Excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta
She knew what she was doing was going to get complicated. Once, many years ago, he had explained the process to her, when telling her of Yautja protocols - She just hadn't ever expected to be using that long-forgotten lesson.
It had taken him a while to persuade her to listen to his counsel though. All she could think of, all she felt, was the burning inside her for revenge, but his voice, that maddening, infuriatingly calm voice, grounded her in reality.
As she approached the warehouse he had pointed out to her, she could feel the added weight of his suggestions – all of the teeth she had taken as trophies, dangling from thin cords and intertwined around the mesh of the undergarment of her armor. He had shown her how to thread them through the black threads, and now they tapped against her skin with every move. She had mounted the silvered teeth of the kainde amedha she had taken to the pendant the weaponsmaster had given her, one either side as it rode outside her chest armor, in the valley between the swell of metal protecting her breasts.
She had wondered at the need for such a display, but he had patiently explained to her that she needed to remind them all who, and what, she was, for her to be able to pull this off. She needed them to see she was a hunter, to remind them of the place their own Elder had acknowledged she held.
Complicated didn't even begin to come close.
She had looked in, just before she left. Her friend still lay there, surrounded by the contents of the medical kit she had kept under the kitchen sink, the gaping hole in her chest filled with blue fluid, testament to the trainer's attempts to save her. But she knew from her own experience that there had been no chance of even Yautja technology saving her, the damage had been to great. She almost lost it once more when she saw the look on her friend's face, the pain that she must have felt, but she hardened herself, taking her emotions and locking them away inside her heart.
The time would come to mourn later, but it would be an easier task knowing the one who had killed Marisa was also dead.
As she ducked under a partially collapsed doorway and entered the warehouse, she stood for a moment, awed by what she saw. Her only experience with Yautja ships had been the small craft her trainer traveled in, and although she'd been on this ship once before, she had been unconscious both arriving and leaving. It filled the warehouse with its bulk, shimmering patterns of color and energy rippling across its cloaked hull under the eyes of her mask's enhanced vision.
Built to carry hunting parties, it had at least two decks, maybe three she guessed, the entry ramp to the lower one reaching down to the ground ahead of her. What she assumed to be the drives, rockets, whatever it used for propulsion rested just ahead of her and above, she'd managed to arrive at the wrong end of the ship. Not the most auspicious start to the proceedings.
She knew that the ship's sensors would already have spotted her, before she'd even entered the warehouse, and would have alerted the Yautja who was on watch. That the ramp was still down she considered a good sign, they would have raised it and sealed the ship if they'd been alarmed by her presence. She turned off her cloak and walked under the hull of the craft towards the ramp, arming the plasma weapon on her shoulder and loosening the clips to the weapons she wore as she did so, as her trainer had instructed her.
Just the very attempt to board a Yautja vessel without permission, permission she could not ask for, could be considered grounds for her to be attacked by the hunters aboard, even if she had been Yautja herself. Her task there prevented her from asking, and her chances of receiving it were slim even if she had. For her to gain the chance for justice, she would have to break some of the rules. That she might have to try to fight her way onto the ship didn't bother her as much as the idea of breaking those rules did.
As she drew closer to the ramp, she could see a Yautja standing at the bottom, cloaked and watching her curiously. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't recognize him – she wasn't sure if she could have engaged the Second, or the weaponsmaster, or even the Elder without hesitating. She saw him tense up and reach tentatively towards the spear on his back, but she kept walking forwards steadily, seemingly ignoring him. As she reached the ramp, she stepped onto it without pause, not even looking at the hunter who stood there with his head cocked to one side.
He had told her that she needed to act with single purpose, to let the hunters see she had a destination in mind, that she knew what she was doing. That determination would make them hesitate to act against her, wondering what her purpose was, and whether she was allowed. In case of doubt, given her unique status, they would defer to the Elder, and he was the one she needed to see. This hunter would see her weapon was armed, would note how she acted, and would know that something was going on. She hoped he would do what she needed and not interfere, instead seek the Elder out for advice.
She was only partially consoled that he neither attacked her, nor went running for the Elder, instead being content to fall in behind her to watch what she was doing. Thanks to her trainer's directions, by the time she reached the top of the ramp she knew what direction she needed to go in next and headed deeper into the bowels of the ship without needing to catch her bearings, her Yautja shadow trailing a cautious distance behind. The deep red muted glow coming from the walls echoing the dark feelings inside, she surprised another Yautja who was coming out of a side chamber. He looked at her, then to the hunter behind her, who must made some signal as he simply stood to one side to let her past.
