Chapter 5 Reviews:
Deebuggie – It's good to hear that you think it's coming along well! This chapter took forever to get done, didn't it? O.o Thanks for the promotion!
~Chapter 6~
Besk'a crept through the hallways with his combi-stick in hand. He had not had the time to count the number of Bad Bloods that the Aki're'ga's crew were fighting, but he thought that they were all in the main room. Still, he was not going to take any chances and be caught unaware. He stopped when he noticed movement in a corridor ahead of him, and waited for the unsuspecting foe. He watched as the yautja ran down another passageway without even noticing him. The man fitted the description of Kurath. It seemed like Besk'a was going to have the honour and pleasure of killing the Bad Blood leader.
*
Kurath noticed a shadow in the corner of his eye slither past him. It had not been his imagination: he was going to investigate.
"Nie'de!" He called. His second-in-command had been relieved of one of his opponents by one of Ha-rauth's nets. Knowing immediately that his leader wanted him to take his place he practically bounded over, immediately clashing blades with their adversaries' leader. With Kurath's mind content in the knowledge that Nie'de could handle the situation, he slipped through the other fighters to go and make sure that the mystery person he had seen was not going to cause them any more trouble.
*
He could see the bridge door in front of him, sealed by another one of his brother's lock commands. It had not stopped Murakht in the kehrite, and it certainly was not going to stop him now. He stabbed his blades into the wall, just like before, and he was careful when moving the wires and machinery. After a moment, the door opened part way, allowing a yautja to slip in through the gap sideways. He was so preoccupied in his task, he did not hear the soft footsteps behind him, nor the even quieter ones behind those. On the bridge he searched for the power shut-down controls. The Ga'ed-a'rath's layout was different from his own ship, so it took him a while to find what he was looking for. Finally, he found the panel, and, pressing the buttons in the correct sequence, the Ga'ed-a'rath powered down, the lights slowly dimming with the power, until Murakht was in complete darkness. Only life-support and gravity controls remained functional, and they could only be taken off-line with Kurath's security passwords. Perhaps this would confuse and worry Kurath and his crew long enough for the invading yautja to take advantage. Something in the darkness moved, and Murakht pulled back out of pure instinct. He was not quick enough though – and a blade sliced across his neck. He chocked and put a talon to the wound; it was deep, but apparently not deep enough to kill him. He looked at the man whom had attacked him – an Arbitrator!
"Hold still, and I will make your passing as swift as possible," the Arbitrator sneered.
"Wait! Y-you don't understand!" The Arbitrator raised his combi-stick and took a swipe, but Murakht managed to duck just in time. "I am Murakht – not Kurath!"
"I do not care which Bad Blood you are – I will still put an end to you!"
"But I should not even be here! I was tricked! Please – let me fight with you, and go back with your crew!" The Arbitrator paused, confused as to whether this was a Bad Blood trick, or if Murakht was telling the truth. So far, the warrior had not lifted his weapons – not even to defend himself. Somehow, the name sounded familiar from one of his briefings: was Murakht the name of a teacher, and a brother of Kurath? "Who are y-"
"-Look out!" Murakht interrupted, but his warning came too late. A spear had been launched from behind the other side of the door, and it ripped straight through the Arbitrator's body, embedding itself into one of the consoles. Another spear quickly followed through the same orifice. The Arbitrator gasped and clutched a hand to his wound, turning to look at who had done it. Kurath appeared in the doorway, his face a mask of malevolence for them both. In his hand was a speargun, reloaded and ready to finish off the job.
"Did you think you could avoid me, Arbitrator?" He growled. "Did you think that we would allow you to so easily defeat us – to end our plans? Soon, everyone will see your kind for the lying bastards that they are – and I will inflict our revenge!" Murakht moved between the Arbitrator and his Bad Blood brother, his blood flowing down his neck and chest. "I don't know how you managed to get out of the kehrite, and I do not care. I will deal with you later." Murakht readied his combi-stick, ready to defend the Arbitrator against Kurath. The whole ship shook backwards and forwards violently, and Murakht fell onto Kurath. Besk'a was losing a lot of blood, and was in no condition to fight either of the men on the floor. He knew what he had to do, and he had to do it quickly. Whilst Kurath and Murakht wrestled each other and attempted to get back onto their feet, Besk'a slipped out of the bridge, and back towards the main battle.
*
The Aki're'ga had taken another hit from the drkhrun's plasma bolt, but it had clipped part of the Ga'ed-a'rath in the process of sailing through the inter-connection of the two ships. As a result, the Ga'ed-a'rath had shaken almost as much as the Aki're'ga.
"Get that drkhrun!" Nidrua commanded to Askar'n and Ekkudo, who had just freed himself from one of the net gun's nets. The two Bad Bloods holding the drkhrun and the net gun began to back away, whilst the drkhrun charged for another shot. Ekkudo and Askar'n moved in, expecting to be netted once more, but when the Bad Blood pulled the trigger, nothing happened.
