A/N: Uhm... so I totally suck for taking so long, and you all rock for sticking with me. I cannot apologize enough.
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Weeks had passed, Yeyinde had made some routine repairs to their ship, and the two had fallen into a more comfortable ease with each other. Ti'ka'il had returned to the homeworld with the pups. She claimed she had other motherly things to do, and had spent to long putting them off for later.
The majority of Hannah and Yeyinde's travels had gone uneventfully. They had stopped for supplies once at an inhabited world, and Hannah stayed on the ship. It went well, Yeyinde had brought back a couple of robes for Hannah and a body suit that she could wear under armor or any other clothing that would cool her skin. It was much like spandex, reminding Hannah of a catsuit or zentai. He suggested she only wear it when they get to the homeworld, so that she wasn't used to the cool it would bring her in space, even if the ship was warmer than she was used to, it was not as warm as the homeworld. Hannah got to try zero gravity inside the ship once, when the gravity simulators went offline. She amused herself bouncing off the walls and bulkheads and floating while Yeyinde commenced repairs in an EVA suit.
It wasn't long after that, nearing the end of three earth weeks by Hannah's count, that they came in contact with one of the larger motherships, and Yeyinde decided to dock with them. They didn't know it, but it would be their undoing.
"Hannah, strap in, we're coming up to dock." Yeyinde said, his large clawed hands flying over the controls at surprising speed, controlling his personal hunting vessel through the docking proceedure. "I'd rather keep you in health than regret you taking unecessary chances." He didn't look up from his piloting.
With a soft chuckle Hannah took her seat, "Yeah, yeah, better safe than sorry." She strapped in and looked out the large viewports at the mothership above them. "Whoa...that's huge." She gaped open mouthed at the large vessel. She was quiet throughout the rest of the docking, taking in as many details of the ship as she could see through the viewports. Weapons, exterior hatches, fuel cells, repair bays, etc. Though at this time she did not recognize everything she saw. She was busy watching the ship loom closer she hadn't heard Yeyinde saying her name repeatedly.
"Hannah? Hannah!" He paused until she turned her gaze to him then he gave her his equivalent of a smile. "Stay here until I get clearance," he almost added 'for a ooman.' Turning back to the control panel when he heard the hiss-kerclunk that signified the stablizing arms attatched to their hull. A light went on the symbol meaning they were successfully docked and the process was completed. "Just wait, perhaps clean up some of your stuff. You've left things laying around." He reminded her gently and leaned down embracing her and nuzzling his face against her soft hair. "I will return shortly. Wait here. Do Not Leave." He looked into her eyes, getting a promist to stay where she was, then he turned and walked out.
Watching Yeyinde walk out Hannah turned her attention out the viewports once more, seeing only a plain and dark wall, she sighed and turned her attention to the interior. Gathering her things and placing them back in her storage compartment. She had just finished when she heard footsteps outside coming towards the hatch. Shutting the storage door she turned with a smile as the hatch opened, "Yeyinde, I-" But the tall creature that stepped in was not her Yeyinde, but a much taller and darker colored female that growled and reached out a long and large arm, snatching her up she dragged the small human, yelling and shouting, out of the vessel into the small crowd that waited outside. Beyond the reach of the translator Hannah could not understand what was said around her, but by their tones, it was not pleasant. "Let me go! Where's Yeyinde? YEYINDE! YEYINDE!" She screamed his name, unable to fight against the female that held her, nor the crowd that jeered at her. She scanned the crowd for familiar faces, but in the rush and jumble everyone there began to look the same. Tears welled in her eyes. "Yeyinde... where are you?" She whispered. Something cold touched her neck and everything went black.
