Rick grinned in satisfaction as he looked at the piece of hull plating that was finally back in place! It had taken all the supplies he'd brought, and Thwei had pounded many axels into useless scrap, but it was done. Thwei had gone inside to check the diagnostic computer and see if there was anything else that needed to be done.
Rick shook his head as he stared at the plate of metal that was still too hot to touch after more than half an hour of cooling down. Since there was no chance of it coming into contact with anything flammable, he went into the ship to check on his friend.
Walking out of the control room of her ship, Thwei saw Rick standing in the main chamber looking at her wall of trophies and armor. She saw that his eyes were narrowed, either in frustration or thought while he studied what was on that wall.
"Is something wrong?" Thwei asked.
"I'm just kinda wondering why there aren't any embellishments or decorations on your armor." Rick replied a bit puzzled.
"Because no one knows how to do such things. I hadn't imagined that such things could be made until I saw them in your workshop!" Thwei told him.
"Seriously?" Rick demanded in stark disbelief.
"I don't think such things exist on my world." Thwei answered.
"So if I was to go to your world?" Rick suggested dubiously.
"Your skills would be highly prized there." Thwei supplied.
"Are you saying that no one makes decorations on weapons and armor?" Rick demanded.
"There are some who will use various metals in the making of a mask. They will add a grill or something similar to a mask, but nothing like what I've seen from you." Thwei admitted.
"So… what kind of things would you add, if you could?" Rick asked her.
"I would find some way to use parts of Hard Meat as a decoration." Thwei answered.
"Okay, what are 'Hard Meat'?" Rick asked in confusion.
Thwei gestured to a trio of skulls on her wall. "Those are the skulls of Hard Meat."
Once again, Rick looked at the strange skulls that had no eye sockets. He couldn't help but notice that each one was about half as big as he was! He turned back to face Thwei with wide eyes.
"Just how big are those things?" Rick asked in a hoarse whisper.
Thwei turned to her computer and walked over to it. She pulled up an image of a Hard Meat in profile and a human to compare it with. Both images were in the part of the spectrum that she knew Rick could see.
Rick stared at the holographic images with his mouth gaping and his eyes bulged. He could see that they were a lot bigger than he was. Finally, after staring for several minutes, he looked over at his friend.
"How strong and fast are those things?" Rick asked flatly.
"Their strength is about ten times that of an ooman. They are almost twice as fast. Their blood is acidic and you must have a special material to clean them. Their claws and teeth will penetrate armor, and no blade will survive injuring one, so you must grab another." Thwei answered simply.
"Blade?" Rick exploded in absolute disbelief. "I'm not taking one of those things on without a bazooka… preferably a tank!" He added emphatically.
"You do not pass the Chiva, unless you use a blade." Thwei told him with a shake of her head.
"What the hell is a 'Shiva', and why would I want to pass one?" Rick demanded.
"The Chiva is the test of adulthood. Unbloods are pup… children. I am a Youngblood, because I have passed my Chiva, but I am not yet very old. Those skulls are the proof." Thwei replied.
Rick pointed at the skulls in question with his mouth open. "Are you telling me you killed those things with some kind of blade?"
"Yes." Thwei answered simply.
"Jesus Christ! No wonder you beat the hell out of that bear!" Rick whispered in awe while gaping at his friend.
"The bear was easy to kill." Thwei stated casually.
"Yeah… after those things… I'm sure it was!" Rick agreed in exasperation as he again pointed at the skulls.
There was something new about Rick's scent. As she puzzled over it for a moment, Thwei finally realized what it was… fear! Rick was afraid for her! Thwei almost laughed at that realization.
"I took my Chiva. I fought the Hard Meat. I killed the Hard Meat. I passed the Chiva. I am fine, and the Hard Meat are dead. See?" Thwei said in amusement as she pointed at the skulls on her wall. "Those are some of the skulls from the Hard Meat I killed. I couldn't carry all of the skulls, so I had to collect the teeth, claws, tail blades, and the inner jaws from those I couldn't carry."
Rick stared at Thwei for several long moments because he was absolutely dumbfounded. After a moment, he looked back at the wall of trophies with a thoughtful expression.
"It's too bad that armor of yours has all those electronics and stuff, otherwise I might be able modify some of it for you." Rick said with a shake of his head.
"I can remove the circuits so I can repair them, which means I can do the same so you can modify it." Thwei responded.
