Halo: Predator Lost ch6. Culture shock and building trust.
"Good morning Algolis!. This is Adam West and I'm here to give everyone on our small colony the greatest news out there. Just in, the newcomers we encountered go by the species name of Yautja or Predator when translated. This explains many things, next we now understand they didn't come here willingly but rather their ship hit a massive disturbance.
Lt. Mike Owen, and Spc. Sara Mayweather have been assigned to act as a liaison for these new beings and we've been asked to be on our best behavior. The reason for this is these things take security very seriously and that the UNSC isn't responsible for anyone who gets killed by them should they be provoked. It is also explained, that more of these creatures may show up within a few days, if not then a trade agreement is in place.
So for all you food vendors out there, let us hope our cuisine fits their appetite. The final thing is the one covered in armor goes by the name Winter, how interesting, leave your comments below because we have been allowed to ask questions. This is Adam West, Algolis news, signing off."
"Honey isn't he beautiful?"
"Indeed he is and someday he will join the ranks to defend the weak."
"Not everything has to be about war and hunting you know, oh I know he can be a scientist and help advance us even further."
"You sound like my father"
"Shame I never got to meet him but who knew you'd fall in love with a tiny human, like me."
"Human?". Looking up, it's Sara with a hybrid in her arms with a beautiful smile on her face.
Noises are heard all around calling him, "Winter, wake up you frostbitten machine!" Scythe yelled.
Waking up with a jolt and falling down on the deck plating, Winter was now aware of Scythe laughing at him, again
"Good you're awake, those soldiers are here to take us to some eatery for breakfast, I accepted the offer, since the shuttle only has a few rations that won't last long. Now before you even ask it I set up proximity sensors so no one enters without us knowing. The oomans are also more cooperative than usual which is giving me all sorts of unease, and since you speak their language better than I can, you get to do all the talking." The gleam and scary smile from Scythes mandibles was a clear indication he was enjoying Winters discomfort.
"Sargent, how is everything?" Ask Owen, since the previous afternoon, a perimeter fence was built around the Yautja vessel, after knocking on the hull next to the open door another one showed himself. Well heard more like, it too could speak English but it was much rougher than the other one but it accepted the breakfast invitation.
"Not much sir, since the deal was relayed we've been acting like bribed fools willing to do almost anything."
Footsteps are heard as the loud heavy thumps of the two Yautja came out and this time there was a clear difference between the two. Winter the obvious killing machine looking one was still sporting the same arsenal as yesterday but the other one wasn't. The new one was about an inch shorter, still armed with stuff but not to the same degree, reptile-like skin was shown through some sort of netting down just below what would be the ribcage. The biggest defining feature of all was the long black hair that resembled dreadlocks.
Sarah couldn't stop gawking, and Winter finally had an opportunity to get some serious payback.
"Scythe show her your whole body, I'm sure she would enjoy it immensely," Winter said in English to ensure the humans heard.
Scythe looked then tilted his head, knowing such an act wasn't going to work.
By contrast, Sarah was now fuming, ever since yesterday, people were now making jokes left and right about what she did, and while funny at first, it was really starting to piss her off. "I'm sorry but perhaps it should have been your friend here who talked with us instead since it's clear he at least has the decency of not making a joke out of everything. You know what, I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that nobody got near you because you look like a robot, are insecure about yourself, and are so lonely you can't help but be attracted to a female of a different race than you!" Sarah yelled pointing a finger directly at Winter with hatred clearly in her eyes.
Scyth couldn't help but be impressed with her anger toward a much stronger opponent throughout her rant. Now understanding clearly how Scar took a liking to one, he couldn't help but do a very dumb thing.
Before Winter could even respond to her, Scythe had quickly pushed him over and got into her face."Hi ooman, I'm Scythe, shall we eat now?"
Winter got up, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the scene. If the Elders or worse Wolf could see this, they would never see the light of day again.
"Uh uh, uh sure, got any preference?" Sara was just as flabbergasted as everyone else, darn shame the Covenant never showed such respect.
Scyth looks to Winter for this one.
"We are omnivorous but generally prefer meat, either cooked or raw, preferably cooked as it tastes better. Now shall we go?" Winter's stomach gurgled from just thinking about it as they haven't eaten in cycles.
"Right this way," Owen said and they were off.
