Translation:
Sei-i - yes
Ooman - human
Ki'cti-pa - spear
H'ko - no
Nagaris - Celtic's real name
I'sumu - Scar's real name
Nevue planet - a planet with little land and dominated by aquatic animals and the Nevuarix (reason for planet's name)
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Beanie ran in circles as the ship landed at the docks. His tail wagged back and forth, often hitting the other passengers in the leg or the furniture. He barked in excitement, as if his tail hadn't already made it obvious.
Molten sat back, trilling in utter amusement at the dog's antics. Miana currently ran around, trying to catch the crazy dog. Celtic had constructed a temporary helmet of sorts to go around the dog's head. Their atmosphere wasn't the most friendliest and while they could breathe for a short period of time, Miana refused to take chances with her most lovable family member.
"Beanie!" At the shout of his master, the dog calmed. Miana fastened it, Celtic already crouched beside her to give further instructions.
When the bay doors opened, completing their landing, Miana sniffed the air. For a moment she choked on the stale air, not quite use to the difference. Beanie continued to try to eat the glass in front of him, wanting it off his face but everytime he tried, Miana would move away and he would have to follow.
Unblooded greeted them, helping them move their belongings. They led the group to the Citadel, where Celtic had been placed in chains once again. The elders of the clan met them in a room, not quite big enough to be a trial room like back on Earth.
The guards led Celtic to the center of an incomplete, round table. The elders sat around the table, their representative at the head. He kneeled before them.
Miana had been the only one to be escorted in as well, the rest were commanded to wait outside with the unblooded.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miana." Elder Va'rak, the same Yuatja she had talked with via screen chatting.
"The same goes for you." She bowed her head in respect.
In return, they nodded to her, acknowledging her.
A translator stood next to her should she need any assistance.
"We have heard much about you and the things happening on Earth. First, we will deal with Nagaris and his honor." The others chittered, some displeased by her presence already.
"There is nothing much to discuss here then." Miana opened the box, showing them the perfectly safe gauntlet. "It is perfectly safe and untouched excluding me."
Her knowledge on Yautja was still rough but enough to impress some of the more lenient and open minded elders. She caught Elder K'ash out of the corner of her eye. He also seemed pleased by her knowledge.
Lex had preferred terms instead of sentences despite her ability to produce them almost better than Miana could. Small things were what kept them from pronouncing everything perfectly, mainly dealing with their lack of mandibles and different vocal cords.
"Still, Nagaris should have never handed over such powerful technology to begin with." Miana recognized the specific features of Elder N'nagara as explained to her from Lex. The scar over his eye is what made him stand out from the other elders around the table.
"He reprogrammed it for me. This was also done in front of an audience. Anyone there could have stopped him." A cold sweat formed on her neck, leaving the empty feeling to go down her spine.
"Including I'sumu?"
"Including you." The unknown elder bristled at her tone, growling low in warning.
Elder Va'rak held up a hand, stopping the elder.
"How does your kind word it… Spell it out for us." Va'rak relaxed back in his seat, like he had done this a thousand times and would do it a thousand more. He probably has and probably will.
"I recognize him, but only slightly. Several years have passed since the last time I saw you but you wore a red cape at the time, not the gray one I see now." He bristled again as the translator's words reached him. "However, you along with several dozen other Yautja were all present at the time Lex received the ki'cti-pa and I received the gauntlet."
They chattered again, some looking to the elder. A few whispered in Va'rak's ear, to which he brushed them off like flies. He kept his eyes on Miana, as if inspecting her for something.
"Were you there?" His attention finally moved to the unknown elder. He still bristled at Miana, clearly displeased with her.
"Sei-i. I believed his gauntlet had been broken. Our sensors had not been able to pick up his signal. Giving it to her unworking seemed fine to me."
"Nagaris." At his name, the guards lifted him up roughly to stand before the elders.
Miana stepped forward but stopped at their questioning gazes. Gritting her teeth and biting her cheek, she huffed. Miana's nostrils flared in her sudden frustration, causing several in the room to growl. They did not appreciate the aggression she displayed to them.
"Was your gauntlet broken?" Va'rak focused his attention back to the young blood in front of him.
"Sei-i-" Before he could speak further, several elders roared in protest.
One of the guards backhanded him hard enough for Celtic to spit blood. The green ooze landed on the floor near Miana but some still dribbled out of his mouth.
"H'ko!" Miana moved her feet, finally no longer feeling frozen.
The guards dropped Celtic to the floor. One tried to grab a hold of Miana but she dodged their hands to stand by his side.
"Let him finish his sentence!" She gave the guards a warning glare before turning to the elders. "Let. Him. Finish."
Everything calmed at once except for the sudden ruckus outside the doors. Va'rak stood, several others with him. The noise outside subsided but Beanie continued to bark madly.
"Continue." Celtic rose at the command, the guards standing a little ways from the pair.
"My gauntlet had been broken, sei-i. I had managed to repair a few key essentials like the mapping but there had been several features still functional like the archives I carried in it." Still, the elder growled.
None were pleased by his confession but the unknown elder was still to be taken care of.
"Miana, you say that Elder Ugara had been present."
"Yes." Quickly, she corrected herself, "sei-i."
"I had been, Elder Va'rak. However, I remained under the assumption the gauntlet had been broken, unusable for the ooman." Ugara remained seated.
"Leave, sain'ja." They unlocked Celtic, removing him from the room.
Miana caught a glimpse of Lex's face, worried as usual.
"We still have much to discuss, Miana." Va'rak sat back down, his hands folded in front of him. "Especially about this… Weyland."
She straightened her back, the guards returning to flank her.
"As you wish."
"Everything went fine, Lex."
