P'sy didn't find himself taken by surprise much, he figured he had seen just about everything in his almost six-hundred years of existence, but he found his muscles freeze when his invisible opponent suddenly wasn't so invisible. Even the Hish froze upon realizing P'sy could see him. The predator had already gotten several near-fatal swipes to his head; so P'sy didn't feel bad separating head from shoulders. He took two stumbles backwards and bumped into someone. He barely had time to grab Gykaun's blade before the yautja stabbed him with it.
"What are you doing?" P'sy asked slightly winded.
Gkyaun twisted what looked like an egg. "Count to…. Ten." He lobbed it far and watched it land near three Hish who were taking aim at various defenders. Roughly ten seconds later an explosion of phosphorous green splattered the rocks and some unfortunate bystanders. Already fighting someone else P'sy didn't turn to see the damage only taking the briefest of seconds to see what Gkyaun's reaction was. The predator looked too amused for their current circumstances but if the Ikthya'de predator was an ally, P'sy wasn't going to complain about the sadistic personality that occasionally surfaced.
…
Kujhade knew something was wrong when the blip on his biomask's map winked out. Mas-T'Eall's locator was gone. Pulling his dah'Nagara out of his latest victim he turned surveying the chaos. Mas-T'Eall had been nearby since the start of the assault, making short work of the Prime defenders but now he was gone. Kujhade growled lowly to himself. He didn't have time for this and lost no time barking into his mask's mic.
"Mas-T'Eall!" He ducked to avoid one of the tree monkeys' poison darts as they sailed into three of his crew. With little effort on his part, his caster aimed and fired, killing the archer instantly as he continued to search through the crowds that he realized was starting to thin out. And it isn't the Prime rats who are dwindling in numbers.
…
Sheik-Mell noticed the gradual decline in Kujhade's army, while there were still hundreds of Hish, somehow the odds didn't seem as daunting. He had to force himself to ignore his instincts of protection for Aine as the two of them fought together, back to back. If it was one thing Kujhade had done right, it was teaching the yautja woman how to hold her own. If he wasn't so busy with his own opponent, he might have watched her in awe. He booted the Hish back and spun, catching the big male in the knees with his wristblades and spear, earning an angry snarl. He wasn't prepared for the rebound as the Hish kicked out anyway despite the knee injuries, catching him hard enough in the chest to hear something crunch. Losing his balance, he fell hard barely missed by Aine as she too was forced backwards by her own enemy. The Hish grinned at his luck and brought his curved blade down in a swift arc, the vibration of Sheik-Mell's combi-stick and the sword meeting made his bones hurt. His attacks more aggressive now that Sheik-Mell was on the ground, the Hish put his all-out effort into killing him. Sheik-Mell rolled, not caring which way he went if only he could find some even ground; instead he hit the rock face he hadn't realized was so close. Too late he realized the Hish purposely guided him and Sheik-Mell let him. Fuck. He had to take the chance he might get seriously injured and got to his knees. The Hish anticipated his move like Sheik-Mell thought he would and got a second boot to the chest. This time something snapped, freezing him in his tracks. Him freezing was enough to cement his fate and the worst part he knew it. He heard a panicked yell, his name registering too late. Aine… she must have killed her attacker… He reflexively closed his eyes.
A ball of plasma roasted his biomask, blinding him as the sensors were overloaded by the heat signature. Fumbling with his helmet he finally managed to yank it off, stopping the white-hot flash from continuing to blind him.
"Not the only one with a caster bitch…." M'auve-d had completed the transition from male to female, distinctly different in body formation, the once dull patterns of scales now vibrant. Being female suits her…him-her better. Then Sheik-Mell wondered why he was even thinking that. The shock maybe?
"You're supposed to move quicker than that Ej'ah-O."
"I'm tired. Fuck off." He slowly drew to his feet as M'auve-d watched him in amusement. Then she glanced at Aine.
"Nice to see you again Aine."
Aine gave what Sheik-Mell thought was an inclination of the head but there was a distinct silent message being conveyed between the two females. He cleared his throat hoping to interrupt.
"Where's Z-bo?"
M'auve-d turned her attention to him, though smugly much to the irritation Sheik-Mell could feel rolling off Aine in waves. "Moving in this direction. He sent me and Tars ahead."
"And Tars is where?" Aine asked sarcastically.
