Exams relax their sressful hold and updates can be written... sorry for the long delay : )

Kelly slept, yet her dreams where troubled.
Joanne skimmed over the nightmares like a dragonfly over a pond, keeping her touch faint, gentle, yet strong enough to do what she wanted.
She had to know how Kelly would react to their protector before she woke up, so she could… take steps if she had to.
Carefully she constructed an image of the creature that was sitting besides them, and slid it into Kelly's sub conscious mind.
Joanne felt the change almost immediately, the disturbing visions Kelly was experiencing becoming more rapid and violent as she re-lived the alien's attack on those she had know, and loved.
Joanne smoothed out the image she'd introduced, but Kelly's nightmares continued on their horrific trend. She calmed Kelly's roiling mind down, propelling her to a deeper sleep which would not be disturbed by memories, while she withdrew and considered the situation.
It was not going to work.
As she had suspected, Kelly would react very badly to the creature. How exactly she would react Joanne didn't know, she might shoot the alien, freeze up and go into shock, run off in panic…
And none of these would help their situation at all.
Joanne sighed and the creature beside her clicked soothingly. Joanne resisted the sudden urge she had to stroke its long curving head, it would not be a good idea to remind it of how different they really where. Another rebellion, when it was no longer an infant, would probably be fatal for her and Kelly.
She looked at the alien again, eyes sweeping over its bizarre form. Before she had thought it ugly, monstrous, yet now…
Now she could not help but like it.
The bond that had emerged from her hesitant contact with it had completely and overwhelmingly changed her feelings towards its kind. While she still knew others of its species would attack them on site, this one was hers.
And she would not abandon it or let any harm come to it.

>Besides, this was all Kelly's idea anyway. This is what she wants, and it will help us survive, for a bit longer…

She thought, trying to justify the solution to the problem in her head. Normally she wouldn't do things like this, but then again, 'normal' had gone out the window recently.
With the glowing feelings of the alien filling her with resolve, she once again entered Kelly's mind, to do what she felt she must.

"Kelly? Kelly? C'mon, its time to wake up."

Kelly stirred, Joanne's voice bringing her back to the world.

"Wha?" She managed, rubbing her eyes as she tried to focus on the world around her.

"There's someone you should meet."

Kelly blinked a few times, looking around her wide eyed, "Who?" she asked.

"I know it looks a little scary but, well remember the worm that we wanted to guard us? It's grown up, like I said it would. It's ready to protect us."

Kelly looked around with renewed interest, time to see if all their waiting had paid off. She finally saw the creature, which was gazing in her direction, head tilted and…
Vague thoughts, images crowed in her mind, hazy, unclear and undefined. She feared this alien, yet she didn't know why…
She tried to catch hold of the thoughts warning her against the thing, but they slipped through her grasp, she could not clarify them. It was like trying to hold oil, somehow each time she tried to think why she was afraid of the creature the vague tatters that were scaring her would vanish, just leaving her with apparently irrational fear.
Why was she so afraid of something she had not seen, met or known anything about? Joanne seemed fine in its presence. She tried to shrug off her apprehension, but couldn't. Somehow something was very wrong with the monster and… she stopped herself, monster? How did she know it was a monster? It looked pretty awful but she didn't know it would be violent or aggressive.
Having said that, one look at its sharp fangs and claws told her that it could be dangerous if it wanted to. But it had done her no harm, not even when she was asleep so why was she so uneasy?

"Are you ok Kelly?" Joanne asked her, pulling her attention away from the alien.

"Yeah," She replied, "I'm fine. So umm, everything ok?"

"Yes, I've got a good hold in its mind. Should be very helpful if we meet anything nasty."

"You mean when." Kelly corrected her, still trying to override the alarm buzzing in her head.

"Yeah." Joanne agreed. "This was a really good idea Kelly. It'll make a real difference, I think."

Kelly didn't reply. She had gone back to staring at the alien.

"Well, I think its time for us to get going now." Joanne continued. "We've stayed here far too long and it's a miracle nothings found us yet."

Kelly nodded mutely, getting to her feet.

Joanne gave her a quick smile as she also stood up, then her eyes went distant for a minute.
The alien swivelled its head around to look at Joanne and though Kelly heard or saw nothing she could tell they where communicating.
It was more than a little unnerving.

Then it got up and walked slightly in front of them, head looking around even though it had no eyes…
Kelly shuddered as Joanne touched her shoulder, motioning to follow the creature.

"C'mon." She said to Kelly, "it's time to move on."

Joanne relaxed slightly. It seemed to be working… for now.
She didn't know if Kelly's memories where vivid enough to break free of the bonds she'd put on them, covering them over so Kelly would forget her previous experiences.
Yet she hadn't been completely successful, she could feel Kelly's unease in the alien's presence, but she wasn't screaming or running off or anything else that might endanger them so it would do, for now.

As they made their way towards the entrance of the corridor they had hidden in for so long, Joanne tried to ignore the thought that she'd played with Kelly's memories more out of a desire to keep the young alien safe than to keep Kelly safe.
She was confused, and the only thing certain in her mind was the strange love of the alien child.

Symbols in an angry red colour scrolled down several plasma screens in the command room. Cth'ctchi's eyes bored into them, taking in what interested him and ignoring what didn't.
He was reading hacked transmissions from a nearby Yautja cruiser to pass time, as he was still waiting for the search program to turn up any results. He refused to simply give up on his pursuit for revenge, not until he knew without a doubt she was dead, even if he had to cut open the belly of the Queen herself to see her half digested corpse.

He continued reading the messages from the cruiser. He hadn't been able to locate their destination yet, but it would only be a matter of time. The small ship had suddenly erupted from hyper space alarmingly close to their own, one of the dangers of the 'total' cloaking device one of the more technologically inclined members of his crew had cobbled together to shield them from all ships, yautja included. His eyes narrowed as some disturbing readings flashed up on one of the screens. The ship was transmitting analysis of electrical abnormalities in this region of space, and the values detected where of a frequency characteristic of malfunctioning ship shields.

Cth'ctchi snarled slightly as he looked at the co-ordinates, yes they were of his ship damm it! He thought they had repaired the hull damage from their last encounter with a yautja ship, but obviously not well enough.
He started cursing as the cruiser received orders to investigate the cause of the disturbance and report back. Of all the corners of the galaxy why was this area being scouted? This hunt seemed to be plagued by bad luck.

He'd have to accelerate his plans slightly, if they identified the life signatures on board then they would simply blow them all up.
But if he contacted them first, with the news of his victory over such worthy prey…
Cth'ctchi half smiled, there may be a way to turn this unwelcome visitor to his advantage.

The scrolling screens all displayed a termination code before they went blank as communication between the cruiser and, and whatever it was signalling ended. Probably a main clan ship, or at least an elder's battleship. Oh well, Cth'ctchi couldn't do anything about any of it.

As he leaned back in the command chair a soft bleap sounded from the opposite side of the chamber. Cth'ctchi got to his feet and quickly went to investigate its cause.
Then he grinned widely, some of his mandible wounds opening once again as he did, but he ignored the pain.
Because she was alive, and on the move.