I fled faster then I had ever fled before. Shaftin was a blur of legs beside me. As I ran, flashes of our old home went through me. As soon as I could feel the Queen, I bellowed into the Hive link.
"YAUTJA!" was all I needed to say to have the Queen issuing orders.
"All Praetorians come to me. Ale'con, go with the warriors. You are to meet them in the entrance and keep them there. Drones and Runners be prepared to go out after them." she ordered. I darted into the Hive, pushing against the flow of warriors that pushed against me. I caught sight of Six and Sharphand.
"Be careful!" I called. Sharphand raised his tail in response. Shaftin hurtled into one of the tunnels near the middle of the Hive, where the drones and runners sheltered. The Praetorians were already in Mothers chamber. Ale'con raced past us, and kept going before I could call out. I lashed my tail and dug my claws into the chitin. I was scared. Shaftin pressed herself against me trembling. In seconds, a silence had descended over the Hive, just like last time. I curled my claws, tense as a wire. Eventually, I heard Six.
"Look!" he hissed. "My Queen, they are approaching. There are 5 of them. One looks to be a Young Blood."
The Queen was silent as we felt her acknowledgement. Entering Six's mind, I watched through him. 4 of them were great, hulking beasts, one with a spear, two with cannons, and the other with a shruiken. The young blood had just his wristblades and a cannon. I felt Six stiffen, Sharphand next to him peeled his lips back. And then, it happened. A warrior dropped. One landed on the speared Yautja, who roared in fury and was quickly silenced. Before others could move the warrior was gone. the Yautja spun, then one froze. It looked up, a rattling kurr building in its chest. It roared then and all hell broke loose. The warriors and Ale'con rained onto them. The battle had begun. I exited Six's mind when I felt him drop, and reported to the Queen.
"The battle has started." I said. I heard no response. I turned back to the direction the battle was in, hearing the screeches of the Hive and the roars of the Yautja.
"Fastclaw, I'm scared." whispered Shaftin. I sighed and crouched down.
"Me too." I murmured. I twitched my tail, when went rock solid when I saw a shadow appear in front of us. We froze. A single Yautja appeared in front of us. It must have been able to skirt the battle and head deeper into the Hive. I noticed the mark on its head, this Yautja was already Blooded. We would need to be careful. Just then, a zing was heard and a screech of pain from above me and a spear flew into a drone above me and stuck there quivering as the drone thrashed in its death throes. I yelped and leaped back in shock, only to have a plasma bolt dig into the chitin, very nearly hitting Shaftin. She lost her grip on the wall and fell. The rest of us poured down, the Yautja bellowing a challenge. It spun and thrust another spear into a leaping drone, whilst firing a plasma bolt at a runner. I leaped onto its shoulders, trying to dig my tail into its neck, only to have it glance off. I snarled with frustration and settled for scoring my claws against its mask. The hunter roared and grabbing me, threw me forward.
"SIX ALE'CON HELP!" I shrieked. I heard a bellow in response as Ale'con came barreling down the hall, mandibles flared and a furious roar in his throat. The drones and runners scrambled out of the way; a charging Predalien is not something you want in to be in the way of. Howling, Ale'con crashed into the Yautja, who swung its wristblades at him, scoring a double line down his shoulder. Ale'con snarled and punched the Yautja, cracking the mask slightly. This enraged the hunter who roared and body-slammed Ale'con. I lunged forward, only for Ale'con's tail to throw me back.
"Stay out of this." he grunted, dodging a strong right hook. I hissed, but stayed back. Ale'con swung his tail and sent the Yautja flying. It grabbed its spear from the ground and with a bellow, brandished it over its head. It charged, leaping and twirling, Ale'con barely able to doge. The spear sliced off a few dreadlocks and Ale'con howled in pain. I remembered that a Yautja's dreadlocks are very sensitive; a Predalien's were no different. I leaped again, tail slicing and chopping at the hunters own dreadlocks, causing a wild roar to come from it. Florescent green blood dotted its scalp and it reached back, grabbing me. I shrieked and thrashed, but the Yautja kicked Ale'con onto the floor, before unsheathing its wristblades again. It grabbed my jaw and I swung my tail. It did nothing, and as the Yautja prepared to end me, a furious scream came from farther down, the Yautja looked up. I did as well and saw a sight that would have put fear into my heart. All the Praetorians charged around the corner, several with blood on their muzzles. Javen was in the lead, a bellow in his throat. The Yautja dropped me and I spun and pelted away with a squeal of terror.( Yes I Squealed. Never speak of this again). Javen smashed into the hunter who took a smart disk and threw it so it rebounded widely around the room. Xenomorphs all leaped and dodged the spinning death circle. However, two runners were decapitated and fell limp without a head. The smart disk came back and Ale'cons tail flew out smacking it to the ground, nearly chopping the last 5 inches of his tail off. Killian flew into the fray, biting the Yautjas arm. The rest clung and ripped and bit the hunter to pieces, the ground and Xenomorphs quickly being bathed in glowing green. Finally, they scattered and the hunter lay dead in green ribbons. I sighed and slumped to the ground. Suddenly, more screeches were heard and the pack of Praetorians retured, half going to the Queen, the other half returning to the battle. Ale'con glanced over at me.
"Are you okay? Sorry I had to push you." he said. I nodded but then growled quietly.
"Ale'con I wanted to help, I can take a Yautja, I did at the old Hive remember?" I hissed. Ale'cons mandibles twitched slightly.
"Those were Youngbloods, these are Blooded hunters. You were almost killed." he rumbled. I sighed and watched as he turned and headed back to the main fight. Shaftin crept to my side shivering. She pressed close as we listened to the shrieks and screams of our family.