POV of An'nu
I wanted to focus, there was muted noise around me but I couldn't concentrate. A slow hollow air blowing deafened me until I realized it was me breathing. The next thing to take over my senses was a steady thud, repetitive and low toned. I'm still alive…
"A'l-" I had no idea if A'luet was all right. The bomb I had thrown wouldn't be fatal to anyone caught in its wake but it would be enough to piss someone off due to superficial injuries.
I took a breath, or tried to. The hole I had in me cut like a dah'Nagara every time my lungs expanded. I'm god damn blooded. I shouldn't still be lying on the pauk de ground. I ignored the pain as much as I could and took a long breath, hoping it would wake my senses enough.
….
Everything seemed to slow down for A'luet as he watched his father's eyes roll into the back of his head. For a moment he stood stunned, unbelieving that his worst fear was lying right in front of him.
"Osh'da-"
The world sped up to normal time as his hearing picked up a high pitched whistle. He dropped to the ground and rolled as a glaive sliced the air where his head would have been. He righted himself, pulling his combi-stick loose.
His assailant stood watching him, the head cocked before they glanced at An'nu who had come to and was attempting to sit up. "I'll be with you in a moment An'nu, this will only take a second."
The voice was familiar.
"You fucking traitor." An'nu managed.
"Sticks and stones, that's the ooman's phrase is it not?" Gweith turned back to A'luet who was frozen in disbelief. "Besides, I'll be doing you a favor. That D'jilk has been in your way ever since that idiot Kulak brought him on board your uncle's ship six years ago."
A'luet watched An'nu wipe a gathering bloody sheen from his mouth. If blood is coming out of his mouth that's bad.
"That D'jilk is my son." An'nu was in motion, startling Gweith enough to get a jump on him.
When the screeching of metal slid off each other A'luet snapped out of his frozen state. Without hesitation he extended his spear and attacked with as much ferocity as An'nu while Gweith held them both at bay. Realizing at some point the two matched his skills and probably more, A'luet saw the caster come up over the elder's shoulder; trying to find an aim at An'nu's head. There wasn't enough time to warn him so A'luet just reacted, his combi-stick slicing through the metal like it was nothing. Static sparked from the severed end. Gweith growled and spun on a dime, putting a well-placed kick to his chest. The force sent him across the clearing, landing him on his back. His ribcage still healing from the blast Strangya had set off in the Kehrite de Kantra and then the falling out of the tree just days ago, didn't help.
An'nu's focus was thrown off when the elder's foot hit A'luet, costing him. Gweith saw his chance and took it, knocking An'nu off his feet. Enjoying the moment Gweith put his glaive away and lazily drew his net launcher.
Behind him A'luet sat up slowly in time to see a net fired trapping An'nu to the ground. His father struggled, A'luet knowing he was attempting to get out of it before it automatically began its grievous tightening. Grunts of exertion quickly turned pained.
"Sometimes you have to accept your fate An'nu. It's a lesson unfortunately you're learning right now. And take pleasure in knowing your D'jilk is going to learn with you."
"Why?"
Gweith let out a short laugh. "Why? You ask me why? Dahl'K and the rest of them are too stupid to see the right course of action. The only way to salvation is to join the Hish, which I've taken the initiative and done. All they want is that poor excuse of an offspring of yours. And once I deliver him, almost alive of course; they'll leave."
"We-you can't-trust-them." The net was beginning to bite into An'nu's skin, restricting his breathing more.
"Well I guess you won't be around to reap the rewards of my actions. Don't worry your spawn will be looked at as a martyr and thus be hailed a hero I suppose. The tragic end of Roan'keh -T'Jierk A'luet, who decided to offer himself up to the Hish in exchange for thousands of lives. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
An'nu flared his mandibles, a last ditch effort at defiance with the reappearance of the combi-stick, it went up in the air and came down at his neck. An'nu shut his eyes, his last thoughts being that A'luet would have to watch him die now after listening to the deaths of his clan and mother so long ago. Warm liquid sprayed him. He opened his eyes and saw Gweith still standing above him, though awkwardly and then he was able to understand the odd object protruding from the yautja's chest. A combi-stick blade. "Like you said Gweith, sometimes you have to accept your fate." A'luet stood behind the elder, an expression An'nu couldn't decipher locked on the young blood's face. The killing…he's not bothered by this. He could only watch as A'luet's right arm came up and Gweith's own dah'Nagara cut through his neck, separating head from shoulders. The elder stood rigid for a second before the knees crumpled and his body fell back, hitting the ground and leaving squiggles in the dirt from twitches of death.