"My my, aren't we suspicious." The large male dropped a Hish with a broken neck like the body was nothing. Something in their faces minus M'auve-d's, must have showed because he clicked entertained. "What? He tried to get me with his caster."
"Anyways-" M'auve-d said loudly. "How is everyone visible again?"
"Someone blew the generator." Sheik-Mell was finally able to stand up straight.
"Someone?" Tars stowed his spear back into his sheath and pulled loose a handheld caster.
"You don't need to know who." Aine snapped.
The two Hish elders seemed more amused then insulted at her level of hostility.
Sheik-Mell blocked them from her view. "Aine… if you don't trust them then you don't trust me."
"I do trust you, and I don't trust them. There is a big difference."
"Kujhade moved." An older Hish appeared, a fresh stretch of red tattoos ran down his arms signifying he had been promoted to a higher rank. A'in-de's rank…. "I cannot find him…"
"When was the last time you saw him?" Aine demanded.
"Right before he noticed Mas-T'Eall missing."
"Mas-T'Eall is missing too?"
"Yes." None other than J'agannath appeared with Ra'J in tow, both looked ragged.
At seeing their old comrade, M'auve-d and Tars fell silent. Then M'auve-d broke the awkward silence. "You sound so sure."
"About Mas-T'Eall?" J'agannath stopped next to Aine. "I sound sure because I just slit his throat."
Aine studied him and then Ra'J. "Are you two okay?" Her focus drew more to Ra'J who was paler than usual, his face darkened on one side. It took her a moment to realize it was heavy bruising she was seeing. "Were you hit in the face?" She noticed a slight burn stretch down his cheek. Like it was made by a spark of something… he's not wearing his biomask- Knowing the male was too proud to admit his injuries she turned to J'agannath and saw he too wasn't unscathed with one nasty puncture to his chest and another lower to his abdomen.
"He'll be okay."
She wanted to push the issue but finding Kujhade was more important. She had a bad feeling about the Hish commander's absence. Then she felt her stomach flip.
"Where's A'luet?"
….
A'luet could feel his limbs growing heavy, something he had hoped wouldn't happen. From all the times I laid in bed. My stamina's been cut in half… He, his family and several others managed to keep a clear swath for the Lar'ja-Kiloun to pick off the enemy with their high-tech arrows. At some point K'iera appeared, splattered in green blood. He wanted to object to her being there, natural urges to protect her, but knew then was not the place and it would have insulted her.
A harsh cry cut through the snarls and curses, the sound so anguished it made A'luet's stomach flip. He felt disoriented, mixed feelings all around suffocating him. He shut his eyes to gain his bearings and when he opened them he was met with a sight he couldn't comprehend.
Kujhade stood, his armor shimmering off the twin suns, his swaggering walk making the glint almost blinding. His eyes on A'luet specifically, he causally dumped a body in front of him, the corpse making a sickening thud as it hit the ground. Movement ceased around them as defenders and fighters paused; confusion etched on a good percentage of their faces. A'luet felt a wave of stupidity, knowing there was a significance to the scene in front of him yet he couldn't comprehend it. Everyone who mattered to him was near him. An'nu, J'mper, Strangya and Paya…. K'iera. He glanced to his left, seeing P'sy still standing with Gkyaun, the two Elders in equal states of shock. For Gkyaun to be shocked…. He looked back at Kujhade who was staring him down, challenging. Finally, the Hish commander spoke.
"You should take pride in knowing he put up a fight until the end."
Then it hit him. He felt his inhale and exhale rattle, all sensation in him died. It had been a long time since he felt completely numb. Six years…
Dazed, A'luet stumbled among the dead, searching for the one person who had mattered to him. He found her less than a few minutes after searching. Her wise and once beautiful face now ravaged and ripped in half. A'luet hit his knees next to his dead mother. Kainde.
Kujhade grinned. "Understand now, do you?" His eyes flickered over A'luet's head to stare at who A'luet could only guess was J'mper.
He couldn't stop himself, he had to look at the coal colored predator. J'mper was frozen like everyone else, but his hands shook; the only indication of the rage he was barely keeping in check.
"Tell me how it feels exactly Roan'keh -T'Jierk." Kujhade began to half-circle him, but keeping distance. "How does it feel to be the causation for this?"
