Disclaimer: neither the Yautja(predators) nor the Aliens are copyright to me.
Pseudo grass, bushes and trees still smouldering along the wide path created by the atmosphere engines of the two yautja landing ships, the hunting team of nearly a hundred warriors, honored and Elders, gathered outside the ships as they patiently waited for the hunt to begin. As the ships had landed about two kilometers away from the hive, they would still have to cover than distance on foot, but that was nothing against the hardships endured in earlier hunts and what was to come in this one.
Besides, this close to a hive, there would no doubt be patroling drones to hunt on the way.
Blades glittered in the sun, and there was the occational clash of metal against metal as the warriors tested their weapons, mixed in with the voices of all the hunters as they spoke amongst themselves-- discussing the hunt ahead. Then all became silent as Khte'katildei'h exited the first ship along with her adjuncts and the females carrying the dlex chains, shackles and other equipment that would be used to restrain the hive queen and make it possible to haul her to the ships.
While not all of the female warriors would be restricted thus, some would still take an active part in the hunt, their superior size and strenght would allow them to carry such further and faster than the smaller and more agile males.
Her gaze sweeping over the waiting yautja, Khte'katildei'h grunted her approval before she put on her mask and attached the cables providing her breather system with properly processed air. Then a quick last check of the armor and weapons systems, and she was ready.
"The hunt begins now" she said, "Qth'kehlet's, Ka'ron's and Ler'lekt'ra's packs takes the lead, Jan'dekhteh and Kah'banith'de's packs will be guarding their sisters carrying the chains for the queen. I will guard the back along with my adjuncts and warriors".
As expected, there was some displeasure among those set to guard the females carrying equipment, as they would not fight except to protect those they guarded, but the warriors were diciplined enough not to give any spoken complains or obvious signs of this. With the smoothness of long practice, the warriors fell in line behind their leaders and headed in the direction of the hive silently, but quickly.
The kainde amedha would not be fooled by the cloaking devices of the yautja as they had no eyes to be fooled by, so it might be a unnecessary precaution-- but as they reached the edge of the forest, all of the hunters activated the devices. There was certain predators at this planet that could be a match for the kainde amedha, if any of those still lived so close to a large hive, and a careless hunter would not live for long.
Spooked by the approach of the yautja hunters, a large native omnivore with a strange segmented body snorted in alarm-- its three rows of nostrils pulsing as it picked up their scent, before it whirled around at its two pairs of hind-legs and fled in the opposite direction. However, while the creature was not the target in this hunt, it did cause some interest among the hunters when it was reported that the native creature had several scars and healing wounds left by chestbursters.
So it seemed like at least some of the larger native animals had unexpected abilities, Khte'katildei'h thought as she dismissed the warrior bringing her this new information. Perhaps later, when this hunt was over, she should make sure to send at least one of these omnivores to the homeworld so it could be studied..
Pausing briefly, she tapped out a sequence at her wrist computer, and a split second later-- a small, insect-like tracker appeared from a slot, tiny wings shimmering in the sun before it took off to dart in the direction the omnivore had disappeared. Designed to last for years, the signal from the tracker could be picked up from orbit by any clan ship with the right codes, allowing the crew to locate the animal it had attached to.
Initially the terrain did not appear much different from what it had looked like two years previously, when Khte'katildei'h had visited with a smaller group of warriors to seed the planet, but as they came closer to the entrance of the hive, that began to change. First old boned from native animals was spotted at the ground alongside pieces of exoskeleton from kainde amedha drones, was spotted an reported by the hunters ahead, and soon the living forest gave way to dead trees covered by the black resin created by the prey they sought. As they proceeded, the shape of the organic-looking resin grew more complex, until the hunters finally spotted the dark entrance to the hive itself-- the almost metallic/acidic smell of the kainde amedha stinging their nostrils. But then, as the wind suddenly shifted, it blew an unexpected smell from the hive towards the hunters-- that of scorched stone and flesh, along with something alien which none of them had encountered before.
There was a long pause as a small group of warriors entered the hive to scout ahead, and the news they brought back caused both anger and surprise among the yautja.
Minutes later, Khte'katildei'h saw what had happened as she stood inside the hive a few hundred meters from its entrance-- all around her the stone had been corroded by acid or melted by fire. But worst of all, everywhere she could see-- there was only the lifeless and twisted bodies of kainde amedha drones, all charred-- some still smouldering slightly. And in the middle of the chamber just ahead, lay the lifeless husks of the hive 'royal guards', surrounding the headless remains of their queen.