Hannah groaned and turned her head, light breaking through the unconscious haze that she was coming out of. Blinking rapidly against it she lifted her hand to shade her eyes, and saw she was sitting on a cave floor and two bright suns, one blue one rust colored floated outside. There was a paper written note in horrible handwriting. Little Warrior, forgive me. I could not stop them. I will find a way to help you. I will save you. Hannah clutched the paper to her, tears in her eyes as reality smacked her in the face. She was stranded and alone. Why? Why did he let this happen? Where was she? How would she survive? Standing she turned and looked around her. Piled in the corner were her things and a small packet of dried foodstuffs. There was a handprint in the ground near it, left intentionally. It was larger than Yeyinde's, so she presumed it was Ti'ka'ils. It looks like her dear one time sister-to-be had looked out for her. It brought a smile to Hannah's face, and she put on her weapons, adding little else to her person, and walked to the cave enterance. It would make a fine home base, the steep face of the hill gave her the impression that little else could reach it, so it was very unlikely that something else called the cave home. And inside there were little signs of other inhabitants. Stepping out of the cave she took a deep breath and went to explore her surroundings.
Yeyinde sat before a small council of elders. You WILL stay, and you WILL obey the lead medic. It has been proved that certain human females put of a pheramone that affects our males, the tall female elder said. Before their women were content to be... of use to our hunters. But now they have progressed and it seems they expect to be equals to us! A prey race expecting to be our equals. These pheramones have affected your mind. Until you are cleared of them, you will remain in the medic bay, and you will not be allowed to leave. Your sister was sent home. She will remain there until her mate comes for her. To think she allowed this. She is lucky she was not stripped of her titles and exiled along with that ooman trash! The elders face glowed with anger. Her own son had brought back a human, to their homeworld and was allowed to keep it, along with his friend. She disapproved greatly of this, and would not let this warrior disgrace his family as well. The decision was made. You will obey. She turned and walked out, along with the rest of the council following behind her. Her cape swept along behind her hissing against the metal of her boots.
Yeyinde gave her a venomous glare as she left followed by her cowed council of males. He followed the guards, eight in total that took him to the med bay, and locked him up in a quarantine seclusion room, and left him there, with four guards on his door. He sat still, meditating. Days passed, and he alternated between meditation and going through fighting stances, a little practice as well. He ate and drank the rations he received. Days turned slowly and agonizingly to weeks. And weeks slipped into months. He was released, but the mothership had gone far from where Hannah had been left. He loaded supplies on his ship and left, once the doctor had cleared him. Hardly waiting for the latches to release he cursed the council woman and sped on his search for Hannah, pheramones be damned.
It was nearing a year by Hannah's estimate, that she had awoken stranded on the planet she dubbed Hehl. It was hot, and she'd donned the cooling suit Yeyinde had given her. She'd hunted creatures, named Buffs, that looked vaugly like buffalo with longer horns and long solid tails full of fat, avoided raptor dinosaur like creatures that hunted in pairs, and larger ones much the same that hunted alone. She had also discovered that this was the home planet of the insectoid creature that Yeyinde had found on the stranded ship. They were much like a beehive, and fed on blood rather than nectar. They were definately a tough critter to fight, but thankfully hunted alone, even the larger raptors, that she had given the name Rextors, a combination between raptor and T-rex, avoided the Blood-bees, as she called them. The Minrapts, the small raptor species, fled from the blood-bees. Their teeth and claws were no match tho the hides of the blood-bees.
There was another creature, herbivore, that looked like the brachiosaurus, but much smaller and had a much shorter neck, it ate from short trees and shrubs, they were dubbed Brushnecks for their diet and their flexable necks. It was one of these that Hannah had tamed and used as a mount. It was a brown-green dappled pattern, and had yellow eyes that seemed to comprehend little. She had cut a path up the mountain that it could walk well with guidance. The tip of it's tail had been apparently bitten off long ago, and so she'd dubbed the creature Stumpy. By now she had a bed, a cooking slab of indigenous rock that conducted heat well, weapons made of blood-bee sycthes and various tooth knives from carnivores. Life was lonely, but she survived. She always did. Her paper was long used up, various drawings of local fauna and flora, and of her Yeyinde, whom she still loved, though she wondered why he had left her still. Was it all a lie? As the time had passed she began to have doubts about him. The walls depicted various scenes done with charcoal and stains from fruits and berries. She had meat from kills she'd made, though it took her a while to get used to the acrid flavor. She faintly remembered spices and things, using some berries and fruits while cooking to help mask the flavor some. It didn't do much, but it took the edge off of it.
