~Chapter 4~
An Arbitrator was coming aboard. He had been sent to help them with the search for the Ga'ed-a'rath and it's crew, and provide them with personal knowledge of the Bad Blood's leader – a man named Kurath. The females had not been pleased to be forced to leave so early, but all three had left with more than they had come with: two of the females had mated with Nidrua, and the other one with Jechonde. The female had been Jechonde's first conquest, and so it came as no surprise that today, he was grinning from crest to crest. Of course, the females had been more generous with all of the males once they ad learned of their mission, and when they left, they had wished Nidrua's crew swift success in their assignment.
The Arbitrator was on board a larger ship, and they would have to dock together in space before their guest could join them. As was expected of Nidrua and his crew, they were all lined up on the right side in the ship's entrance in rank, from Jechonde his second-in-command, then Yojhain, Uyari, Fi'dre'en, Me'gaht Ekkudo, Trecha, Kekhani, Askar'n, Er'ed, Shar-Issq and finally Ah'ni'drin. Nidrua stood in front of them, facing the ramp and awaiting their guest at any moment. All but Yojhain were unmasked, and it annoyed Nidrua to see yet again how much Yojhain was attached to his visor. There were no rules against wearing your mask when greeting an official, but the boy looked like the odd one out when everyone else had their masks by their sides. In fact, it irritated Nidrua so much the he was going to go over to the boy and order him to take off that mask right now. He moved to do so, but it was at that precise moment that he heard footsteps up the ramp. He straightened himself out, and watched as three Arbitrators marched up to meet them. They stopped in front of Nidrua, and admired his crew lined up along their right-hand side. Nidrua and his crew all bowed their heads in unison to the three Arbitrators. The one in the middle stepped forwards.
"You must be leader Nidrua," said the Arbitrator in front of Nidrua. "I am Doressith, and these are Wroden and Besk-a'," he said, gesturing to the man on his left and right respectively. "It is Besk-a' that will be joining your party." Jechonde studied Besk-a'. He was of average height for a male, and held himself proudly. Necklace bones were hung around his neck and ankles, yellowed by time and chipped from the wear of many battles. Running vertically down the right breast of his armour were two symbols: one, the symbol of Besk-a's tutor from when he was young, and the one below that Jechonde guessed must be his own, personal symbol. Many of Besk-a's dreadlocks were heavily tinted with grey, and there was a heavy light in his eyes that spoke of wisdom. Jechonde realised that soon, Nidrua could become an Arbitrator himself. And yet he could not help but notice that Besk-a' appeared younger than Nidrua.
"And may I enquire as to why you are here, if you are not going to join our mission?" Nidrua asked Doressith in polite tones.
"Wroden and I are here to check that your ship is up-to-date – the newest speed drivers, computer systems, medical bay and so-on."
"And what will happen if it is not?"
"Then we shall upgrade it," Doressith replied patiently.
"These upgrades would take off valuable time – checking the systems alone will relinquish us of half a day."
"We are aware of that, Leader Nidrua, but it must be done for your benefit – Kurath has one of the most up-to-date ships available to yautja kind." Nidrua pulled a sour face, but acknowledged what the Arbitrator had told him.
"And besides that, we believe we know where Kurath and his crew are hiding," Besk-a' informed him. This information could turn out to be an advantage, but it was a shame that they did not know for definite where he was.
"Well, we will not gain any advantage over the Bad Bloods if we stand around here all day," Wroden announced. "Shall we set to work?"
Within moments the crew scattered and went about helping the Arbitrators up-date various parts of the ship. All three of the elders had noticed that Yojhain would not take off his mask, but had not confronted him yet to ask why – they had far more important business to attend to. As Besk-a' walked through the corridors of the Aki're'ga, Nidrua's ship, he could not help but reminisce over the days when he had once been a proud leader of a good crew. In his mind's eye, he could see ghosts of his younger self and the warriors that he had once commanded walking through the hallways, smiling together over their trophies and the battles to come. Those days were behind him now, and he did not regret a moment of them. And who is to say that the future does not promise adventurous times ahead? He thought. Nidrua joined his side, nodding his head as a way of respect.
"Arbitrator Besk-a', out of interest and concern for my crew, I must ask how many Bad Bloods do you think we will be up against? And how well-trained – experienced – are they?"
"There are far fewer Bad Bloods than members of your crew, I can assure you that. That is unless Kurath has been recruiting more crew members. When he turned from the path, he had six underlings – but all of them are trained to a high standard and are very experienced veterans. If one of them was pitted against two of your boys, I would not be able to bet on what the outcome would be. But do not fret – I am here to give you a clear advantage over them, and I know how Kurath's mind works in these situations; I went on many hunts with him years ago."
"Do you know what made him turn away from his honour?" Besk-a' mumbled something about oomans under his breath, and turned away.
*
Murakht could tell that something was not right; he could sense it in the atmosphere of the air. All but Kurath and Nie'de crept about in his presence, and they did not walk quietly around him out of respect like the Unblooded warriors he taught did, but out of secrecy. Something was being held back from him, and he was not going to tolerate it for much longer. He sat in the lounge, feeling alienated and ignoring the stares he received from the lower ranks whilst they tried to work out if this was Murakht or their leader. After a moment of two, Nie'de managed to work out that he was Murakht, and strutted over arrogantly. Murakht could tell that this one was going to cause him trouble.