Walking through the colony, both predators couldn't help but feel every single human eye on them. Drones, both military and civilian were constantly watching. The architecture was pretty standard for a colony that had become self-sufficient. The buildings were two to three stories and had a utilitarian look to them. Newer buildings showed modifications and a number of hidden fortifications, armories were noticed as well.
Aside from the joyous atmosphere and absolute paranoia from being watched by so many, one would think this colony was geared toward war.
"Are all your worlds like this one or are the number of hidden fortifications new?" Scythe asked.
This time it was Mike who answered. "Algolis is new but sadly yes and no. The hidden fortifications are new as we must be prepared for any assault". Mike's words came out more solemnly than they should have.
The surrounding atmosphere changed to one of sadness and hatred but not toward them. These oomans were hiding something but that information was likely inside the datapad, neither Yautja had time to look into it as sleep was deemed more important after everything that happened.
"Now then, how do you know our language?" It was now Mike's turn to ask.
Winter tightens the grip on his rifle, ready to begin killing if his answer causes an issue.
"We've studied your species for many millennia, one of our abilities is mimicry but with practice, we can become fluent in the language of other species."
"Odd, we've never encountered your kind before, so unless you have stealth tech, that would be impossible. Anyway, we can discuss these matters later as we have now arrived." Sara said with a smile on her face. No telling what happens if they do have such tech. People here despite acting friendly are a hairs trigger away from going hostile so best to ask said questions behind closed doors.
The sign read Al's steak house.
"Greetings, I'm Ash Brown, owner of this establishment, I hope you find our cuisine to your liking as we've already prepared samples of our finest meats, please this way." Brown was of medium build with a fairly tan complexion, being a chef it was clear he was prepared for this in advance.
The aroma in the air of the meat, steak, barbecued ribs, and various spices was mouth-watering. Upon seeing samples of each dish across a large high table, the urge to dig in was great but both Winter and Scyth looked around for any sign of an ambush. The interior decorator had decided to go with a red Chinese aesthetic mixed with twentieth-century European. Seeing no threat, the moment of truth had arrived.
Clicking, and what sounded like growling came from them before Scythe pulled the tubes off his mask one by one. Each pop was followed by the distinct hiss and some form of steam shot out of tubes being detached. Wrapping both hands around his mask, Scythe pulled it free and attached it to his belt.
The chef, Mike, Sarah, and others all tilted their heads, Scythe, showed four exterior mandibles, similar to that of an Elite but with an inner jaw full of sharp teeth and a massive crest above his semi sunk in yellow, eyes. The bigger question was, as to whether or not he was ugly or just alien as many Covenant races were equally hideous.
Judging by the human's reactions it was clear to both Winter and Scythe, these humans had run into other races before.
Mike and Sarah were still trying to piece together just how these aliens were able to speak their language without lips. Sure they had a distinct accent but still.
Scythe now knew what Winter felt the cycle before, the feeling like your in a zoo on display for all to see, combined with the sheer awkwardness of it all. If only Spirit could see them now, she would be having a field day.
While time stood still, Winter didn't, retracting the plates that surrounded his head, the helmet now also attached to his belt, he then proceeded to take a sampling of the meat.
The taste was euphoric, the meat was succulent, well done but not overcooked, the combination of spices and juiciness was on an entirely different level. What amounted to a demonic moan was heard from him.
Picking up the sounds of a pleased customer, Ash smiled."So please tell me, what do you think?"
Trying to put words together was not easy as it was clear this human demanded some serious praise and compensation. Turning around and crouching down to better match the human's much shorter height. "I've never tasted anything this good in my life, you are a true master of your craft and could easily outmatch any cuisine made by my kind. As payment and as potential means of mass production, here is C'ntlip a type of alcoholic drink if you will." Pulling out a large flask found in the shuttle's small kitchen. Winter gave it to the chef.
"Well then now that is some praise, Jack, bring us some glasses let's give this stuff a try shall we." Three shot glasses are placed on the table, one for Mike, Sara, and Ash.
Scyth, knowing Winter doesn't drink any type of intoxicants couldn't help but be fascinated as C'ntlip was the Yautja equivalent to Whiskey or Vodka.
Gulping loudly, as now all the existing cameras were on them, Ash, Sarah, and Mike took the small shot, and Winter was not disappointed.
The liquid felt like lava going down the throat, though the taste wasn't that bad, it was the feeling after it had gone down that made it feel as though one drank ten shots of Vodka.