A'luet stood still, staring at the body as if the computation hadn't quite caught up to his actions, then he dropped the dah'Nagara and robotically shortened his spear. An'nu could feel his strength brought on by adrenaline subsiding, his muscles no longer having the gumption to keep the net from tightening enough to begin really cutting into him. The biting pain was just starting across his arms, legs and chest when he felt the net come loose.
"Osh'da…An'nu." A'luet's voice was quiet.
Seeing the hand offered, An'nu took it with some difficulty and let his son pull him up.
"Can you walk?"
He nodded and straightened to his full height though the movement clearly brought pain. "I'm not being laid out on a stretcher-fuck that." He took his spear when it was handed to him. "Are you okay?"
A'luet glanced at him, a different look in his eyes. "I'll be considered a bad blood." He backed away. "I can't return to the village."
"A'luet, you aren't branded a bad blood if you kill in self-defense. And it was self-defense. He would have come after you like he said once he was through with me." He paused upon seeing a very small strange device mounted to the side of the dead elder's helmet. "I can't bend, what is that?" He pointed.
A'luet drifted closer and knelt to see it better. "It looks like a camera." He reached down and pulled it off carefully.
"This was a test…" An'nu whispered. "And I bet he didn't even know it."
"Good." A'luet snapped. "The fucker deserved a worse death, I should have prolonged it."
"Doing so doesn't make the rage go away." An'nu motioned for him to follow. "You aren't leaving this village and this planet you understand me?"
A'luet, after moments of silence and staring at his father, nodded.
"Besides." An'nu held himself steady against a tree. "I need help walking. And he's in no shape to help."
….
POV of Issa
I was beginning to get a little antsy when an hour and a half stretched into two hours. An'nu always did what he said and if he said an hour and a half he meant it. He had taken A'luet to the river in an effort to get him up and moving, a good call in my opinion. He looked like shit but staying in bed, even though was probably a good idea for him, would only make him worse. The third time of drifting out onto the porch to see if the two of them had appeared I went back inside and said something.
"Something's wrong."
Strangya was staring at me, a blank expression on his face. "It's been thirty minutes Iss, relax. They probably decided to stay out longer and they don't need your permission to do it."
When An'nu says he's going to do something, he does it. I'd know this seeing as he and I have lived together for almost six years, where have you been?"
My brother's face turned hard. "Fine. Shall I go amass a search party and embarrass the fuck out of them?"
Despite his inflammatory response, I knew he was right. An'nu would be more annoyed that I got everyone riled up then if I just "patiently" waited.
'Give it ten more minutes.' J'mper told me, earning a look from Strangya. Footsteps made me turn but it was only Paya. Fine. Ten more minutes.
…..
Outside the village
"Where are we going? The house is that way."
A'luet felt An'nu flinch as the ground became uneven and they both took a misstep. "You really want to go into the village looking like this?"
An'nu was silent for a moment. "No."
Ahead Noni's home came into view. A few steps later A'luet sat An'nu down on one of five stumps that surrounded a fire pit.
"Don't move."
Annoyance flashed across An'nu's face. "Sure thing. I'll go take a walk while you find her."
A'luet ignored the sarcastic reply and went to the house slowly he entered it. "Elder?"
No response. He went from room to room, finding no signs of life. Just when he was resigning himself to her not being there he heard a soft pitter heading towards him. He backed away from the approaching sound, pulling his spear loose. A small mammal appeared around the corner carrying a large fruit in its mouth happily.
"Aud." A'luet breathed a sigh of relief and stowed his weapon back in its sheath. The creature let out a happy chatter and bounced toward him, jumping up into his arms and settling by his left shoulder. He tried to ignore the animal as it made itself content with searching his dreads for anything it saw as satisfactory. Voices caught his attention near the back of the house, he followed them without a second thought.