She paid them little mind, focusing on where she was going. By now the Yautja following her would have recognized her destination. If she deviated from the path to reach it, he might not give her the opportunity to correct the mistake. She reached a ramp that led upwards and unhesitatingly took it, ascending to the next level. Two more turns in the corridors, and she was there, finally. Resisting the temptation to gawk, she walked to the precise center of the chamber and came to a stop, un-clipping her spear from its place against her thigh. She faced towards a wide opening in one wall, before squeezing the shaft of her spear, bringing one of the ends down to the ground sharply as it extended to its full length. She was committed.
The Yautja that had been following moved around to a spot just ahead of her and looked her over, but she stayed motionless, standing easily. He inclined his head to her, once, then turned and left through the opening in a hurry.
Then she waited.
-
They were going over their plans for the night's hunt – The Elder, the Second, and the weaponsmaster, when the hunter arrived at the doorway to the Elder's chambers. He didn't wait for permission to enter, coming straight in, and the Elder's pending rebuke was halted by the look of urgency on the hunter's face.
"Elder, the pyode amedha hunter is in the main council chamber", the hunter said without preamble. The three experienced Yautja exchanged looks, and the Elder rounded on the hunter.
"How did she get on board the ship?", he demanded, angrily, but the hunter stood his ground.
"I allowed her to, Elder. She came to the ship fully armed, weapons active." The Elder was quiet for a moment, trying to absorb this, as the hunter continued. "I followed her all the way to the chamber, Elder. She knew precisely where she was going." The Elder looked at him, then to the Second and Blade, before abruptly making his decision.
"Inform the others to meet in the council chamber immediately", he instructed the hunter. The hunter bowed his head in acknowledgment and was about to leave when the Elder added "and tell them not to take any action until I get there." As the hunter left quickly, the Elder turned back to the other two Yautja.
"Does she understand what she's doing?", he asked them. The weaponsmaster growled an affirmative, and the Second allowed him to answer the question.
"Given who has trained her, I would believe so", Blade noted, a thoughtful note to his voice. "The question is, what has happened?" The Elder growled in annoyance.
"We will find out shortly."
-
The Second let out an involuntary growl of surprise as the three of them entered the main chamber through the wide doorway. If he didn't know better, he would have thought a Yautja stood in the center of the chamber. She stood motionless, her spear beside her, and they could feel the energy she was giving off. Any doubts they might have had about her understanding of what she was doing vanished in an instant. The chamber was beginning to fill as the other hunters heeded the Elder's summons, and a low buzz of growls and clicks began to fill the air as they took their places around the perimeter between the four stone pillars that dominated the room.
The hunter that had told them of the human's presence was the last to arrive, hurrying into the chamber to take his place. The reason for his delay became obvious as another Yautja appeared, turning off his cloak. Her trainer approached the Elder respectfully, who inclined his head in greeting, then the two stood side by side facing her.
"Do you know what this is about?", the ship's Elder asked her trainer quietly, but received only an affirmative grunt in reply. The Elder gave a mental shrug, then addressed her.
"You have a good reason for this, I assume?"
She'd watched the Yautja enter the chamber, and could feel a trickle of sweat from her armpits run down her sides. She had been beginning to doubt the entire idea, but the memory of the look on Marisa's face kept her resolve strong, and the arrival of her trainer gave her confidence. She couldn't, wouldn't, mess this up. Marisa's memory and her trainer wouldn't allow it.
"Honored Elder, I do. I come to lay a challenge." There was a mutual clicking of amazement amongst the hunters in their circle around her, but the Elder silenced them with a glare. One of the hunters rose from its crouch, and the Elder inclined his head towards him.
"What right does a pyode amedha have to challenge a Yautja?" She stayed facing the Elder as she responded, calmly.
"The right of any blooded hunter to challenge a bad blood." The Elder stepped backwards a step, then growled at her angrily.
"You accuse a member of this hunting party of being a bad blood?"
"I do. Earlier this day, a Yautja entered my nest, and murdered a defenseless human female there." The muttering amongst the hunters grew in volume again, and it took the Elder several pointed glares towards them before they quietened down. He took a deep breath to calm his own disquiet before he spoke again.
"How do you know it was a Yautja, or from this ship?" He was surprised when the human's trainer spoke up in answer.
"I saw the Yautja that murdered the human leaving the nest of the human after the attack. There are no other hunters on the planet save those within this chamber." The Elder looked at the trainer.
"Can you identify the Yautja you saw?" The trainer growled a negative. "Then how will we determine who it was?" The Second rose, and the Elder allowed him to speak.
"All Yautja were to remain with the ship during the day to rest prior to the hunt tonight. Did any leave when they were not permitted to?" The Elder looked to the hunter that had allowed her on board, the ramp guard for the day, and growled a query. In response, he looked across the circle at an unblooded Yautja.
"Only one did, Elder. He claimed he was investigating something he saw last night."
"I murdered no-one!" The cry surprised them all. She tensed as she heard the growl, recognizing the voice.
"Asshole."
