"How much longer?" Lex re-entered the cockpit of the Fury, fully clothed and armoured now, weapons strapped to her arms and on her back and in her holsters. She had twisted her black hair into a tight braid, knotting it fiercely at the back of her head, as if the pain would distract her from the anxiety gnawing in the pit of her stomach.

"At least seven units until we enter the atmosphere." Scar sat in the pilot seat, "The Chameleon already made planet fall and the pursuer has followed them, but we need to get closer before I can get a more precise idea of their movements and location. I cannot currently sense movement on the planet's surface."

She came to stand next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm round her waist as she gazed at the console, "I just wish there was a way to know if they're alright,"

He shook his head, "I have… tried hailing them, but they have not answered, although this may be… good."

She looked at him, her mouth quirked, "Really?"

"Yes. I… told them to leave the ship, yes? To… conceal themselves in the jungle? I hope their silence means they have… done this."

"What about their wristcoms?" She said, "And their masks? Can't they pick up your messages?"

"Maybe they… do not have them." He shook his plaits in a shrug and his grip on her tightened, "We must… not give in to fear. We must believe they can… survive alone, until we reach them."

She nodded, "You're right. They're clever boys – and at least they're together. They've got each other."

"And before we reach the planet, there is another problem we must… consider."

"Which is?"

"What shall I do with our… prisoners? You wanted me… to let them live."

Her eyes narrowed, "Can't we just keep them in their cells for now?"

"We could," He said, "The bigger one I… moved back to the medipod. Her injuries are more serious than I first… thought. She is sedated – but the other…" He shook his head, "I could… cloak the ship and leave her locked in, while we go after... the twins, but..."

"But what?"

His spiky brows drew down "But… you wanted us to … win their allegiance?"

"I do – I still think that would be the best plan, but we've got bigger things to worry about right now."

He stood up, "Then, I had better … neutralise her… and kill them both"

She put her hand on his arm, "And the debt of blood?"

"The big one nearly broke… my shoulder. I do not owe her any such debt!"

"And Sek'Met saved our lives. Anyway, this isn't about honour. It's about getting the children back and I still think Sek'Met could help us."

"She is my Mother's … creature!"

"And what would your Mother do if she found out Sek'Met helped you escape?"

That made him pause, "She would… kill her."

"Exactly," She said, "She's half in love with you Scar. I saw it when I spoke to her."

"Yautja do not feel such things!"

"You do."

He opened his mouth, then shut it again, unable to deny her.

"I think she could be a useful ally." She continued.

"She would be an… unreliable ally." He said flatly, "She … hates you."

"I defeated her, I think maybe she'd respect that," She went on doggedly, "And aren't we fighting against the enemies of the Rough Skulls now – a common enemy? If Sek'Met cared enough to save your life, I think she'd do what you ask… if you talk to her."

"What would you… have me say?"

"Just remind her why she wanted to help you," She lifted one brow, "Maybe you shouldn't have put all your armour back on."

His jaws curled up in regal disdain, "I am not going to perform a… 'strip tease' for her, if that is in your mind. You should have realised by… now that I have no wish to…. seduce her."

"Not seduction." She wasn't smiling, "I just want you to … persuade her."

"Perrrrsuasion?" He snorted, switching back to his own language for added scorn, "You think this is a skill I possess?"

She stepped up close to him and, automatically, he put his hands on her waist, "You must do," She said "Because here I am, back in your arms. If you can persuade me to forgive you – "

"All the more reason for me to want them dead, before they can kill you."

"I thought you said the goddess would take your soul for not honouring the D'aRan-thwei?" She said, trying a different tactic.

He was quiet for a moment, eyes unfocussed, staring past her. "Lex, I think she will take me, whatever I do now."

"Hey, why so morbid?" She put both hands to his jaws and pulled him back round to face her, "Look, I wasn't being serious. You don't really believe all that superstitious stuff about fate and destiny?"

His pupils narrowed to slits again, refocussing, "Of course not."

She held his jaws still, not allowing him to look away, "This isn't a game Scar. We're going to need allies on U'amea and right now, we can't afford to be choosy."