"So you are our newest crew member: Murakht the teacher of the Unblooded – Kurath's brother," Nie'de said mockingly. Murakht leaned towards him, a leering expression on his face.
"Being a teacher is one of the ultimate tests of skill – your knowledge is being passed on, and if it is not enough, then your students will suffer because of it," he spat. "I have taught many apprentices over the years, and only lost seventeen on their first hunts. How many students have you taught, subordinate? How many lads have been under your guidance, and reached full adult hood?" Murakht did not need an answer – he already knew it: none. However, Murakht's rebuke did not seem to faze the other warrior, and instead Nie'de changed the subject.
"Why did you come here, teacher? When you were beckoned, why did you come running, even though you were not told why you were needed?" An unnerving grin slid upon Nie'de's face. "For all you know, we could all be Bad Bloods…"
"Nie'de!" Kurath called from the doorway, an unpleasant sneer on his features. "Come here!" Grudgingly, Nie'de did as he was told. A quiet but heated conversation took place, and Kurath gave the smaller yautja a small cuff to the face. Nie'de left the room rubbing his visage as Kurath stalked over to his table.
"We need to talk," Murakht told him.
"I know – but not here. Even if I send all of the boys out of the room, they will still be able to hear from outside… and they probably will." Murakht stood up and followed Kurath out of the lounge. For those that had not watched Kurath's every move, they would have been forgiven for not knowing which twin was which.
They entered the corridor and walked in silence until they came to the kehrite. Kurath thought that in here, they would be able talk without being heard – the walls were thick which made it a place where most sounds did not penetrate through the walls. They walked inside. Greeahnyau and Ha-rauth were training, clashing combi-stick against combi-stick, attempting to breach the other's defence and bring their opponent down. Both had good movement, especially in their footwork, and Murakht could not help but feel impressed by Kurath's hunters. When the two battling warriors realised that their leader was present, they immediately stopped and lowered their heads towards him – though they did not know which one was 'him'.
"I want both of you to leave. Now. You can come back later," Kurath commanded. Without a word spoken, Ha-rauth and Greeahnyau slithered past them and out of the training-room, and the moment the door closed behind them, they both pressed their ears against the door, awaiting what they knew would be the conversation that would reveal to Murakht what they really were.
"You do not know why you have been brought here, or why I told you to be careful about transmissions, but now I will tell you: I want you to train up a group of pyode amedha so that they can be used for my purposes," Kurath stated rather bluntly. It took a moment for the information that Murakht had been given to sink in, but when it did, he let out a short, sharp bark.
"I'm leaving," he told his brother, his voice portraying his seriousness. Kurath put an arm out to stop him, and told him, "You can't." The moment the last word left Kurath's mouth there was a terrible silence.
"What – have – you – done!?!"
It was in that instant that Murakht realised Kurath's hatred of humanity could have driven him past the boundaries of society, taking his crew with him. And then it dawned on him, that just by obeying his brother's call, he was most probably considered a Bad Blood now also. No! He was not going to let that happen! He would kill Kurath, salvaging whatever honour still remained in his heart from being completely consumed, and would return to his ship! He was not going to lose his honour because his brother was a fool!
Murakht moved to grab the combi-stick from his utility belt, but Kurath had been anticipating his move and using his own combi-stick, he swiped at Murakht's feet, knocking him to the ground before he had a chance to react. Kurath placed the combi-stick's blade near the centre of Murakht's skull.
"I know you, Murakht; and I know that you are weak. You may uphold the codes of honour, but I don't think that you would be able to go through with killing your own brother… or yourself," Kurath replied with a calm but spiteful voice. He acknowledged that Murakht might prefer the thought of killing himself than helping him in his plans. Kurath knew what had kept Murakht alive so long, when others had recklessly rushed into their deaths for honour; it was his fear – of death – that had kept him alive. And because of this fear, he would not return to his ship for fear of being executed, and he would not kill himself; Kurath had him trapped. "Now you will obey me, or you shall learn first-hand of the cruelties I am capable of!" He hissed. "You were always an excellent teacher, Murakht, but I was the exceptional pupil – you taught and never learned new things, whereas – being the pupil – I have learnt more of the deceit that surrounds our existence than you ever will!"
"Teachers can learn new lessons too, Kurath." Murakht was about to prove him wrong when 'Tkon'te barged through the door. He did not know which yautja was which, but the panic in his eyes made it clear that it did not matter to whom he spoke to.
"Leader! You must come at once! There is a ship – a ship approaching!" Kurath abandoned his fight with Murakht and ran towards the bridge, taking no notice in Ha-rauth and Greeahnyau standing outside the door, listening in. Within a matter of seconds, he was standing in front of the ships controls as they bleeped in warning, and staring out of the window at a distant ship that was coming ever closer and closer by the heartbeat. The Arbitrators were here.
~End of Chapter 4~
A/N: Yes, I do realise that there has been a lot of talking and nothing exceptionally exciting going on, but I do promise you action, (it is Aliens/Predator after all) and lots of it. Hopefully soon.