A'luet heard someone whisper 'c'jit'. "A'luet he's baiting you…." A'luet heard Strangya but didn't act like it as Kujhade continued.
"If only you had stayed in that little muddy shithole your bitch mother had the nerve to call a village-"
A'luet found he didn't care about the outcome. If he could take Kujhade down with him, he didn't care. Everything drowned out in a silent roar as he used a boulder as a springboard. But he made sure to keep his head just enough.
Kujhade's malicious smile told him he expected A'luet to lose his temper over the insult about Illeya; however, A'luet let him think he was going to blindly spear him in his rage. He shortened his spear at the last second and spun two smart discs through the air. The first one caught Kujhade in the chest, the second one aimed for his throat he managed to slap away with his own spear. A'luet rolled to his feet and lengthened his combi-stick, spinning. The Hish commander wasn't expecting the ferocity of his attacks but A'luet was on autopilot. He almost hoped he'd die. Kujhade snarled when A'luet's spear found its mark in his left arm and yet missed again when the young blood ducked.
"I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance." The Hish seethed.
A'luet paused for the briefest of seconds. "Yeah you should have." He aimed his caster and fired, not caring. The Hish didn't follow the honor code. The blast hit Kujhade in the left shoulder, knocking him backwards. With an angry roar, the Hish ripped his mask off and flung it to the side though A'luet saw the action as nothing more than a temper tantrum. A figure caught his attention behind the Hish, walking fluidly through the crowd, watching him and Kujhade. A black predator with red eyes. They locked eyes on each other. Cetanu. He caught the combi-stick as it whistled through the air in a wide arc before it took his head off. He didn't feel the sting of the blade as it cut into his palm and shoved it downward, taking Kujhade by surprise and stomped on the shaft, snapping the metal in half where Kainde had showed him the weapon was weakest. He jabbed his own weapon forward, sinking the blade into Kujhade's stomach and was quick to withdraw it before the Hish could get a chance to break it. The newest infliction of damage sent Kujhade over the edge. With a snarl, he kicked out, catching A'luet in the chest. He watched in satisfaction as the young predator slammed into the ground on his back.
A'luet knew he had to get up and yet his body wasn't obeying his mind. His chest hurt worse than ever, same intensity as Kehrite de Kantra. He blinked and Kujhade was standing over him. "Wish your death was a little more memorable… but you're just going to be another ant I squashed." The Hish went to kick him in the face, a blow that would have surely snapped his neck except a feminine yell joined a lithe body that sailed over A'luet and knocked the commander back. The surprise was enough to get A'luet back on his feet, which he did so slowly. Aine was straightening from her attack, facing her adopted father. Kujhade stared at her coolly.
"I don't want to have to kill you Aine."
"That's too bad." She replied, emotionless. "Because I do." She attacked him, her moves far more lethal than what A'luet had ever seen in the yautja culture. Kujhade barely kept up, almost taking several fatal blows as she continued without stopping. He finally managed to get a swing in with his dah'Nagara which she must have anticipated as she bent backwards, the blade passing over her harmlessly. Then she spun, catching him in the shins with her spear. He went down on his knees with a snarl. A'luet took a breath and lengthened his combi-stick again. He quickly joined Aine not before grabbing Kainde's fallen combi-stick, activating it to its full size. Not many yautja had mastered the art of using two combi-sticks at the same time. Kainde had been impressed at A'luet's natural skill. He ducked from a plasma shot as Kujhade tried to take him out before he reached them. He doesn't want me to join her. Because he knows we will win.
He couldn't help himself. "You missed." He reached Kujhade's front as Aine causally positioned herself behind the Hish.
Kujhade ignored him. "I taught you everything." He hissed, facing her. "And I kept those mangy sex-crazed freaks off you. Maybe I should have let them have you. It might have taught you to respect those better than you. I raised your ass, you ungrateful bitch."
"Raised me?" Her tone came out harsh. "You killed my mother, you were too chicken shit to take Illeya on yourself, you had your ass kissing bitch kill her for you. Isn't it your stupidity you let not one, but two children of your victims live?" She fell silent for a moment. "You couldn't get why I gravitated to J'agannath over you…. you still don't get it."
"Oh I get it." Kujhade growled. "The weak always flock together."
She tsked, "J'agannath will always be a hundred times the man you wish you could be… mentally and physically."
