Hey ladies and gents how we all doing? See I told you there would be more to come from my little adventure in mass alien romance, in this chapter there are a couple of new introductions and because of that I have two very big thank you's to make, one to my long term reader friend and advisor CelfwrDderwydd for giving me an idea for an entirly new species, I won't spoil it I'll let you spot them.
The second is to my very good friend Wisekyuubi who is loaning me a very dear OC of his, so she will be joining the ranks of my merry few and taking her very own stroll through my mindscape, I promise not to ruin her lol
That having been said I want also say a very big thank you to all of you as well, you're continued support is the driving force behind my renewed vigor for both these works and my original works which are progressing nicely in the background and with every chapter I produce i take one step close to the day that I see my name up on those shelves which has always been a dream of mine, but I say this now to all of you, its becasue of you that i finally belive I can do it, so thank you from the bottom of my very odd heart, you have no idea what you all mean to me.
So with that having been said it's time to get this show back on the road, so this si GhostNobody signing off and saying on with the show...
Chapter 37: Paradise Found.
They decided to hold off on the full debriefing till everyone was back to normal and could be together so that everyone's input would be taken into account, they decided to do this back on the Clan Mason homeworld, where they would have access to the best midi tech and their entire support network.
Everyone took the time to process what had been said at the round table and Macha was coming to terms with being the first ever Xenomorph Dream Warrior, when Jack Mason had touched her the way he'd done it felt like a part of her mind that she'd never felt before had been opened to her, and it was incredibly confusing and odd, now, rather than feeling just the feelings of those around her when she focused on them or reached out, now it was like everyone was an open book to her, she could walk in and out of the minds of everyone near her without resistance, well, except for other Dream Warriors, they had protection from it, she could sense them and what they were but she couldn't slide into their thoughts like she could, say, her beloved Aiden or T'Shara, whose minds she utterly adored walking in, bathing in the sensations of their love for her and each other, not to mention their memories were rapidly becoming her favorite thing in existence, well, except for love making, that was definitely number one.
She was sat on the observation deck of the Ghost Shadow with all of her adoptive children around her, not to mention the children of those rescued from the planet's surface, while a lot of the survivors had been transfered to the Guardian Core's ships for transport back to their homeworld, all those with families, or rather, kids had chosen to remain here with the Spirits, it was like they felt utterly safe in the care of this small band of larger than life and incredible warriors.
The Spirits hadn't objected but had told them that once they were planet side that they would be transfered to the care of the Guardian Core to start their new lives, but for now, she sat watching Liquid and Jet having a game of chase the Xeno with a group of kids of all races, and she couldn't help but smile as the two huge Xeno's were mercilessly pursued around the room by the group of screaming happy children, though they did have a massive advantage given that they could run on ceilings and walls.
In the corner, Shadow was still playing guardian to Reggie, the boy had formed an unshakable bond with the male Xeno almost instantly upon meeting him, and Shadow's desire to protect and heal him made her incredibly proud of him, she just hoped that, wherever she was, his mother was as proud of her son as she was.
As she watched, Reggie was sat in his mother's lap, reading a book with him, and she had Shadow peering over her shoulder, she was nervous of the big Xeno but she was very happy that he wanted to protect Reggie, suddenly the door opened and in walked Jack Mason, still in his bright silver armor.
As the human male looked around Macha looked up at him and he smiled at her, the man was utterly radiant, she could see why his Tik eleth was utterly in love with him, he wasn't as beautiful to her as her Aiden was, not by a long shot, but there was just something about him, around him swirled a white fire aura that was utterly incredible to look at, such a pure spirit and soul commanded both adoration and respect.
That's when he surprised her by turning and, with a display of speed that, if she wasn't watching it with her own eyes she'd have never believed possible, he tackled Jet from the ceiling and, before the surprised female Xeno had a chance to struggle, he handed her to the cheering children who promptly dog piled on the surprised Xeno, who popped her domed head out of the pile of bodies she found herself under and snorted at him.
"Don't play with a stacked deck or someone will come along and pull the rug from under you, young one," Jack said with a grin as a young Felenis boy leapt onto the back of Jet's head and clung on for grim death, Liquid took one look at his sister and ran for it to hide behind a plant pot in the corner of the room, he looked like a fat man trying to hide behind a stick of bamboo.
"May I join you?" Jack asked, walking up to Macha and gesturing to the free space on the bench next to her, she nodded and he slid into the seat gracefully.
"it is times like these that remind me why it is we do this, the happiness, joy, relief and love in this room is truly incredible, isn't it?" he said, looking over the joyful families.
"It's truly incredible, considering what they lived through," she said, and he nodded in agreement.