She found medicinal use for many bits and parts of local flora. One tree had bark that smelled good, a spice that although it didn't taste like cinnamon, reminded Hannah greatly of it. It went well in dried beans that she used much like coffee, though it didn't have the same caffeine effect, it made her mornings feel more pleasant. A large cluster of diamond shaped fruit grew on a tree above her cave. The meat of the fruit was useless as far as she could tell, but the juice was a fine antibiotic. It carried a sharp odor and stung in cuts, but it warded off infections wonderfully. She had a good supply of that in a bladder-bag tied to her belt. It also worked as a slight clotting agent, so it came in very useful for injuries in the field. During her first month on the planet she'd gashed her leg to the bone, and the muscles hadn't healed properly, but the wound healed well enough without any sort of infection after she'd slathered on the thick liquid from the bright green fruit. Each individual fruit was about half the size of her fist. She referred to them as first-aid berries.
Even though she was alone she talked to herself, or an mental image of Yeyinde. Occasionally she spoke to her mount Stumpy, though it was obvious it didn't listen. Sometimes she would see a shadow that looked like one Yeyinde would cast, and for a split second she would believe he had returned for her. Though in the last two months this occured less and less, as she finally began to give up hope of ever seeing her otherworldy lover and protector again. Occasionally at night she would wake up, dreams of him still flitting in her mind, and tears would spill from her eyes. "He would not be proud of a cry-baby. Stop it Hannah!" She would coach herself. She found herself missing the little Ki-ki pet she had long ago, and wondered how it fared. By now it had probably died or something.
Outside of her little home Stumpy was tethered in a little stable like lean-to built to the side of the mountain. He munched happily on soft greens that Hannah provided him. His nose caught a scent and he bleated, pulling at his tether in an attempt to flee. Hannah appeared, armed and ready at the door. A minrapt stood in front of Stumpy, likely trying to scare the tied creature to its partner. Turning she saw the second half of the onslaught not far off on the other side of her home. She lunged quickly at the first creature before it caught sight of her, slicing first her left then her right blood-bee scyth weapon. The first missed, but the second hit, slashing across the minrapts eyes. It shrieked and fell backwards pawing towards it's face with too-short arms. It's partner bellowed and ran at a very fast speed towards Hannah. Stumpy thrashed his head and tail trying to get away from the fight, and in all luck that could exist, smacked the second minrapt in the side, causing it to stumble and miss it's attack on Hannah. It's powerful jaws filled with rows of razor sharp teeth that grew in like a sharks, snapped shut harmlessly two feet from her. She reacted and spun, her scyth bearing down on the minrapts shoulder, deeply slicing it open. Dark red blood splattered out, hitting her and Stumpy in bursts of arterial spray. Pulling up her other scyth she bashed the creature under the skull knocking it backwards and sending it careening over the edge of the pathway. It's shrill cry ended abruptly when it hit the bottom of the long drop, missing the switchback trail completely. Peering down at it, Hannah saw it lay still as blood pooled around it. "Damnit!" She cursed and turned ot the first creature, ending it's life with a quick slash to the throat she shoved it off the drop, watching it land with a dull thud and a sharp crack as bones broke. "The bloodies'll find them too quick," she grumbled to no one in particular. Grabbing Stumpies reins she lead him into the cave she called home. "Guess you're in here until their all scavanged away. Don't wanna lose you," She told the creature, who simply stared at her, chewing with it's grinding jaw motion. "Now, don't get me wrong, Stumpy dear, it isn't that I really like you much, but it was hard enough taming you, I'm not gonna do that again. Well," she amended, "not unless I have to. I wouldn't go without a ride here."
It was still nearing mid-day when a bright comet-like light streaked across the sky, unnoticed by the stranded human. She was too busy having herself a snack of local fruits and some dried meats, listening for the tell-tale buzz-clack of Blood-bees.