"Very well." He shrugged her off, tossing his braids, "I shall do as you wish. I shall speak to her."

She sat down in the pilot seat and watched him go, gnawing her lower lip, a slight throb in her temple. Then, she turned back to the screen.

As the dark water filled the whole screen, Isaac yanked the controls, simultaneously firing the remaining thrusters hard. The Chameleon pulled up, just, as the underside broke the lake's surface, raising a spray of phosphorous foam and shooting upwards in a tight curve, levelling out across the water and then veering up above the treetops as they reached the shore. Isaac touched the controls again, increasing the power to the remaining downward thrusters as the ship's pace drastically slowed, coming to hover above the canopy.

The craft sank down with a snap and rustle of branches and then they were inside a dark, green chamber; a clearing, screened by towering trees. The ship settled with a final crunch and a shudder, and was still, the rumble of the engines fading – both brothers and the scientist pressing the controls to shut down the console to end any residual functions that might give them away.

Isaac turned to Selim, panting for breath, his lips still pulled back in a grin that was slightly too wide. Rika was out of his seat before the rest of them. He stalked straight over to Isaac and belted him round the side of the head. Isaac wheeled round, fists up, "Hey!"

"If you do not hear – you will feel." The yautja snarled in his face, "Next time, I will give you more than a tap!"

"That is not fair – " Selim protested.

Isaac stared at the older hunter, "I… saved your life!"

"You nearly crashed into the lake!"

"I knew what I was doing."

Rika snorted, then looked at the scientist, "Is the other ship still following?"

Isaac threw up his hands, "Even if they are, they might… see the disturbance in the lake and think we have… crashed there!"

Halkrath was at the controls already, "I cannot tell, something is still interfering with our sensors. They may have overshot us, but it will not be long before they come back." He rose to his feet, still watching Isaac sidelong, from under his brows, "I must go and get my instruments."

"Your victory is premature," Rika curled up his jaws at both of them and went to take Halkrath's place at the console, "Our pursuers may simply have gone to find a landing place."

The door of the cockpit slid open to reveal Varrik, leaning against the wall, but conscious and on his feet, "What is our status?" He hissed.

Rika turned to him "We are on the jungle planet of U'amea, stealth generator still inoperative – "

"What of the enemy ship?" Varrik interrupted.

"We cannot tell," Rika said "But I would guess they know our position."

Isaac glared at the Rough Skull but said nothing.

"Then we must not be here when they get back," Selim unstrapped himself and stood up.

"Yes." Rika looked up from the console, "It would be best if we do not remain here. They should not take us unawares."

Selim turned to the captain, "Are you recovered, Varrik? Are you able to travel?"

The Rough Skull captain shot Selim a narrow look, as if he thought the question intended mockery, "Of course."

Selim nodded but he watched under his lashes as Varrik raided the lockers for supplies. The Rough Skull captain's movements were a little stiffer than before, and it seemed to Selim that he might be pain, though of course he did not wince or make any sound of discomfort, "I would bet his ribs are broken at least, maybe even some other bones, after they hit him with the grapnel.'

"My Father and my Mother are on their way to this planet." He said, aloud, "They told us to get into the jungle."

Rika whirled round, jaws spread, "S'Kia and Lex are alive?"

"They have contacted us," Selim was opening lockers, grabbing weapons and food supplies, "My Mother said they would be here in ten units or less."

"Ten units," Varrik growled, "You are saying S'Kia and his dark sorceress will be here in less than a day?"

Selim gave a slight wince at hearing their mother so described, "That is what they told us."

The Rough Skull captain paused, "Then, we should remain with the vessel. If he has a functioning ship – "

"Not without the stealth tech." Rika cut in, "We do not know the enemy's exact number nor their weapons capability – but all sensors prior to landing indicate that they are superior to ours. We cannot risk getting pinned down inside the Chameleon."

"Anyway, Mei'Savir told us to get into the jungle and wait." Selim slotted throwing blades into his holsters, "Then we can rejoin them after."