"That horrific experience will leave scars un-doubtable, but it will also give them a whole new lease on life," he said, before turning to her, "You feel it now, don't you, the breath of the universe itself, breathing and passing through every living thing, like living water snaking from one being to the next, connecting us all and binding us all, no matter of race," he said, and it was true, she could feel it, until he'd just said those words it hadn't made sense but now she felt it.
"I feel it," she said, and Jack smiled brightly.
"How would you like to see something truly joyful?" he asked, and she cocked her head curiously.
"Well, a lot of these families here are one parent families now, thanks to this, fathers bereft of their baby mothers, mothers bereft of their beloved baby fathers, children bereft of of a beloved parent, all sharing a united sense of loss, yes?" he said, and she nodded sadly.
"Give me your hand, Macha," he said, and she hesitated before doing so, "Now, let go and open your mind and walk with me," he said, his words both confused her and suddenly made perfect sense, suddenly the room was filled with grey smoke, slowly it swirled and morphed and changed before it took shape and Macha's mouth fell open as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
The smoke became people, Yautja, Felenis, Scalathor, Human, they were all here and they were stood with those they loved most in life, watching over them, happy to see their beloved ones alive and well, and when they noticed Macha and Jack watching them they simply waved and gave gestures of gratitude.
"Welcome to the truth, young Soul Knight, you are seeing the spirits of the joyful dead, those ripped from the world by tragedy but those that they love anchor them and give them peace, they can cross freely between worlds to return any time they wish to watch over their loved ones, and the fact that you can see them this easily means I was right, you are a Soul Knight like me, it takes many Dream Warriors years to master the skills to see them, most tamers never see them as they focus solely on the living, but we see them because they call to us, to right the wrongs that they suffered and in return they lend us their strength," he said knowingly.
"But how can something that is dead be strong?" she asked, but before he answered a huge form swirled out of the smoke and a huge black skinned Xeno queen walked through the room, stopping at each of the Xenos in turn to place a loving touch on them, which made them instantly start looking around for the source of the feeling.
Finally, she turned and walked over to her and she bowed, getting down on her knees, "Thank you, Queen Macha, for protecting and loving my hatchlings like your own, it gives my heart peace and joy to know that they are in your care," she said in a voice as soft as the smoke she was made from.
"Y-You are welcome," Macha said, and the queen rose.
"If you ever have need of me, call and I will come, I will be your strength when you need it," she said, and, with that, she vanished and Macha turned to Jack, who was grinning at her.
"The dead see us like we see them, they know us and they lend us their strength in a multitude of ways, they can freeze the minds of the living, inspire dread or courage, turn an enemy into a friend, to name but a few ways they help us, so, let me ask you this, Macha, do you wish to embrace this gift?" he asked, and she thought, but it came down to a simple answer, she would use any advantage she had to protect the ones she loved, but she couldn't leave them.
"Will I be able to remain with my loves," she asked, and Jack grinned broadly.
"Yes, in fact, it would help us immensely, I'm already setting up to attach T'Sall to the Spirits because I know there's no way in a million years he will leave her side, so assigning both a Seeker and a Seeker Soul Knight to them would do wonders for co-operation between our two groups," he said, and Macha nodded.
"Ok, then I'm in, but won't it take years for me to train?" she asked, and Jack grinned broadly.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But I've been training Seekers for nearly a thousand years and let's just say we've made leaps and bounds in our training process to the point of making it an art form, now I can have you ready for battle and fully qualified in two days," he said, and Macha's mouth fell open.
"H-H-How is that even remotely possible!?" she exclaimed, and he grinned and tapped his nose.
"You'll see young one, you'll see," he said, and, with that, he patted her shoulder and got up before, with one last smile at the joy filled room, he left, leaving Macha with a lot to think about.
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Aiden walked into the medical bay and looked around, straight away he spotted Shey sleeping in a chair in one of the rooms, the Ghost's Shadow medical bay had a main surgery room in the middle with diagnostic bio beds and auto docs, as well as a central one for Ice to work her magic on, all around the outside were recovery rooms.
The majority of the wounded had been now transfered to the Guardian Core ships, only the cops and the Spirits were left, along with the families.
He instantly spotted a familiar face fast asleep in a chair, he smiled and stepped into the room where Shey was sleeping in her chair and an unfamiliar face was in the bed and instantly the figure put a finger to his lips and Aiden couldn't help but smile.
"She's just fallen asleep, she's been awake worrying her tail off 'bout me this whole time, bless her wings, I got saved not once but twice by a scaly angel, not every day you get thrown out of a window and who can only be described as the most heavenly creature dives out of the sky to pull your worthless ass out of the sky, then again when the bombs started to fall, god, I owe her so much and have absolutely no way to repay her, and now, here she is, refusing to leave my bedside till she knows I'm ok," the young male said, he looked to Aiden to be about eighteen, maybe nineteen, and Aiden chuckled softly.