The first person he saw was whom he assumed to be the youngest in Aine's group, M'aKal. He slowed his gait, not wanting to startle Noni and piss her off. There was a story from a long time ago about a young blood who had entered her home unannounced and didn't bother to make his presence known. The only lasting evidence of him ever having dreads were the stumps. A'luet thought he remembered Issa yelling at someone who fit that description the day A'luet was pitted against Shim-Shek.
M'aKal's face jerked his way, having heard him. The Hish next to him also stared straight at him, obviously trying to remember if he knew him. The conversation ceased and Noni appeared a moment later.
"A'luet."
A'luet immediately looked to the ground out of respect. "Elder."
"For god sakes child, look at me. You aren't going to burst into flames if you and I meet eyes."
Suddenly feeling faint at the confession he was about to give, he tried to focus on Aud who was still giving him a cleaning. Then the creature chattered again at seeing his mistress and jumped off A'luet's shoulder.
"My father is out front. If you go to the west point of the village, in the trees you'll find Gweith."
Noni studied him, not following but A'luet couldn't bring himself to be more specific. I just killed an Elder. He didn't care what An'nu said, there were going to be serious ramifications for what he had done.
"Are they hurt?" Her eyes roamed his body.
"My father is. He needs medical attention."
"I'll call Dahl'K and have him send someone to find Gweith-"
"Send a few."
She fell silent, the Hish behind her watching both of them. A'luet finally mustered the courage to look at her.
"I killed him."
Dead silence.
"-You killed Gweith…" Her bright golden eyes stared at him, stunned.
He could only nod. "It was him or my father. I chose my father."
She finally moved, taking a step toward him. "An'nu's is out front?" He nodded.
…..
POV of An'nu
At some point I realized I was passing out in micro-increments of time. Minutes were going by that I had no recollection of. The fourth time it happened I came to with Noni kneeling in front of me.
"An'nu? Can you hear me?"
I hadn't realized when A'luet set me down he had picked a stump that sat against a tree. Now I was grateful he had, otherwise I would have been laying on the ground.
I took a breath. "Yeah." I tried to sit up straighter but lost my balance. Someone grabbed me to keep me in place. I thought it was A'luet until I saw it was the oldest Hish from Aine's group.
"What happened?" Noni asked, I felt her fingers prodding around my injury sending white-hot waves of pain through out my body. "A'luet's in shock I think, he's borderline unresponsive."
Of course he is. The kid can't get a fucking break.
"We were at the river when someone started shooting at us. I told him run. The person shooting started chasing us and then as we reached the edge of the village I passed out. When I woke up A'luet had just dodged a glaive aimed at his head." I paused in my explanation. "-It was Gweith Noni. He was going to kill me and send A'luet to the Hish."
She took a breath. "He said he killed him."
I took my time answering. "If there is any fallout from this, I killed him."
My words shocked her. I could see it.
"An'nu-"
"I mean it Noni. He's not taking the fall for this."
She shared a look with the Hish then she looked back at me. "He did what he had to. If Gweith tried to kill you, you both were entitled to protect yourselves by any means necessary. Why do you think Paya was never outcast?"
"Dahl'K isn't going-"
"Dahl'K has no say in the matter." She cut me off. "He may be Tribunal leader, which I have no idea how that happened but it is my uncle who still runs the show. I'll call him after I deal with you." She half stood. "Can you walk?"
I nodded and tried to stand but my legs collapsed on me. "I'm not being carried." I said loudly when I thought I heard the question asked. "I can do it." I stood slowly, managed to stay upright and followed Noni to the house.
…..
An'nu had expressed for several seconds how he didn't want to be gassed until Noni, quite unlike her usual self, told him to shut up.
"This isn't a superficial wound. It's going to be more invasive than you'd like if you were completely awake."
A'luet stayed in the room, watching detached as the elder used a solder pen to burn An'nu's skin closed, only stopping to add healing properties. It was a full half hour later when his father's eyes finally cracked open and the cloudiness began to fade. By then A'luet heard the front door bang open and P'sy's voice none-to-nicely asking 'where the hell A'luet and An'nu were'. The scarred yautja appeared in the room several seconds later, a slightly harassed looking Ra'J behind him in the hall. Kainde entered after him.
"For pauk sakes An'nu. You can't go into the woods with your kid without being shot at?"
It took a moment for An'nu to seem to grasp the meaning of Psy's words.
