefully, his banana shaped head dipping embarrassedly to the fact that the human's pats were part of her effective persuasion tactics. He hid behind Christina despite his tall fearsome frame and piped up, 'I apologize.'
"He's so polite. . .forgive him!" Christina beamed before bluntly ordering Bianca, who gaped at her in surprise for her defense towards the alien instead of her. Wasn't she against fraternizing entirely just a few hours ago?
"She finally found a friend. . .in an alien" Will stated bluntly with his own shock and grinned proudly to the women, "Who'd a thought? And here she was days ago saying aliens didn't exist and we were all crazy for believing in it. Who's ignorant now, eh?!"
"Shut up before I smash what's left of your robot!" his sister snapped crisply to his joke and he held his robot closer in case she tried to catch him by surprise. She could protect him one second and the next, she was planning his imminent demise. Sisters, what could you do with them? He often agreed with her just to get her to back off; he really hated being the only guy out of a family of three sisters sometimes. The blond pointed to his plump robot and grinned to mock dryly, "When I'm done, not even a finger will be left."
"If only I could break her that way" Aru'Dre rumbled irritably to himself and decided to leave. He didn't want to be in a room where humans were the main majority group. If Kahet wanted to get chummy and start chatting up prey, that was his choice but he wouldn't be partaking in it.
Christina saw his retreating back as he headed right, away from all of them, and called him out with a taunt, "That's right. You better run, little girl!"
He halted in his tracks and in a moment's blink was charging towards her in a rampage. She shouted in alarm as he began to chase her instead, cursing at herself that he called her bluff. Quickly, she dashed by her brunette cousin and cursed bitterly, "Damn it, I left my bat! Give me your mace, Mari!"
"No! Then he'll chase me" she objected fearfully and held her backpack closer as she shook her head. There was no way Christina was about to drag her into that mess and slunk into her chair further. Firmly, she pointed out, "I want an alien pal, not an enemy."
"Fine, go hump your watermelon hunter for all I care, I hope he gives you space AIDS" she shot back furiously to both Kahet and Marissa for being left on her own devices. She ran away and a second later, Aru'Dre flew by as Kahet turned away uncomfortably at another insinuating comment. Really, is that what they thought of them?
Marissa wasn't about to be insulted again and called out with a lecturing tone, "This should teach you about letting certain battles go instead of screwing yourself into deep shit!"
Kahet trilled to her choice of words and Will joined in as he tried to patch up his robot with a small repairing kit he carried in his jean pocket. The hunter smiled at Marissa and told her amusingly, "I've never heard you use such language but it is fitting for the situation- Aru'Dre!"
The sepia hunter was about to pull out a handful of hair from the woman but his cousin's sharp reprimand stopped him and he hissed at Kahet as the blond cackled about him being on a leash. He growled loudly, scaring Marissa who latched onto Kahet's arm and hoped she wouldn't have to hide the mangled corpse of her cousin once they returned back home.
Bakuub entered the scene with thundering steps to scope out the racket and glared at each member individually. Bianca and Shadow had huddled near one corner of the room to stay out of trouble so he dismissed them as troublemakers. He'd never buy those two as being anything but docile. His golden eyes did circle in on the two he'd been worried about since the ship took off and both arguing individuals stopped when he crossed his muscled mahogany arms over his broad chest. Aru'Dre stopped to stand at attention next to Christina and she took the chance to punch him in the gut. Needless to say, it hurt her soft skin more than it did him. She massaged her hand with a silent curse and he hissed to take his own shot, pushing her down to the floor with a simple smack of his hand. The blond shouted at being thrown so flimsily by the strong alien and kicked his lower leg with her foot.
"Stop it!" Bakuub ordered tersely as he glared at the two, growing incredibly tired of their childish squabbling. They nodded meekly under his sharp gaze, afraid he would smack both of their heads together to give them some sense. The man exerted authority and they listened instantly to let the anger wash away as if it never happened. He looked to the rest of the inhabitants of the room and waved his finger at all of them to command sharply, "All of you, to your rooms if you can't stay silent within my ship. We have one more hour before we arrive and I don't want to hear a single peep unless you're dying. I suggest you all get along or you'll be jettisoned out of my ship."
"You can't do that!" Christina blurted to his crazy idea but gave an innocent smile when he glared directly at her. Man, these guys looked better with the masks on. Will shook his head from his spot on the floor at her impulsive outbursts and the woman changed her demeanor to a sly sweet tone, "Can you?"
"Don't cross me, female" he rattled without a hint of amusement and left as quickly as he appeared down the hallway. Bianca and Shadow released a breath they'd been holding and she jumped back with surprise that she'd stood there next to an alien without freaking out in a second.