"I'm Reaper, and you are?" Reaper said, and the man looked startled.
"So you're the mysterious Reaper everyone keeps talking about, the un-killable man, damn man, the way people talk about you around here I'd have thought you were eight feet tall with muscles in places i haven't even got places," the young man said, and Reaper snorted a laugh.
"Nah, that's my lifemates," he said with a grin.
"I'm Leon, but everyone calls me LL or double LL, it's good to meet you," the young man said, offering Reaper a hand to shake, which he did with his cybernetic hand, which obviously surprised him as his eyes widened upon seeing it.
"Wow, so you are a cyborg," he said, and Reaper laughed again and nodded, and suddenly there was a rather cute and squeaky yawn behind him and they both turned to see Shey nearly destroying the room by stretching and her wings nearly KO'd a table next to her before she looked around sleepily.
"Oh, hey, Reaper, when did you get here," she said, looking sleepy, and suddenly Reaper felt his evil streak kicking in.
"Oh, hours ago, me and double L have been having a nice long conversation about exactly what it is he loves about healthy Draconis girls, apparently he utterly adores a girl with a nice long tail and pretty wings and his favorite color is white, apparently he also thinks you have a really cute bum," he said, grinning evilly at the now utterly panicking young human male.
Shey looked surprised, but then she cottoned to what was happening, she was a really sharp one, this flying reptile girl, even when half asleep, "Oh really? And what did he say his preference on horns was?" she asked.
"Oh, she got to have at least two, no less than that and they have to be able to get a damn good grip too, he didn't say as much but I'm sure that he's a big fan of a damn good hair winding," Reaper said, and Shey's smile turned evil as now they both looked at the panicking human.
"Good to know, I wasn't sure but now that you say it, his curly hair does look absolutely perfect for double horn winding," she said.
"You know, he was just saying how utterly grateful he was that you saved his life twice and how he'd do utterly anything to be able to repay you," Reaper said, and Shey looked evil but also happy.
"Anything, huh? Well, now that you mention it, I might just have a few ideas how a ravishingly handsome young human male like him could thank me," she said, easing herself out of the chair and moving seductively towards the stricken human in the hospital bed, he looked utterly terrified and confused now.
"Any of them involve horn winding?" Reaper asked as she reached the side of the bed.
"Oh, one or two," she said, smiling at Leon, who swallowed hard as she perched herself on the side of the bed next to him.
"I, errrr, ummmm..." Leon began to stumble over his words as nervousness got the better of him and Shey couldn't hold it anymore, she began laughing and so did Reaper.
"We're only yanking your chain, Leon, I'm not that kind of Draconis girl, I'd never take advantage of you, especially when your striken and helpless in a hospital bed, might cuddle you to death but I wouldn't hurt you or jump you because I'm not like that, I want to impress you, not scare the hell out of you," she said, gently stroking his face and now his face turned to one of confusion.
"You want to impress me? Why the hell would you want to impress me? I'm nobody?" he said, and she gripped his chin tightly and made him look at her right in the eyes as a sour expression crossed her face.
"Don't you ever say that! You are not a nobody and you are not worthless!" she said, he looked so surprised at that and then, out of nowhere, he just burst into to tears.
"Thank you so so much, that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," he said, and it obviously broke through Shey's shell because, without even hesitating, she slid fully onto the bed next to him and wrapped her arms, her tail and her wings around him, cocooning him in pure love and protection.
Reaper grinned to himself and, with that, he slid silently out of the room and turned to the next one, which had two more familiar faces in it, one of which was staring into a mirror with a look of utter surprise written all over her face.
"I have mandibles! How the hell do I have mandibles!?" Whisper exclaimed as Reaper stepped into her room.
"I think they look cute on you, don't you like mandibles?" T'Sall said, sounding a little hurt, she looked up at him.
"Of course I do! I love your mandibles, but I'm a Felenis, we're not meant to have mandibles!" she said, stretching them out on their side, it appeared that on either side of her muzzle two mandibles had replaced her cheeks, they folded in to connect with the front of her maw, until she opened them they weren't actually all that noticeable.
"I actually think they kinda suit you, should definitely make kissing more interesting for the two of you," Reaper said, making Whisper's head snap up in surprise as she hadn't noticed him there.
"I know right!? And don't you think they make her look cute?" T'Sall said, stroking the side of her head with his own mandibles before gently hooking his tusks through hers.