"Apparently not." He rasped. He tried to turn onto his back but flinched and stayed on his left side.
"Gweith was a fucking asshole. He deserved to-"
"Shhh." Noni hissed, walking into the room behind them. "My uncle is here."
T'sey-s appeared moments later. He studied A'luet for what seemed like forever before he finally looked at An'nu. "Gweith is missing his head I saw, a bit of an overkill don't you think?"
An'nu felt A'luet's apprehension rise at the Ancient's words.
"I don't think so." P'sy muttered from his place by the window. T'sey-s shot him a look.
"This is a mess An'nu. You're smart you know this. A young blood killing an elder…it doesn't matter the circumstances, the whole situation is going to be shit no matter what."
"It's less of a mess if a Blooded killed an Elder as oppose to a kid." An'nu pulled himself into a sitting position on the bed and ignored his son's shocked expression.
T'sey-s watched An'nu. "You're willing to take the blame for this? Completely obliterate everything you've accomplished in your life?"
Behind her uncle, Noni chewed her gums in worry.
"Yes. If it would mean A'luet gets a second chance."
Silence enveloped the room and then P'sy broke it. "You aren't seriously considering lambasting either of them are you?"
"I don't know what I'm considering." T'sey-s growled.
"You saw the footage T'sey-s." P'sy snapped. "You heard every word I heard unless your hearing aids weren't working properly."
For a split moment A'luet was awed P'sy could speak to T'sey-s that way and not worry about losing his head. He had to be the only one to be able to get away with that. It wasn't a secret that P'sy was outspoken.
Kainde took a breath. "None of us truly know that we wouldn't have done the same thing if we were faced with the same situation. A'luet did what he had to."
T'sey-s's gaze slid back to the young predator. "People die every day Kainde. It's a fact that needs to be accepted." A'luet was instantly reminded of Gweith's last words. Sometimes you have to accept your fate. "But-it's funny how fate works."
When no one asked him his meaning he clarified on his own.
"Dahl'K and I had just learned on Gweith's deceit this morning. When we went to his home to confront him he was already gone." T'sey-s sighed. "I guess A'luet you saved us wasted time in a hearing and then execution.
"The Ancients still need to be notified, the crisis here will be mentioned as well. I'll vouch on your behalf. They'll be lenient for sure especially after they see the footage from his bio-mask."
A'luet heard more footsteps enter the house; moments later Issa and J'mper appearing with Strangya bringing up the rear.
T'sey-s glanced at them. "I'll let you have privacy." He left the room with Noni following him, leaving P'sy and Kainde with the family.
Issa was first to speak. "Is it true?" Her gaze fell on A'luet. "You killed Gweith?"
A'luet nodded mutely.
Even Strangya for once was taken back. "What's going to come of this?"
An'nu answered when A'luet did not. "Nothing. T'sey-s is going to vouch for him."
P'sy was studying A'luet. "You didn't do anything wrong kid."
A'luet looked up from the floor and gave a half shrug. "I know that."
"No you don't know. It's written all over your face."
A'luet returned to staring at the floor and heard Kainde murmur to leave him be for the moment.
"How bad is it?" Issa gestured to the cauterized wound.
"My immune gland (equivalent: Spleen) was ruptured I guess and the lower part of my intestines was burned…other than that I'm fine."
She gave him a sour look.
'That's pretty good, considering how bad you look.' J'mper's attention kept jumping back to A'luet, no doubt gauging the young predator's emotional state. 'You shouldn't move. We'll watch him.'
An'nu looked like he wanted to argue about not getting up and going home but knew his friend was right. He couldn't move without injuring himself more.
"Noni said she's fine with you staying until you're more healed. It should only be a day or so." Issa added.
"Kainde and I set that turbine under the Hish ship too." Strangya glanced at the Hish who were still gathered either in the room or the doorway.
"I'd like to be there when you set it off." Aine had shown up. "So we can figure out which way to hit the engine core so when the ship comes down it makes the least amount of damage on impact."
"Hey." Yem-Yn spoke up. "What about those caves? The Kainde Amedha are going to be mature enough for Kujhade to put volunteers in there soon. Aim the ship that way. The nuc-core will incinerate that whole area. It won't matter how deep he buried the eggs."
Strangya exchanged looks with Kainde. "I like it. Simple and easy to remember."