She was tempted to turn and hurl her spear into him right there, but she caught the slight shake of her trainer's head and stayed still. The Elder turned towards the unblooded Yautja, snarling a question in anger.
"You left the ship?" He growled an affirmative.
"But I murdered no-one, Elder. Are you going to take the accusation of this prey over the word of a Yautja?"
"You would prefer that I accuse you?", her trainer snarled, and the hunter shrank back. "Your feelings towards my prey are clear." The Elder placed a hand against her trainer's arm, and he quietened.
"It seems that only you left the ship today", the Elder said to the hunter, quietly, who growled and stood.
"I murdered no-one. I hunted a pyode amedha ...", he began, but she turned then, despite her trainer's warning of earlier, and spoke to him.
"You entered my nest. I would assume you thought the human in there was me, we all look the same to you after all, just prey. You waited until she was bathing, as far away from where my weapons were kept as possible. Then you killed her, but not with the weapons of a Yautja. Then you ran. You call this hunting?" Her voice was steady and clear, and he flinched as each point hit home like another nail driven into his coffin. Which it was. Then a thought occurred to her, and she pointed down to the skulls hanging from his waist.
"If you were hunting, why didn't you take a trophy?" He looked at her, then to the Elder. He could see that her last point had done the most damage. This pyode amedha had destroyed him.
He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of witnessing his downfall. Before anyone could react, he withdrew his spear from its mounting on its back and in one fluid motion extended and threw it at her.
Her instincts kicked in before she'd even seen the move or registered on her consciousness, and her reflexes pivoted her and she dropped down to one knee, the spear passing harmlessly overhead to clatter against the far wall. Before she could rise, his weight slammed into her from one side, almost throwing her to the ground, jarring her spear from her hand, and she clenched her fists to deploy her wristblades just in time to block and prevent the ones mounted to his forearm punching through the eyeshields of her mask into her head.
She shifted her weight, letting the momentum of his impact drop her, and she rolled back up to her feet, the shift causing him to lose his balance, and before he had a chance to regain it she spun on one foot, bringing her arm around in a low arc. He saw the move in time and threw himself backwards, avoiding the bulk of the deadly twinned blades that jutted out from her arm.
As she turned again to face him, he charged her, slamming one shoulder into her chest and flinging her backwards into one of the pillars with a sickening crack, the Yautja on either side scrambling to their feet to get out of the way. He bore in, his fist raised to drive the blades into her and finish this, but she kicked out with one foot, connecting with his knee just as it straightened. Hyper-extended, it stood no chance against the force of the blow and collapsed from under him, dropping him to the ground as he fell forwards, slamming his mask against the pillar.
She rolled out of range of his arm as he flailed towards her, trying to breathe only to be rewarded with a sharp stabbing pain on one side of her chest. He'd broken a rib, at the minimum. She stepped back warily, trying to catch her breath, and he levered himself up from the floor, using the pillar for support. As he turned towards her, she could see that his mask had been scratched badly when he'd hit the pillar, and the eyeshield on one side looked cracked.
The others watched the battle with interest. None of them had seen a human face off against a Yautja before, although they knew humans had, rarely, won in such fights in the past. The thought of coming to the aid of either combatant didn't even enter their minds, although if there had been a telepath close by, they might have been surprised that all of the hunters were hoping the human would win. Distracted by the fight, none of them noticed a ship display on one wall blinking insistently.
His technique was sloppy, his rage had robbed him of any thought of finesse, or even basic tactics she could tell. He wasn't trying to hunt her, he was simply trying to kill her. Her mind flashed back to the words of her trainer, echoed only the other night by Blade - "If you hunt from anger or fear, you will lose". Either no-one had bothered to give her opponent the same advice, or more likely he'd forgotten. She dodged under the wide grab of his arms, and ducked forwards, dragging the tips of the blades on one arm along the forearm his computer was mounted on, and the straps holding it in place parted easily.
As he flinched, trying to prevent his flesh from suffering the same fate, he pivoted faster than she expected and slammed his fist into her spine, driving all the air from her lungs and sending shooting daggers of pain through her chest from her damaged ribs. The strip of armor protecting her spine absorbed most of the blow, but she still went flying forwards once more to slide along the deckplates, colliding with something on the way. She grabbed at it instinctually, and discovered it was her spear, dropped in the initial onslaught. She rolled onto her back, bringing the spear up and he almost ran himself onto the point before he was able to stop his forward rush towards her.
He backed up warily and she regained her feet, keeping the tip pointing towards him as she caught her breath. He tried to feint around the spear, but she countered easily, the tip tracking him every time.
"Why?", she gasped out. He stood still for a moment.