She got her response as he let out a loud roar and rushed her. She rolled away and appeared next to A'luet. "On my mark." Her stance rigid. Kujhade spun around and came at them, his eyes crazed.
"Now." A'luet attacked, Kujhade's delayed defense telling A'luet the Hish may have forgotten his existence due to Aine's insulting comment. The combined spears made it more difficult for Kujhade to land a blow on him as the two parried. A'luet finally swiped one spear across the Hish's throat, drawing blood that enraged the commander further. A dangerous swipe to his midsection made him jump back, stumbling to miss Aine who he hadn't realized was so close. A loud bang echoed off the rock walls, Kujhade went rigid standing straight. A single hole smoked dead center in the middle of his forehead, the heat from the plasma shot so hot, it cauterized the wound instantly. Aine didn't move, a handheld caster in her hand, aimed at the Hish.
"Now you both die together."
A'luet didn't have time to wonder what she meant as another body was thrown forward, this time by Ra'J and M'aKal. The two young Hish were solemn as Kujhade's bulged eyes landed on the headless body of T'janke.
"You." He slurred at Ra'J, stumbling slightly.
An older Hish emerged from the crowd behind the two. "They didn't do it. I did." Z-bo stared at his commander unblinking. His eyes ticked behind Kujhade alerting him there was someone there but the damage to his brain made his movements slow and jerky. J'agannath held his ex-commander's gaze, silent, before in one clean swipe of his blade separated head from shoulders. The body went rigid and then collapsed backwards, jittering in death throes.
Aine watched impassively for a few seconds and then she picked up Kujhade's fallen bio-mask. "Every Hish, drop your weapons!" Playback echoed across the vast area as her voice amplified by the mask's mic registered in every Hish helmet. "Anyone who doesn't comply will be executed on the spot!"
At first no one moved but then gradually the remaining Hish obeyed. Aine took a breath and looked at Z-bo. "Commander…"
The Elder Hish studied her for a moment before taking a few steps forward. "Retreat to the ship." He barked and waited until they listened.
A'luet stopped listening once Kujhade's body stopped twitching. Turning he slowly walked over to the body of his mentor, lowering himself down on his haunches. It appeared the old yautja's neck had been snapped. A'luet just hoped he didn't suffer. He heard someone approach him but he didn't pay them any heed until their calloused hand touched the back of his neck.
"He lived a long life." J'mper murmured. "And he had never been prouder of his students like he was with you."
The hard lump in his throat kept him from speaking so he gave a jerked nod. J'mper straightened slowly. "Come."
A'luet glanced up, a sliver of the numbness cracking as an overwhelming sense of loss hit him; J'mper had his hand extended, waiting patiently for A'luet to take it. He did and let the predator pull him up. An'nu had hung back but then closed the distance between himself and his son. A'luet took him by surprise when he embraced him. The startle he felt didn't last as he tightened his own hold, it finally registering that it was all over. They were free. A'luet was free.
…..
Two days later
The dead were burned, separate pyres for the predators who defended Prime and those who sought to conqueror it. Z-bo, the next Hish in line of succession did not object. Over the course of the night that Kujhade was killed Z-bo and the remaining elite, the Hish: Tars, M'auve-d and the others took lethal measures. A'luet spent half the night hearing shots ring out over the landscape, each shot meaning another Hish who refused to comply and default on Kujhade's reign was executed. He vaguely wondered if there were any Hish left aside from Aine, her loyal followers and then the new Hish commander and the Elders who were loyal to him. The only predator who was not burned was Kainde; instead J'mper, An'nu and Strangya dug a hole where Shara's body was melted away by P'sy's blue acid. A'luet felt he should help in some way but found he couldn't move closer than the edge of Kainde's property, any closer he felt would make his mentor's death concrete. Final.
The Tribunal called for a meeting with the Hish later in the day. The gathering somber as despite the Hish being the aggressors, both sides had experienced heavy causalities. It was T'sey-s who brought up the subject about the Queen residing in the basement of the ship. Z-bo was ready for the question it appeared as he slid an imaging tablet towards the Elder. T'sey-s studied the image for a long moment. "Didn't waste time, did you?"