"I don't suppose you'd let me use some of those teeth and claws on that armor, would you?" Rick asked with a sly grin as a few ideas came to mind.
"I have seen the way you decorate weapons and armor!" Thwei exclaimed. "I will tell you now that I can not pay for such things. I can not even pay for what you have already done for me." She added honestly.
Rick frowned slightly as he thought the situation over before he looked up at Thwei and smiled. "Tell ya what we'll do. We'll make a trade. You let me use some of your spare armor to get some experience in working with that metal, and I'll decorate it for you. How's that sound to you?"
"If we were to make such a trade, I can say that I would get all the benefits from it. What would you receive?" Thwei asked bluntly.
Rick chuckled and grinned. "Like I said; I'd get another chance to work with an unfamiliar metal. That would give me some experience in working some unbelievably tough metal. My equipment is barely good enough to work it."
"My machinery is able to work on that metal easily. If I showed you how to use my equipment, would that help?" Thwei asked interestedly.
"Actually… that would help me out a lot." Rick grinned. "If I can start working your metal as well as I do ours, then I'll be a smith who's well worth talking about."
Thwei was thoroughly considering Rick's proposal. She realized that while it was true that she would gain the results of his labors, Rick would gain the knowledge and experience that he wanted. When seen in that light, the trade was actually fair.
"I'll gladly accept this trade of yours. Come. I'll, show you how to operate my repair equipment." Thwei said as she spread her mandibles in a smile.
Thwei beckoned Rick to follow her as she grabbed a set of actual hunting armor
Rick grinned widely as he followed his friend through her ship to another room that served several functions of maintenance, engineering, and repair. It took him a while to understand how to operate the various pieces of equipment, but he could see that there wouldn't be any real difficulties in using his skills.
Once he had some practice in using the equipment, Rick started to embellish the armor that Thwei had removed the electronics from. For the most part, it was a very simple process of mounting the long teeth and the shorter teeth into different places on the armor. Tribal style engraving took longer, but with far more obvious results than he was accustomed to seeing. He actually chuckled in satisfaction upon seeing the end product several hours later.
Rick left the room that was rather crowded with equipment. He planned to get some coffee and to find Thwei. He was actually rather proud of what he'd done to the armor she'd given him, and he wanted her opinion on it. He found her in the main chamber working at her computer. He couldn't read any of the writing that was displayed, but the holographic images looked like maps of the western hemisphere, zoomed in on a northern section. With only Canada and some of the upper U.S. displayed, he was curious about what she was doing. Then images of various animals started to appear, along with lines indicating the areas they dwelled in, and their habitats. Rick knew then, that she was preparing to hunt.
Rick cleared his throat to attract Thwei's attention, and grinned when she turned to look at him.
"I want you to take a look at what I did to that armor you gave me. Tell me what you think. I want your honest opinion. If you don't like it, or want something changed… tell me so.!" Rick told her.
Thwei proceeded to her room that served multiple purposes in working metal. Upon seeing the armor that Rick had modified, she was stunned. Her mandibles went slack and her jaw dropped open as she looked on in stark amazement.
Extending upward from the crest of the mask were twenty-three of the longer Hard Meat teeth, with one in the exact center. Above the eyes were numerous teeth from the inner jaws arranged so that the pointed tips were facing slightly outward. Then… somehow Rick had managed to replicate a Yautja mouth with flared mandibles! The teeth of the mouth were made with teeth from the inner jaws of the Hard Meat, while the tusks of the mandibles were composed of standard Hard Meat teeth. The mask alone was incredible!
The shoulder armor had Hard Meat teeth facing slightly outward on the edges of the shoulders. The much smaller teeth of the inner jaws of the Hard Meat had been used to line the edges of the armor. Both of the gauntlets had six Hard Meat teeth on the outside of the forearm facing out and back. The position and angle of those teeth made them into a weapon as well. Then… there were the wrist blades of the right gauntlet. Those blades had been replaced with the tail blades of the Hard Meat. It meant that those wrist blades would now withstand the Hard Meat blood, and that alone made them incredibly valuable! Then there were the thigh plates. In addition to a large amount of engraving, there was a single row of teeth from the inner jaws of the Hard Meat going down the center of each plate. The end result was that the set of armor was very ominous in appearance.
Thwei Guan simply could not believe what she was seeing. What had once been simple training armor had been transformed into a wearable trophy that was very beautiful and also deadly. She didn't even bother to try to resist the involuntary purr that started rumbling forth.
