Chapter 7 Reviews:-

Amouthea – Thanks for the review! If it weren't for you, this would have been updated a lot later. Believe me. Sorry that it's been a while since I updated – I'm taking my time with this one so that it won't turn out bad! -.-; Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 8

Whilst the scanners had been processing the information, Jechonde had taken Kekhani with him to scout about the area close to the ship.

As they approached the planet, they discovered it was a rocky and barren environment, and the Predators had not yet seen any signs of life. But that did not mean that there was none; all of the time that they were there, Kekhani could feel something watching him...

"So what have the scanners found?" Jechonde asked Me'gaht when he returned to the ship. Me'gaht scratched his head, shaking it negatively at the results displayed before him.

"The scanners say that there are metals not native to this planet on the large, south-east continent. In this area there is a surge of energy, which I highly doubt comes from any natural source. Where's Kekhani?"

"I left him outside."

"Go get him – I'm going to take the ship closer to the energy source and we can't leave him behind."

"Ancestors forbid," Jechonde sighed under his breath teasingly.

Kekhani knew that there was something out there with him... he could feel it. He scanned his surroundings carefully in one vision mode, and then switched to another and did the same before repeating the procedure once more.

"Kekhani!" Jechonde's voice called from the ship. Kekhani turned to Jechonde while trying to keep aware of his environment. "We're leaving! Get back here immediately!" Kekhani jumped down from his vantage point and jogged towards the ship. Meanwhile, Jechonde noticed something dark sneaking up on the young Predator – and fast. "Kekhani! Kekhani run!" Jechonde shouted, aiming his spear-gun for the dark object.

Kekhani did as he was told, strafing left and right, never once looking behind him, but listening intensely to the sounds underneath the howling wind and keeping his wrist-blade ready. When Jechonde got a clear shot, he fired once, twice, three times... Kekhani raced past him onto the ship, then stopped and turned to look at his pursuer. There was... nothing. Jechonde stepped out a little further and looked about him. He hissed; it must have been the wind in the sand that he had been targeting all along.

"What is it?" Me'gaht called from his pilot's seat.

"Nothing!" Kekhani responded.

"Then we can leave now. Step away from the landing ramp!" Why had Nidrua sent them away to such a desolate place? What was it that made Koreishta so important?

The repairs to the Aki're'ga were going laboriously slow. Although they could still move, it was nowhere near a speed to match the Ga'ed-a'rath. Every crew member that Nidrua had, was working diligently to fix the problems; apart from Trecha, who was using his limited knowledge of piloting to keep on course with their target. Shar-Issq entered with a tool kit and opened a panel near Trecha's feet.

"Look out for any black holes or comets!" Shar-Issq commented snidely.

"You idiot!" The temporary pilot rebuked. "Once again, you're spouting worthless babble; comets are only found in solar systems! And Me'gaht has never encountered any black holes!"

"Ah, but Me'gaht was a skilled pilot!" Shar-Issq retorted. Trecha was about to bring the tool kit down on Shar-Issq's head when Yojhain and Nidrua walked through the door. He rapidly moved his hands back to the controls.

"I hope we're safe in your hands, Trecha," Nidrua stated, with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Yes," Trecha replied rather bluntly. Nidrua turned to Yojhain.

"We've seen their weaponry, and know that they are fierce opponents. We need to stop them before they do any more damage. Have you found out anything about this 'Murakht'?"

"I have," the masked Yautja replied. "He was a teacher on board a training ship: honourable, well respected... I cannot understand why he joined the Bad Bloods."

"How did this Yautja get to them?"

"His crew said he received a message only a few days ago. He went off on a shuttle – seemingly 'concerned about something', they said – and they have not heard from him since."

"Are any of the Ga'ed-a'rath crew related?"

"I haven't checked that yet," Yojhain replied.

"Well make sure you do. And for goodness sake boy – take off your mask!" Nidrua snarled before he pushed past the Yautja and out of the bridge. With Nidrua gone, Trecha finally brought the tool kit down on Shar-Issq's head. Amidst the squabbling of his two inferior's, Yojhain did what his leader told him and took off his mask. He stared at the face-visor and contemplated putting it back on. His face was terribly scarred – and they were not scars he was proud of.