"Minus Celtic getting backhanded…" Lex drily looked at her friend.
"Yeah, that."
The two women headed down the street. Scar currently followed behind him, not happy about his brother. Still, he had not been exiled or branded as a bad blood.
Miana's remainings along with Beanie had been entrusted to Elder K'ash. They were currently arranging a house for her but they also wanted a guard on her just in case.
Va'rak believed Miana could teach them much as they could teach her. While that arrangement had been private between them, Lex and Elder K'ash, Elder Va'rak hoped to eventual speak for the rest of the elders. Until then, they would meet privately or through screen chatting, as they called it.
"I still want that cute, furry creature." Lex tapped her chin, absent-mindedly walking to where she believed it had been. Sure enough, the little runt of the litter was still there.
They had done their paperwork while at the Citadel but a special procedure to extend Lex's life had yet to be decided on. It would cost a pretty penny that neither had. Still, K'ash, the elder also present at the trial, agreed to help.
"He is cute." Miana leaned against the fence keeping the little guys in as Lex played with him. Scar talked with the merchant, handing over a bag of money in return for a collar and leash.
"We need to head back. We have much to discuss." Miana knew he referred to their mating, something she had no interest in knowing anything about.
"I can make my way back just fine. You two…" She looked at them a little lost on what to say. "Have fun." Lex choked out a 'hey', a blush forming on her cheeks. The reference passed over Scar's head or why Lex looked embarrassed.
Miana wondered the bazaar, ignored by the eager customers and advertising merchants. She finally broke free, making it back out into the air, not plagued by so many bodies. The sun beat down at her but Miana ignored the tempting shade of the tent to continue onward.
She had been halfway back to the Citadel - Elder K'ash currently there - when a rubber ball of sorts hit her shins. Looking from where it came, children, most taller than her, waved at her. She smiled kicking it back to the group.
The group had not consisted entirely of Yautja but of other species unknown to her. Some had Yautja qualities as well. Hybrids.
She followed them down the alleyway to behind the houses. A large, recreational field sat there where another group waited. Some sort of soccer match was currently being held in the field. Onlookers sat in trees or on benches to watch.
While they threw the ball back and forth on the field, Miana took notice in how they had to score by using their hands. As she watched further, they looked like they had mixed soccer and football together, even adding some rugby characteristics to it.
"Oomans such as yourself are not as common among us but there are plenty of species we trade with and so many mingle into our society." The voice behind her had her jumping out of her skin.
Jumping to the side, Miana almost got whiplash at how fast she turned to face him. By his armor, she could tell he had some high ranking as a Yautja. A younger boy stood behind him, shyly waving at her.
"Hi." She waved at both of them. "Can I help you?"
"Actually, I have been sent by Elder K'ash to find you. This is Zeke." He nodded to the non-Yautja behind him.
He only got up to the warrior's waist, Miana's shoulders. Instead of being earthy colored, like many Miana had seen, his kind had an aqua blue. In general, he looked more aquatic.
"Oh okay." Miana looked back once more at the game before following the Yautja. Zeke did not speak, but followed them with his head bowed.
Elder K'ash met them outside, gesturing for Miana to follow him to a temporary home. Beanie greeted them, no longer wearing the helmet but a collar stuck to his neck. Celtic sat inside, bowing his head respectively to the Elder and Honor Blood.
"The collar will help with the air. Lex has one for emergencies but after staying aboard our ship for so long, she adjusted to the air. She's limited in how long she can be up and about but I'm sure you both will be fine." Celtic handed over the collar before leaving.
Something felt cold and indifferent about him especially the way he acted towards her. He had been much calmer, yet reserved, on the ship. Now, it's like he couldn't get away fast enough.
K'ash left afterward with a few parting words, mainly about the earlier discussion. The unknown warrior and Zeke were left behind. Her new guardian at the moment.
"So is this whole babysitting me some kind of punishment for you?"
"H'ko. I understand you speak our language well." He came to the table, sitting upon the furs that laid all around. Zeke remained standing next to him.
"Sei-i. Why doesn't he sit?" Miana sat across from them. The house looked small but for three people it would be quite cozy.
"Zeke is of the Ruz-xara family, a royal family from the Nevue planet. For his species, women are dominant with a nasty temper, more so than ours. They cannot speak to any female unless given permission." Miana nodded in understanding.
Yautja females could be very temperamental, however, males were typically dominating during mating season. Still, females were to be given respect regardless of rank.
"Zeke?" The boy timidly looked up. "You can sit down." He blinked until the Yautja translated for her, explaining Miana's intentions.
"Zeke had a nasty run-in with a priestess earlier this morning. He's a little shaken but he is returning home tomorrow." The Yautja explained the rest like how Zeke had come to stay under security reasons, mainly because Yautja and Nevue were great allies.
"Oh, okay. So, back to my earlier question…"
"I have agreed to guard you until you are capable of mingling in our society alone. The elders came to me because of my knowledge of your language but that seems not to be a problem."
"You agreed?"
"Sei-i."
"Why?" Aggravated by the interrogation, he growled lowly but hissed out a sigh.
"I am ranked as almost an elder. I plan to become an arbitrator so, with my responsibilities mainly involving tracking bad bloods down, I am able to watch you while I do so. It gives you the freedom to go hunting as well with your friends." Zeke chirped suddenly, tapping him on the arm.
Miana stood then, feeling Zeke and the still mysterious man needed to talk.
"I think I'm going to lay down now. What's your name?"
"Call me what you wish." Miana blinked for a moment, completely unprepared for such a response. Still, a look came into his eyes that gave him an eerie, dark look about him. She chose not to pry.
"Alright, see ya later, Abba."