Z-bo cocked his head slightly to the left. "We hunt those things. We cultivate their eggs occasionally to teach our children how to fend for themselves. We do not keep them in our basements." He straightened his posture. "I have no regrets putting a plasma shot through the bitch's head." The Hish took a breath. "We've weeded out the traitors among us. Every Hish who is still alive wanted to see Kujhade lose his head a long time ago; it's mostly the older generations and the ones called Eta." He paused. "But I'm afraid we do not have a way of leaving your planet at the moment."
T'sey-s sat thoughtfully. "How far away is your homeland?"
Z-bo sighed quietly. "Kujhade began galaxy hopping when I was 388 years old, I'm now almost 545 years old… and the trip hasn't doubled back at all."
A'luet stood in the back of the room next to An'nu and saw Noni's eyes flicker to J'agannath at the question. T'sey-s glanced around the room and appeared like he caught his niece's gaze on the male Hish because he studied her and then J'agannath. "Prime is plenty big enough."
Standing on Z-bo's left, M'auve-d narrowed her eyes. "You'd just open your doors like that to a group who tried to exterminate you less than 48 hours ago?"
T'sey-s gave a nod. "Yes, I would because every Hish in this room has proven ten-fold that a few bad apples do not mean all Hish are bad." He looked down the table to Gkyaun. "How does Ikthya'de feel about that decision?"
The Ikthya'de predator had been significantly subdued in the hours after the battle. He glanced up. "Shouldn't be a problem."
"Good…" T'sey-s stood. "It is settled then."
The movement as predators stood from their seats or moved around the room to converse snapped A'luet out of the permanent daze he couldn't seem to escape from. P'sy stopped him and An'nu at the door of the building.
"I was wondering if I could take A'luet for a while." Like Gkyaun, P'sy was also subdued, his volatile personality absent, since the death of his longtime friend.
An'nu looked to A'luet. "I guess so. A'luet?"
A'luet shrugged and then nodded once, following P'sy.
…
The Elder led him away from the village, towards the U'sl-kwe. At some point P'sy picked a large river boulder and sat down. A'luet sat across from him. For a long while neither spoke, only the river speaking between them. Finally, P'sy began to speak.
"I had known Kainde almost my entire life. Met each other at our Chiva." The predator looked to A'luet. "You know you are not alone in your loss of him, right?"
"I know." A'luet felt a pang of guilt. Was he giving off the perception that it was only him who was affected? J'mper had more reason to be upset than him. P'sy guessed his thoughts.
"I didn't mean it like that…" The yautja let out a long exhale. "A'luet… It is better this way-Kainde dead." The words sent a ripple anger through the young predator. He was about to say 'excuse me?' when P'sy continued. "He was dying from cancer."
A'luet's rebuttal died. Cancer? "We don't get cancer."
"No." P'sy agreed. "Not usually, you are right. But it does happen. Kainde was one of them… At least this way he isn't suffering anymore. That is why J'mper is not as distraught as you've probably thought he should be, he knew too." P'sy waved a bug away. "It doesn't lessen the pain though." The Elder let the silence take over, then he cleared his throat. "A couple of weeks ago Kainde asked me to do something for him… he said that if anything should happen to him, he wanted me to take over his responsibility for you-continue to teach."
"That's why he was sending me out with you." A'luet asked, his tone flat. He hadn't been able to find much within himself to do anything including putting feeling behind his words in conversations.
P'sy nodded. "Getting you more used to me, lucky you huh?"
"When did you know?" A'luet asked, not knowing himself why he wanted to know.
P'sy was quiet for a minute. "The day we first met officially he told me about his diagnosis. You were skinning the Kainde Amedha and I said how he always got the good ones for students."
It felt like another lifetime to A'luet. The days before everything went completely to hell.
"So, what do you say?" P'sy's question was soft.
A'luet looked up to meet the predator's steady gaze. Could he do it again? What if he said yes to P'sy filling in Kainde's spot, he formed a bond as strong as the one with Kainde only for P'sy to die? A'luet didn't know if he could handle someone else close to him dying unexpectedly. Then he forced himself to think rationally. Kainde knew what he was doing. And deep down A'luet was relieved Kainde had picked P'sy. Despite the explosive personality, A'luet always liked P'sy and he was well respected and liked. Kind of rare to get the opportunity to work with two Elders as good as Kainde and P'sy. A'luet sighed quietly as another chip of the numbness fell away.
Then he nodded. "Yeah…. Okay."