"Rick… this is… that…" Thwei whispered in awe. "I do not know the words to tell you how beautiful this is."
"So you're happy with it then?" Rick asked.
"Most definitely yes! I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be immeasurably pleased with it." Thwei answered softly while still gazing at the armor.
Rick could see that his friend was mesmerized by what he'd done to her armor. He observed the motionless alien woman for a few minutes before he went into his workshop to grab a cup of coffee. When he returned with two cups of steaming hot coffee, he found Thwei staring at the wall that held her armor, skulls, and weapons. The sword he'd given her and the ones he'd modified for her stood out among the rest of the plain weaponry.
The armor that Rick had recently finished working on had been placed to one side, slightly away from everything else. Even had it been placed near the center, it would have stood out because it was so ornate. There was a lot of tribal style engraving on it, along with what he'd added to it, so it looked far more impressive than the other sets of armor.
Rick noticed then, that the left gauntlet was missing from the set, and he looked over at Thwei to ask about it. That's when he saw that she was busily placing the electronics back in it, while apparently following some instructions on her computer if the holographic diagram was anything to go by.
Thwei Guan had moved a small worktable to be near her computer so that she could make sure to replace the circuitry correctly. She was being very slow and meticulous about what she was doing, because the armor she was now working with was something that she would never have dreamed could exist. By taking her time and being extremely careful, she planed to ensure that none of Rick's incredible work was disturbed or damaged in any way. She still wasn't sure what she had done to gain the ooman's friendship, but she didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize it.
Seeing that Thwei was fully engrossed in what she was doing, Rick placed her cup of coffee on the worktable away from what she was doing, and silently stepped back to quietly observe everything.
Thwei was just about to finish replacing the computer in its wrist mount, when Rick placed a cup of coffee on her worktable. It was out of her way, but also close at hand.
"Thank you." Thwei said as she flexed her mandibles in a smile and stopped what she was doing for a short break to enjoy the beverage while it was hot.
"You're welcome. I wanted a cup, so I thought you'd like one as well." Rick replied with a shrug.
"Once I have finished putting the electronics back, I can decide what creatures to hunt." Thwei said happily. "Now that you have repaired my ship, I can hunt properly. There are three creatures that I am considering. They are what you call elk, caribou, and bear. What is your opinion on this?"
"I know a little about the critters you named, but it's all gonna depend on what you're looking for." Rick answered honestly.
"I want good skulls for my wall. I want teeth, claws, large thick furs, and meat." Thwei replied.
"You won't find all that in one animal. What you named off, takes caribou off your list. A bear will have a good sized skull, thick fur of a pretty good size, three or four inch claws, and a fair bit of meat as well. On the other hand, an elk, also has a good skull with some huge antlers or horns, and a lot of meat. So, I'd suggest both. But if you're going after a bear, I'd consider a Grizzly. They don't inhabit this area, but they are twice the size of that one you already killed." Rick told her.
"Really?" Thwei responded eagerly. "Where can I hunt these 'Grizzly'?"
Rick snickered a bit. "You can find elk and Grizzly in western Canada. I have a couple of mounts that were here when I bought the place if you care to see what I'm talking about."
Thwei picked up the coffee mug and gulped the beverage down, before she winced at how hot it still was. She quickly rose to her feet. "I do wish to see them."
"Okay. Follow me." Rick said while chuckling at his friend's eagerness.
Rick led the way through the 'Junk Zone', to his house, and into the den where there were nearly a score of mounts.
"This one's the elk, and that big one over there is the Grizzly." Rick said while indicating the two.
Thwei looked at the one that Rick had told her was the elk. It was only the head and neck of the creature, but gave her an idea of what to expect. Because it was an herbivore, the skull wasn't all that impressive without the antlers or horns. With them though, it was another matter entirely. The antlers were huge. They spread nearly five or six nok across, were close to four nok front to back, and extended a good three nok from the skull. Still, it was something that would look nice on her wall.
The Grizzly was another matter. It was nearly ten nok in height, which made it a little taller than she was. The claws and teeth were respectable, and the fur was very large and thick. Now she understood why Rick had recommended this particular creature.
"Like I said earlier; elk has more meat, but the Grizzly has more of the other stuff." Rick explained.
"I will kill some of each, so I can have it all." Thwei announced softly.