"You are not Yautja, you are only pyode amedha. I don't answer to prey", he snarled at her, before knocking her spear out of line with his wristblades. Before she could bring it back around he was on her, his balled fist slamming into her mask dead on. She felt the impact push her mask back into her face, and the burning pain there told her that her nose had been broken. Stunned, she staggered backwards, her turn to flail her arms, the move making him step back to avoid the spear tip wildly swinging in front of him.
She tried to shake off the ringing in her head from his punch, and a sudden realization came to her. He was right, she wasn't Yautja - she was something else. She was trying to fight him as Yautja, but she couldn't win that way. She made a quick decision, and stepped backwards deliberately, keeping the spear pointing towards him, until she was back in the center of the room. As she came to a halt, she drew herself up, ignoring the pain that caused from her ribs, and let out a scream – a hunter's scream. All of the hunters were stunned by the call, her opponent most of all, and as he stood there trying to understand she threw her spear to one side.
She flexed her wrists, making the blades strapped to each forearm to rotate around the housing within each vambrace until they lay against the underside of her forearms, as she bent down and slowly withdrew the long jagged blades from their sheaths in her calf armor. Not taking her eyes off the Yautja standing uncomprehendingly before her, she straightened up and swung the blades once, twice in her hands, before crossing her arms in front of her.
"Let's dance, asshole", she growled, and with an answering roar he charged towards her. She watched, her mind evaluating his steps, the reach of his arms. She was once more in that curiously detached state of mind, but it felt different somehow. She allowed her instincts to control her body and as he came within range she swung easily to one side, bending one knee to lower her body. The move caused him to pass to one side of her, and when he managed to stop his charge, she was back upright, facing him again, her arms across her chest.
The honed edges of both blades now wore a thin layer of neon green blood.
He looked at her, then down at his body to see the twin thin lines scored through the pale flesh, before he looked up at her and roared again. As he charged once more, she pivoted on the balls of her feet, turning away from the blades on his wrist as they cut through the air towards where she had been standing and bringing her own blades around to carve deeply into the armor on his back as he passed with a bell-like ring. When he turned in rage, he was faced once more with her standing there easily, her blades crossed in front of her.
"Third time's the charm, asshole?", she taunted. He came for her once more, but she stood her ground. As he closed, she dropped down to one knee and he growled his satisfaction, but was cut off as she raised up, bringing her arms around and stabbing both blades into his flanks, angled upwards and piercing into his chest cavity. His body shuddered as she drove the blades in deeper until only the hilts were left outside his body, and she looked up at him.
"I told you overconfidence was dangerous", she said, softly, then pulled the hilts of the blades towards her, cutting a path through his body. As they came forwards, she crossed her arms over, bringing the blades through and around his chest and stomach until with a spray of bright green blood they were free of his body, splattering the observers as she allowed the momentum to throw her arms out wide.
She rose and stepped backwards as his body toppled backwards, bringing her arms across her chest one last time, before throwing them wide once more and screaming her victory, the pain in her chest forgotten as she released all the pent up anger and rage and devastation and loss in a cry that rattled the bones of the trophies on the walls around her, and vibrated in the bones of the Yautja.
Drained and empty, she sank to her knees, the blades in her hands dropping to the floor with a metallic clatter, and cried.
The Elder stepped forwards, extending his spear as he came towards her and the body of the fallen Yautja, but she was oblivious as he towered over her. He looked at the cooling corpse and growled in distaste before slamming the tip of his spear into the deckplates. She looked up at him.
"Your challenge is completed." He paused, then gestured to the plasma weapon on her shoulder. "That is yours now, young blood." She cocked her head, not understanding his meaning through her grief and exhaustion. "You earned it" the Elder elaborated, simply. She nodded, not really caring any more.
The Elder gestured to two of the Yautja, who came forwards and lifted the body before taking it into the depths of the ship. He crouched down in front of her, removing his mask as he did so, and she was startled to realize that he had been joined by others – the Second, Blade, and her trainer. She looked at the naked faces of each of them, but as her trainer looked as if he was about to speak, she interrupted him.
"You even think of saying that right now, there's likely to be another challenge." She smiled weakly as she said it, and the Yautja clicked laughs, her trainer loudest.
"You should consider treating your wounds first, young blood", Blade commented mildly. She looked down and was surprised to see she was bleeding from several shallow cuts across her body, she hadn't even noticed that he'd managed to reach her. She growled assent, and the Elder gestured to one of the Yautja between the stone pillars, and as he came towards them she recognized him as the ship's healer. He bowed to them as he arrived, and dimly part of her mind realized that he'd included her in his gesture of respect.
She rose and was about to follow him when she noticed the red glow of the walls dim and flicker. The others saw it too, and looked around. There was a pounding on the deckplates as one of the Yautja that had been tasked to dispose of asshole's body came sprinting into the chamber.
"There are kainde amedha outside the ship, the ramp is being breached. We are being attacked!"