"hoooo, yeah! Now that has got to be the most illegal stuff I've ever drunk, dang what a burn!." Mike felt like he just did drugs then went on a roller coaster afterward.
Sarah didn't far so well, as she was coughing and trying to get the stuff out of her mouth, "Okay, that wasn't so good." her voice sounded coarse, almost like sandpaper had rubbed her mouth raw.
Ash, by contrast, took the Predators off guard as he had carefully swished the stuff in his mouth before swallowing and showed hardly any effects."hmm, fruity, with burn more akin to a still, I imagine just two shots of this would make anyone drunk with three causing them to pass out, followed by a major hangover the next morning. Thank you I shall endeavor to get this reproduced somehow, come back anytime." Ash then leaves for the kitchen.
After eating the best meal either predator had in recent memory, they continued to see the sights of Algolis. Though Mike and Sarah ended up drinking coffee and taking pills to offset the foreign liquor in their system.
"Okay then, so, what do you guys like to do for fun?" Mike asked as the small group was seeing further sights of the colony which admittedly wasn't much. Since only UNSC ships had freedom of movement it made colony building a much slower affair.
"We hunt, what creatures do you have here that are challenging?" Scythe asked, his voice thanks to its far rougher edge sound like a demon was talking.
"We don't have any, Algolis was terraformed, so all animal life we have came from other colonies. We're lucky though since we managed to achieve self-sufficiency in the nick of time before commercial shipping was effectively shut down. Our low population enabled us to escape many of the new insurrectionist movements popping up". Her somberness was shared by Mike who empathized.
Scythe then looked to Winter and speaking in Yautja asking a peculiar question. "Poor communications, hidden fortifications, high military presence, insurrections from comforts being removed, remind you of anything?"
"It would explain, how abnormally friendly they are, even by their own standards when the chance to acquire advanced communications technology is within reach. I'm sure the answers are in the datapad they gave us but let's ask if we can see their archives". Winter replied, right now knowledge is the key.
"Do you have archives where we may get the knowledge that may not be on the datapad you gave us?" Winter asked.
"The datapad is linked to the archives and aside from navigation data, doesn't have restrictions, are you telling me you haven't looked into it yet?" Mike is stunned that they haven't read it and greatly explains their attitude.
"Then perhaps someplace private, surely you are interested". Winter tried to convince.
It finally became apparent what they were doing, they were trying to get rid of the constant stares and people looking at them. Their muscles were taught, ready to strike at anything that made a mistake. "Alright, the data center is this way," Mike said. leading them only a few blocks to an area that resembled a digital library. The building itself was heavily reinforced but at the center of it deep in the guts was a nuclear device.
Inside, the building was just as spartan and had many people in it either in quiet study or technicians maintaining the systems. leading them into an adjacent corridor were the private rooms used for classroom instruction and private meetings. Finally entering a room with a circular platform. Sarah activated the controls bringing up a holo display. "Okay this is an interactive interface, just say what you want" and it'll bring up any relevant information to your inquiry. So anything you want to ask?" Sara said.
Scythe informed Winter of a question he needed to asked but feared the device wouldn't recognize his bad English without manual input.
Raising an eyebrow behind his helmet, Winter didn't question it. " Timestamp, late 20th to early 21st century, the person of interest, Alexa woods.
black1988, thanks for the review. See, I credit reviews, that's how desperate I am. Shame that one guest didn't leave a name, oh well.
After years of thinking, pondering, and looking, I finally put a profile picture up. If you know what it is, please tell me in your review, if not then prepare to be educated as it is also one of the weapons used by the predators here, in fact, he is the only of his kind who uses it but with a number of improvements.
Now as for backstory let me know if you want that in the notes or added into the story itself.
Credit will also be given to reviewers who write something I may use.
Now then, as always please review, good, bad, guest, it doesn't matter, reviews are better than caffeine.
This isn't saying much since I don't drink caffeine-based products. The reason why is because when I do, it's as if someone hit me with liquid motivation and I can't stop moving around, like a jackrabbit on meth.
Also, any idea's on world-building Algolis would be very helpful as neither halo legends nor halofandom has a lot of information on it
Thank you to all.
Now as for the description of their faces. Crabs are often used a lot but I ignored that for the sake that the Elites share a closer resemblance.