"Shit! I'm out of nets!" He cursed, as Ekkudo and Askar'n ran in. He did not manage to change weapons in time, and the two warriors bundled onto the Bad Bloods. The drkhrun fell harmlessly to the floor, whilst a wrestling match began between the opposing sides over who would claim it.
Just then, Besk'a staggered around the corner and into the main room. One of the Bad Bloods threw a bomb into the wall by his head, and within seconds it exploded in Besk'a's face. All eyes were on him as he grasped hold of the door and collapsed. He would not be able to fight, or even get himself across the room and back into the Aki're'ga. The Bad Bloods began to fight with even more vigour, as the spirits of Nidrua's crew waned. Whilst fighting the Bad Blood's second-in-command, Nidrua took a quick about him: his warriors had taken the most damage, and to continue here would mean the death of every one of the youths under his command. He was not going to let that happen – not today.
"Retreat! Grab the Arbitrator and retreat!" Nidrua called. Yojhain and Uyari were the first two to pull back. Both had some wounds, but they managed to provide covering fire for their brothers. Askar'n had managed to get himself onto his feet, and, grabbing the drkhrun, he attempted to toss it further down the hallway, away from Bad Blood talons. The heavy weapon flew through the air for about a metre, before it clunked to the ground. He wrestled Ekkudo from the iron claps of the Bad Bloods, and along with Fi'dre'n, they carefully carried Besk'a between the three of them. Trecha and Kekhani followed, carrying a netted Shar-Issq onto the Aki're'ga. Ah'ni'drin, Jechonde and Nidrua were the last to return to the ship, backing away, never taking their eyes off of the battle-ready Bad Bloods. Their damage was also heavy, but instead of shooting, some took their time to heal themselves. Nie'de hissed and pulled out his speargun.
"You aren't going to be getting away that unscathed!" He cried, and fired the spear into Jechonde's chest. Nidrua reached over to block the weapon – and was hit instead. He roared with pain. Jechonde and Ah'ni'drin pulled their leader back onto their ship. With some trouble, the ships disconnected, and a wrecked Aki're'ga fled from firing distance of the Ga'ed-a'rath.
Nidrua and Jechonde bent over Besk'a. The Arbitrator was taking short, sharp breaths and his face revealed how laboured breathing was. They examined the wound. It went straight through his body, and seemed to scathe some of his digestive organs. Besk'a had lost a lot of blood. Nidrua had seen this kind of reaction before; he knew what was going to follow. No medical device could heal him: Besk'a was dying. He pulled Nidrua closer to him, and whispered into his face.
"M-Murakht… is in-in-o…" his grip slipped, and his head fell back heavily. His half-closed eyes were glazed over. Besk'a had lost his battle with the Black Warrior. Nidrua stood up.
"What do you think he meant to say?" Fi'dre'n asked his leader.
"Perhaps it was a warning! Perhaps he meant to say 'Murakht' – whoever he may be – 'is in… onboard the Ga'ed-a'rath'!" Uyari shook his head and tried to think of something better.
"Whatever he was trying to say, we will only be able to guess at his true meaning," Nidrua told them all.
*
Kurath kicked his brother across the floor.
"How dare you! How dare you choose to defy your own bother! To – to allow them to try and kill me! Do you think they will take you back? They think you are a Bad Blood now – and they aren't going to change their minds either!" Whilst Murakht tried to keep conscious, Kurath moved over to the console and put the power back on for the ship. Whilst the ship processed his commands, Kurath turned back to his brother and stood over him, his supremacy clear in his stance. "You will do my bidding – you have no other choice!" As dark shapes took the forms of Kurath's crew members and light returned to the ship, Murakht's vision darkened as he lost conciousness.
*
Me'gaht sat in front of the console, dark and dreary thoughts seeping through his mind. The Arbitrator was dead, and their leader was going to have to satisfy the other Arbitrators with a good and valid reason. Otherwise, they could be taken off hunting the Bad Bloods. And that was something their leader was not going to be happy about. Of course, he would have to tell the Arbitrators that Besk'a was dead first.
The console next to him began to bleep, and Me'gaht realised that it was a message. He brought it up onto one of the visors in front of him. It was for Besk'a, and Besk'a only. Me'gaht looked around. No one else was on the bridge, and the doors were closed. He reached over and tapped a command into the computer. No one would mind if he had a peek…
He read the message though. It did not seem to make any sense.
"What are you doing?" Me'gaht jumped out of his seat and tried to turn around to face the voice of his leader. A talon clamped him back down into the seat, preventing him from making any quick escapes. Nidrua read it through himself, then he turned and looked at Me'gaht. A deep growl emerged from his throat. "Get rid of it – and don't tell anyone what you've read!" Nidrua stormed off the bridge, and before Me'gaht deleted it, he read it through one last time:
Kill the Bad Bloods before they show the Aki're'ga's crew too much. Do not let the Crew of the Aki're'ga follow them to Earth or Koreishta. They must not discover our old secret.
~End of Chapter 6~