Rika was also grabbing weapons and supplies, slotting a combi spear onto his back. "Where is Halkrath?"

Selim shrugged "Probably gathering his equipment, ready to move – as we should be."

He was slotting ammunition caches into his belt when there was the hiss from the airlock and the scientist reappeared, unburdened by weapons or any other equipment. Rika turned on him, "Halkrath, what are you doing?"

"I have pinpointed the reason our instruments are malfunctioning," The grey skinned male said, "There is volcanic activity in progress on this continent. It is not close enough to be an imminent threat but I believe the cloud of ash struck us as we entered the atmosphere and that is what has interfered with our sensors and with our down-thrusters."

Isaac stared at him, "How can you … know that?"

As if to illustrate his point, the scientist brushed a layer of greyish dust off his shoulder plates, "The atmosphere is laden with sulphur and particulate matter and the state of twilight darkness outside is not truly night, but a product of the ash cloud. I can tell the source of it just by scent." He explained, "Luckily, it is far enough from here that we will not be vaporised or asphyxiated – as long as there is not a fresh eruption nearby – but it is a problem that must be addressed."

"What are you talking about?" Rika snapped "We cannot address it now – we need to get away before our pursuers come."

"I am staying here," The grey skinned male said, "I will finish fixing the stealth generator. I also wish to carry out checks and repairs on the down thrusters and sensory instruments that may have been damaged by the corrosive ash."

Rika was frowning, "What if the volcano erupts again?"

"If it were near enough to be a problem, I think we would have experienced more problems during our descent."

The smaller Rough Skull turned on him with a snarl, "Halkrath, we already decided to wait for S'Kia's ship in the jungle. We have a much better chance of killing our pursuers if they do not know where we are.

Calmly, Halkrath swiped a talon over the controls and straightened up, "I heard your plan, but what if S'Kia does not come for some reason? Maybe the volcanic cloud will stop him – maybe his ship will fall from the sky as ours nearly did."

Selim had to choke back a little gasp, "We must warn them."

"That is not possible, the interference is blocking our comms." The scientist told him, "And we must consider, there may also be other enemy ships patrolling this area. If we allow the Chameleon to be destroyed, we would be stranded here and all my research would be destroyed along with it – as it would not be practical to carry all of that with me. It should not take me long to fix the stealth generator, then I will be able to use it to conceal the Chameleon's location and perhaps rejoin you. The volcanic interference should give us some cover until that can be achieved."

Rika opened his mouth to argue but Varrik interrupted them.

"Let him stay." He snapped, combi spear in hand, "Let him die here, with the research he values so highly."

"I'll stay with him!" Isaac broke in, then he turned to Halkrath, obviously not trusting Selim to translate "I will… stay with you." He said in his stilted yautja, "Help you… fix.. the stealth unit."

"No!"Selim spun round, "Ize we must stay together. Mei'Savir said – "

"I heard what he said!" Isaac snarled, "He doesn't command me, Selim."

"Would you rather die than obey him?"

"I would rather die than live in fear of him, like you do."

"Cease this nonsense! Have you lost your minds?" Rika grabbed Isaac by the upper arm, butIsaac rounded on him, violently throwing off his grip.

"You are all afraid," He snarled, "Afraid of what S'Kia will … do to you if you disobey him."

Rika and Varrik spread their jaws, hissing and chittering, but Selim drew himself up to his full height, ignoring everyone else.

"I am not afraid of Mei'Savir."He said, in English.

"You can do what your Daddy says if you want to, but he doesn't scare me." Isaac folded his arms, "The Chameleon is ours. She's mine. And I'm not going to let those yautja fuckheads destroy her."

"The enemy will be searching for us," The scientist said, "If you wish to leave, you should do so."

"Rika, we have wasted enough time!" Varrik scowled, leaning on his combi spear, his skin shiny with sweat. Rika looked as if he would say more but he fell silent as Selim stepped towards his brother.

"You are wrong to think I fear him." He said, "And he is your Father as well as mine."

Isaac shook his braids, "You can't make me go."