Christina's stubborn personality wouldn't let the argument go and she called out to negotiate, "But Barney-"
"Call me that again and you'll be the first thrown out!" he roared fiercely from within the corridors and Bianca could've sworn he made the walls vibrate with his echoes alone. Christina pursed her lips to his threat, her ego never allowing weakness to anybody, but decided to actually learn his name now. He was the boss and bosses earned respect. She did that on a daily basis by scaring her employees and Bakuub did the same with one lift of his finger that would render Aru'Dre into a sniveling pup.
"Males are very territorial in this society" Will informed out of nowhere to his family and fiddled with his bonding glue to fix his robot, settling the robot between his legs to keep a good grip on his creation. Biting his bottom lip, he worked diligently as he vowed dramatically, "Fear not, Bill. I'll make you as good as new and you'll be dancing before you know it. Don't give up on me, buddy."
"Is he broken?" Aru'Dre questioned obnoxiously, opening his arms for an answer from just about anyone. . .even the humans if need be.
"He's almost as crazy as you, except he's not annoying" Kahet trilled to chide his cousin with mischief plainly written in his green eyes and Aru'Dre grabbed Will's robot from his grasp without warning. Will barely let out a yell for his pet when the hunter threw it directly at Kahet. Luckily, the older male caught it with a simple flick of his wrist and gave it back to its distressed owner when he ran up to him.
"Stop torturing my robot!" he warned to everybody and ran off with his toy before it got demolished as an accessory to arguing. Bianca followed Will quickly to keep him company, growing uneasy in their company already, as Christina and Shadow went away in the opposite direction.
"I can't wait to be rid of them" Aru'Dre hissed, shooting a glare at Marissa since she was the last human left, and stomped off to his quarters to lock himself in until the humans left their ship. He hated having his territory invaded by lesser species after working his ass off to stay on top of other full-blooded yautja hunters. He'd earned his right to be onboard a hunting vessels while they'd done nothing to warrant such an honor.
"He doesn't like us at all, does he?" Marissa asked Kahet softly when they were left alone in the room to ponder the aftereffects of the excitement. She didn't expect him to like them instantly, it was impossible to, but she was taught to remain cordial in the presence of strangers. Maybe he was just raised differently?
"He will in time, he's just defensive" he comforted her quiet musings and stood up to stretch his tired limbs. He couldn't wait for the sleeping shift so he could relax in his oh so comfortable bed, his chest practically rumbling to the delightful feel of the sheets tucking him in at every corner. Marissa stared at his tall and practically half-naked frame towering over her and wondered how much he had to exercise to chisel a body like that. Kahet looked down to her and smiled, offering his hand similarly to how his own mother did with him, "Come, I'd like to learn more of Earth and I'm sure my brother would as well."
She smiled in return to his easygoing manner and agreed easily, "Sure, why not? Since Shadow is Chris' alien pal and Leitjin is Will's, will you be mines?"
"Why not?" he agreed casually as she stood up to sling her backpack over her shoulder excitedly while he felt happy on the inside at finding easy camaraderie with her. He'd actually made a human friend!
Mother would be proud if she saw me now, Kahet thought smugly, mentally puffing up his ego at the achievement, and led a giddy Marissa down the left corridor to continue their intellectual exchange.
A/N: Tada! Like I promised, a faster update than last time. Of course, there's no way those two species will get along instantly (except for Christina and Shadow) and Bakuub needs to play parent while Kahet's the babysitter. Bianca will still keep the natural fear of aliens as normal people would while Will's more concerned on his robot surviving before Aru'Dre kicks him like a football again. Kahet and Marissa overcame their awkwardness and will continue their friendship as the story progresses. The trip starts wrapping up in the next chapter and will finish there unless the chapter is too long after editing then it'll be chopped into two. Hope you all liked the read and review, please.
Thanks to my reviewers:
Pinkladykittycat- Thanks for the review, I appreciate the feedback you leave here and on my DeviantArt page. I'll try to put in the upcoming chapter tidbits like I did on my recent journal so you readers can have a little taste before the main course. I'll be updating my District 9 fic next so keep an eye out.
8yume- I know it's hard to get used to the new cast, I was a bit sad that they'd take a secondary role when I first developed the outline (I just love Kantra for some reason) but they'll pop in during the first half of the story like they are now before becoming more prominent once Bakuub and his crew return home. From then on, they'll be regulars since they live together onboard instead of galaxies away as conflicts arise. I can see the twins are already a hit before being born and they'll be mischief makers from day one (the first being one of the rascals humorously grabbing a scalpel by reflex and trying to jab Kantra minutes after birth).
Wicked Falcon- Hope this sufficed your expectant glee on the chaos that would occur. We have the peaceful folk, the neutrals, and the explosives. Poor Will tries to keep a happy face and has his robot tortured. The wall fondling just came to me and being the alien nut that he is, he just has to touch it like an impulsive kid in a candy store. Instead of having a fangirl, they get a hyperactive engineer. Ha.