Yojhain had earned the scars through his arrogance; when he was a very young blooded, he had bragged that he could have any female he wanted – including one that was within ear-shot. She was so offended that she had lashed out at him, breaking his bones and slashing at his face. None of the other Young Bloods ever bragged near a female again. As if those scars were not enough, he had disobeyed Nidrua, thinking his own way better. As a result, Yojhain had misjudged the strength of his prey and a Kainde-Amedha over-powered him. Had it not been for Nidrua's kind interference, he would not have lived. No; he was not proud of his scars. And he was ashamed that it had taken so much effort to take away his youthful arrogance. Now, Yojhain was silent. He listened more than talked and exercised extreme caution when dealing with any enemy. The scars were from a past he did not want to remember – did not want others to see. And remembering this, he replaced his mask.

Jechonde, Kekhani and Me'gaht had found the source of the unusual power-readings. The mountain towered in front of them, with sharp cliff-faces and obscure angles which seemed to make it impossible to climb. Nevertheless, they trudged forward, checking every direction wearily. Only the howling wind kept the three company, blowing their heavy braids in every direction. They soon reached the foot of the mountain.

"I don't see any structures that could be emitting the power," Me'gaht said aloud.

"Well, perhaps they're on the other side and you just dropped us off in the wrong place!" Kekhani sneered.

"...No," Jechonde responded silently, his voice carrying with the wind. Narrowing his eyes, he took out his spear-gun and stalked over to a part of the mountain-wall where there was a semi-concealed hole. He looked through it. Using the different visor modes, he could see that the power source was coming from inside the mountain. "If only we had little Er'ed with us – he might be able to get through," he muttered under his breath.

Something flashed by through the darkness of the hole, and Jechonde jerked up the spear-gun whilst jumping away. "There's something in there!" He hissed. Kekhani unconsciously let out a grunt, remembering earlier when Jechonde thought he was being chased. "It's true this time! There was something there!"

"Are we going to go in?" Me'gaht asked, trying to draw them away from a confrontation.

"Of course," Jechonde replied. "But we'll need to find somewhere else to gain access."

"How about up there?" Kekhani asked, pointing almost directly upwards. In the rock-face, there appeared to be yet another entrance – one that they could possibly enter if they were crouching.

"Yes – we'll try up there," Jechonde told them. Kekhani and Me'gaht began to find a way up, but Jechonde lingered at the hole a little longer, wondering what he had seen.

Me'gaht was the last to haul himself to the top of the platform, his chest heaving with the effort.

"You need to get into better shape, Me'gaht" Kekhani sniggered. Me'gaht dealt him a hand-sign as a response. He looked about him: the platform was quite wide and could hold up to seven Yautja. It looked down onto the valleys and hills below them, and Me'gaht could see the sands writhing about as if the were alive, like some giant serpent. The ledge did not lead to anywhere else externally – there were only two ways to go from here: back down, or through the open tunnel. To the right of the remaining tunnel, there seemed to be a cave, but a few metres inside, rubble, boulders and stones were piled up at the back. If it had lead anywhere else, it was useless now.

Jechonde was already examining the tunnel: it was larger than it had appeared from below. In fact, they could almost stand while walking through it. He turned to his subordinates.

"Are you both ready?" He asked them. They gave a positive reply. "Then let's go." Jechonde made a show of readying his weapons to tell the other two to do the same. They all entered the tunnel cautious of their surroundings and more than a little nervous, but Me'gaht experienced these feelings most of all.

The three warriors tip-toed through the shadows, searching for something, anything, that would bring this strange mission to an end. In front of them, Jechonde noticed the stone walls meld into different metals. They were metals that Yautja used in their technology. Jechonde shivered, realising that Nidrua had been keeping things from him, and that this little expedition could have deeper implications to their mission than he had thought. Me'gaht also noticed the technology, and suddenly his intuition told him to leave immediately.

"Alright! We've found our evidence – now let's go," he told them.

"Not scared are you, Me'gaht?" Kekhani grinned teasingly.

"We need to go on, Me'gaht," Jechonde responded. "Knowing that there is Yautja technology here is not enough; we need to know why."

"Something's not right."

"I know."

"Perhaps it's best if we just leave now and report this to Nidrua." Jechonde answered Me'gaht's apparent pessimism by carrying onwards. They reached what seemed like a dead end, but it was too smooth to be natural. Jechonde ran his fingers across the surface and felt a line run down the middle. His fingers recoiled as the surface moved – opening by a hair's breadth. It did not move any further.

"Kekhani! Open it up!" Kekhani stuck his spear into the gap and began to force it open. Something black moved within the darkness – more felt than seen. Kekhani hissed and jumped back, dropping his spear in the process. He mentally reprimanded himself for doing so.

"There is something in there!" Jechonde turned back to the doors and began to force it open with his hands.