"Oh, I think Rika would pick you up and carry you, if I told him to," Selim said in English, his lips twisted in a crooked smile, "Do not make me do that, Ize."

Ignoring his twin's lowering brows and bared teeth, Selim put an arm round Isaac's neck, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "Brother," he said quietly, "Do not leave me in the world, alone."

Isaac's eyes widened, but then he put his arm round Selim's shoulders and the two of them stood for a moment, eyes closed, heads together.

"Ok. Alright. I'll come." Isaac snapped, "You're a dick sometimes, Sel. You know that?"

Sek'Met hauled at the restraints that pulled her arms behind her back and clamped her legs together, trying to free herself. The metal bonds did not budge. 'The witch must have used a set of our own shackles to restrain me. May the dark goddess rot her from the inside out!'

Stiffly, she turned her head. She recognised the cell of her own ship, the Fury, bathed in the blue, shady night-lighting that indicated silent running, 'The Abomination put me in here… he must have drugged me!'

She wasn't sure how much time had passed since the ooman witch had fallen unconscious and he had carried her off somewhere, probably to one of the sleeping pods. The exchange between S'Kia and the soft meathad disturbed her, though it was clear that a battle of wills was taking place. Sek'Met had expected him to settle the argument with violence. 'Even if the sorceress were not injured, she is small and weak. U'darahje could easily snap her bones with his bare hands. Soon he will knock the bitch down and teach her a lesson.'

Instead, the witch had spoken words to him – Sek'Met heard her say the name of his daughter amongst them – and all the Abomination's power had crumbled. His rage had died, leaving him trembling and pale. When the sorceress collapsed (Sek'Met could not help clenching her jaws as she remembered) he had picked her up as if she were unbearably fragile; talking quietly to her in the soft, cooing syllables of the ooman language.

"He is disgusting – despicable! Why am I not repelled?"

She wished that she could summon up revulsion; that she could despise him for his weakness… but it was worse than that. Secretly, she knew she was jealous of the sorceress, 'I am becoming as abominable as he is – I disgust even myself!'

There was a hiss as the door opened and she froze as S'Kia entered the room. He did not speak but leaned back against the wall of the chamber where he stayed, looking down at her. She glared back, infuriated to be so totally and utterly powerless. Her claws bit into her palms and she fought with renewed violence, wrenching at her arms in the effort to free herself. He watched her efforts, his eyes without expression.

"It is pointless to struggle." He said finally, "I am not stupid or careless. You will not get free unless I free you."

Sek'Met noticed for the first time the dark, hollow pits round his eyes. She clenched her jaws tightly to stop the flood of unregulated feeling, "How can I feel pity for him, when he is my jailer?"

"I will not harm you. I promised Lex I would not," He said, "I may be an Abomination… but I am not a liar."

"You are not Sain'Ja." She hissed, "You are barely a male. You serve her and you fear me."

"I feared what you would do to her in her weakened state. And I do not underestimate your abilities, because you are female. I will not let you harm her, no matter what is between your legs."

A little pulse shot through her, like an electrical current. She snorted and gave a vigorous shake of her head, unable to speak for a moment.

"The witch has made you her slave – her pet," She croaked, "Are you not ashamed?"

"No." His voice was level and calm, "I need her. Have you never felt this for another – that their life matters to you?"

Sek'Met swallowed hard, shaking her head.

"No?" He went on, "When the thought of pain coming to them causes you pain; when the idea of their death fills you with despair that you cannot tolerate. You do not know this feeling?"

"I am not like you!"

His eyes glittered, "You left the plasma gun for me through incompetence?"

"You dare – ?"

"Pity, then? But… Sain'Ja feel no pity, for themselves nor others."

"Do not cite lore to me – I know it!"

"Then you know you are an abomination, also."

The denial sprang up into her mouth at once, "I am a lieutenant of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka!"

"The worse for you." He snorted, "The worse for any of her servants with blood in them."

"I am no servant! I am young – perhaps the youngest ever – to be made her lieutenant."

"You must be skilled. I was about your age when R'Zuul first made me lieutenant."

She lifted her chin, aflame with pride, "I have her respect."

"So long as you are not discovered. So long as you spend your life repressing your every thought, word and deed. You may feel compassion or affection or sorrow, but you may not show it. Much less act on it." He tilted his head to one side, "Have you not already risked your life by speaking in my defence? By helping me escape?"

Her face flushed hot and she hissed at him, too angry to watched her, his expression unreadable. Then he came and crouched down beside her. Immediately, her jaws splayed, but he did not react.

"Keep still." He said, "I shall release you, but if you attack me or move in a way I do not like, I will kill you."

She glowered up at him but she subsided, eyeing him warily. He grasped her shoulders and hauled her into sitting position and a shock ran all through her at his touch, her throat constricting, unable to breathe, whether from rage or excitement she could not restraints on her legs and then her arms sprang open – she was free! S'Kia was already on his feet and had backed away, watching her. She rose, moving her cramped arms into fighting stance, her heart still thudding, "You called me an abomination!"

His fingers rested lightly on the palm catches of the dah'kte. "I do not say these things to shame you. I thought we might come to an understanding."

"If you want something from me you must take it!"

He sighed, "I do not wish to fight you. And I do not desire you."

She felt the urge to spit at him, "Because you are a deviant!"

"Just as you say." His jaws spread a little and he dipped his head in acknowledgement, clearly amused,

"Why did you release me?"

"Because I want you to help me. My sons are being hunted by the D'AKv'var."

"The Flesh Eaters?" She blinked.

"I will destroy them," He spread his talons, "I want you to fight alongside me. You are a fierce and a skilled fighter and you serve the Rough Skulls. They are your enemies as much as mine."

"You – the outlaw; the traitor!" She tried to laugh "You would appeal to my clan loyalty?"

"I did not betray the clan, they betrayed me. At least… Nar'Jat did." He said levelly, "I served him and he tried to have me killed… but the treachery in one is not the treachery of all. I am still a Rough Skull. And I see the way my Mother treats you, punishing you for speaking."

Her hand twitched, moving to touch the slash on her face, but she stopped herself just in time, "And you would have thrown me into the void."

"I am glad Lex prevented me. I do not relish killing my clan sisters."

She snorted, "And why should I care what happens to your little half breeds?"

"Because I ask it of you," He pinned her with that intense, yellow gaze, "Because I spared your life and your sister's life. Because we are the same. I will rescue my sons. Assist me, and I will be always in your debt."

Sek'Met frowned, intense suspicion warring with her desire to believe him, "I would be betraying my commander." She said, slowly.

"Once we have retrieved them and recaptured my ship, you can take Jah'Di'Tou and go back to the Vortex – or wherever you wish. You will have my loyalty. Be my ally, clan sister."

The words made the nasty retort stick in her throat; that and his proximity, the beguiling scent of pheromones mixing with the sharp, chemical tang of acid and the scorched-copper of his burned skin. The plea should have filled her with revulsion, but all she could hear was the pounding rhythm of her own pulse. Slowly her fists lowered.

"You have my allegiance," She said, at last, "Mei'hswei. {Trans: My brother}"

Such a busy week and I'm so glad it's over - work is never as much fun as writing. If you enjoy the story, please follow, favourite, review. All the usual.

Also I see that Fanfiction have done some weird thing where you don't get email alerts for updates anymore if you don't opt into them (and then keep switching them on periodically) so if you want to be updated you have to opt in.

LoveyDovey7: Hey thanks, glad you like my cliffhangers, because here's another one. More violence and mayhem is a safe bet at this point.

Miko Uchi Queen: I hope I can live up to the action expectations - yes Spyrro is absent in this chapter, but she'll be back soon. I haven't forgotten her.

Yearning Moon: Glad you liked it and I couldn't possibly say :3

Bocara: Aww thank you so much for your kind words, it always means so much to know people are reading and enjoying. Glad you liked the reunion- and the Easter eggs/ plot nuggets/ past references! We've still got a fair few chapters to go though as this story is turning into a monster.