"Wait! Are you sure that's wi-" Before Me'gaht had finished his sentence, Jechonde had fully opened both of the doors. A blast of stale air fled from the room, as if imprisoned and finally thankful to have been released. They looked into the interior. There was only a swarm of darkness inside. Jechonde readied his spear gun, and taking a deep breath, stepped into the shadows, vanishing from the others' sight.

Jechonde had only taken three steps into the room when machinery began to whirr, and slowly, lights came on above him. It revealed a layer of dust that had been disturbed by the footprints of other Yautja – and scratch marks running all across the floor. Me'gaht and Kekhani hesitantly followed. The three stared around them in amazement and awe; they were surrounded by ancient Yautja technology. The style was something that would be considered inconceivable and crude nowadays. The text that appeared on the monitor was barely decipherable compared to what they knew. At the very top, there seemed to be more holes in the ceiling, as if something had torn away at it. Jechonde could not see these holes clearly however, because the lights near these holes did not seem to be functioning correctly. But there was something in the room that held their attention more than anything else: a small opalescent sphere in the centre of the room that had been fixed into a small work station connected to the floor.

"It looks as if we haven't been the only ones here since this place was closed down," Kekhani muttered to the other two. Jechonde had crossed over to the sphere, and reached out to touch it. "What do you think those scratching markings are? I suppose a battle took place in here a while ag-." A high-pitched shriek echoed throughout the room and all three spun to look at the holes above them. Kainde-amedha began to filter out – running straight for them.

"Get out!" Jechonde ordered. "Get back to the ship! Now!" The Yautja fled from the room, leaving it almost the way it was before. The sphere remained untouched.

"What is this place?" Du'skaa said aloud, staring reverently at the high-vaulted ceiling and out-dated masonry.

"It looks like some kind of old outpost to me," Ar'oth responded. Kurath looked at the sphere in front of him, and at the patterns that were only revealed in the room's pale light. He wondered what would happen if he touched it... He stretched out a claw when a shriek stopped him in his tracks. All of them looked to the ceiling as the roof erupted with Kainde-amedha.

"Fall back!" Kurath shouted to his men. "Fall back!" All of them raced for the exit, dodging and trying to avoid the myriad of claws. Falkish was the first to fall – going down under hundreds of black claws. Kurath could still hear him roaring, but even though he wanted to help his warrior, there was nothing Kurath could do. He ran onwards, watching the rest of his men in front of him flee, being bombarded from all sides by the black bugs. Black tails flailed and darted out everywhere, slicing and piercing their armour as if it were made of water. Xirrin decided to turn and fight, instantly getting his head taken off messily by a tail of one of the swarming enemy Wour'nin tripped and fell, but was fortunately caught by Youyoun. None of them could yet make out the light of day in the passageway ahead. Kurath realised that if this continued, none of them would survive. He took out his bombs and threw them at the walls behind him before hurriedly pressing the trigger. There were explosions – adding to the chaos. Some of the Kainde-amedha were killed in the blast whilst others died when the tunnel collapsed on them – Kurath narrowly missed being taken out by the falling roof himself. This particular route to the secret chamber could never be used again. The numbers of the Kainde-amedha lessened and the battle was turning more in their favour. Kurath watched as the last of his crew threw themselves out of the tunnel only a couple of metres in front of him. He could see the light! He could hear the aggressive howling winds! Now if only he could make it...

A Kainde-amedha sprung at him from the entrance, claws outstretched, jaws open. He didn't have enough time to react –

Kurath opened his eyes. He was back in his quarters. He did not fear the Kainde-amedha anymore – nor did he fear his dreams. It was a message – a message from the gods. He needed to hurry his mission and see it through to the end – no matter how many lives it cost. His crew, his life – the lives of others... it mattered not. As long as he reached the end of his mission and avenged all of his fallen comrades. As long as he made all of them see: the truth.

End of Chapter 8

A/N: I understand that people have trouble remembering who is on what ship (and admittedly, so do I) so here is a list of the ships, the people who are on them, and any more relevant information:

Ship Name: Aki're'ga

Warriors:

Nidrua – Leader.

Jechonde – Second-in-command.

Yojhain

Uyari

Fi'dre'n

Me'gaht

Ekkudo

Trecha

Kekhani

Askar'n

Er'ed

Shar-Issq

Ah'ni'drin - Runt

Ship Name: Ga'ed-a'rath

Bad Bloods:

Kurath – Leader.

Murakht – Teacher and Kurath's brother.

Nie'de – Second-in-Command.

'Tkon'te

In'dre-an'de

Ha-rauth

Greeahnyau

Sin-ae'de – Runt

All are blooded.