"Yup, I have two girls with mandibles and I can truthfully say they rock, there's something utterly hot about having your face gripped when you get kissed," he said, and Whisper looked a little doubtful.
"Try it," Reaper said, and Whisper looked doubtful and then she reached up, grabbed T'Sall, opened her furry mandibles and gripped T'Sall's mandibles, locking him in a very deep kiss before parting and melting into his arms.
"Ok, that is hot," she said as he stroked her head with his hand gently as she leaned against his chest.
"So, this is the young Felenis that had captured my grandson's heart," a voice said from the doorway, and all of them looked up to find Sela eleth standing there, leaning on the doorway with her arms folded over her chest, looking every bit the powerful and proud hybrid Yautja huntress she was.
"Hello, grandmother, let me introduce you to my lifemate, Whisper," T'Sall said, looking up at her.
"By the great cat, I always forget how slow Yautja age, you look incredible for a grandmother," Whisper blurted out ,and Sela eleth roared a laugh and grinned at her.
"Oh, I like this one, T'Sall, she is brutally honest and has good eyes," Sela said, moving into the room and standing next to Reaper before leaning on his shoulder, which surprised him somewhat, but then she did come from a clan which was basically one big family so exaggerated closeness was probably their thing.
Whisper smiled at her and her mandibles rose into a surprisingly cute smile, T'Sall rubbed her head fur gently and kissed on the top of the head, she smiled up at him and the two kissed, not caring that the others were in the room and Reaper heard Sela hum in approval.
Once they'd broke the kiss Sela moved over to the side of the bed and placed a hand on Whisper's shoulder, "You look after my grandson, young one, and there is nothing in this existence he will not do for you, the very fact that you're laid here breathing with three pints of his blood flowing through your veins shows you the lengths this beautiful grandson of mine is willing to walk for you, all I, and indeed we at Clan Mason, ask is that you do the same, oh, that reminds me, we'll have to get one of these made for you now," she said, pulling out a brass broach from a pocket and Whisper looked at it.
It was beautiful, made in what she thought was brass but turned out to be aluminium bronze, judging by the beautiful silver and blue veins and swirls that were laced through the gold metal, it was a half Yautja half human design, carrying what appeared to be a winged dagger mounted atop a Yautja symbol on a round base made up of celtic knots.
"What's that?" Whisper asked.
"It's our clan symbol, every full member of the clan gets one, that gem is made from your blood, solidified into stone, it proves to any member of the clan far and wide you are who you say you are, because there is only one forger alive that can make the metal just like this, it's very specific, my Patriarch," Sela eleth said, and Whisper's eyes widened.
"Wait...I'm a member of Clan Mason now?" she exclaimed, and Sela eleth let out a belly laugh.
"Well, the way I heard it, you performed the dance of two souls for T'Sall and he danced with you and, if I'm not mistaken, that there is his mate mark, that binds you both for life two different ways, so, yeah, young one, you're a full card carrying member of the clan now," she said, and Whisper looked suddenly so very happy.
"I'm married, I have a husband, I'm a wife, I'm your wife!" she said, as if it was only now hitting her and T'Sall wrapped his loving arms around the emotional little Felenis female and held her tightly and protectively.
"Yeah, you do, and, from the day I danced with you and you took my mark, I made a vow, I'll walk forever at your side, lend you my strength when you need it as I know you'll lend me yours when I need it and together we will love one another till we lay upon the beds of our final rest, knowing that we live our life fully and for one another, that we filled what we had with love," he said, and, from his left, Reaper heard Sela sniff and he glanced to see her drying her eyes, when she saw him looking at her she simply smiled.
"He did us proud, I just wish his mother and father were still here to see what an incredible young man their son has become, a terrible and sad loss for us all, not just for me and him, my son was an amazing and kind man, I see so much of him in T'Sall, it warms my heart to feel his legacy in my kin and now I get to see that legacy enter its next chapter as he finds his true love, god, I can't wait for them to make so many cubs, I'm gonna spoil them rotten, oh, to have hybrid Felenis Yautja Humans running all over my house, I can't wait, so, you two, get to work on making me a big family to spoil again, you hear me?" Sela said, and both Whisper and T'Sall looked at her with wide eyes tinged with embarassment.
Reaper roared with laughter, "Maybe let her get out the hospital first, eh?" he said, and Sela snorted a laugh and nodded, then he turned to Whisper and T'Sall, "Get yourself some rest, we're debriefing soon on the Clan Mason homeworld, I want you there, Whisper," he said, and she nodded, with that, Reaper steered Sela out to let Whisper rest.
Reaper began to make his way to the bridge and, before he got half way there, the mid ship part of the ship turned into a scooby doo cartoon, he heard a roar followed by a yell and then the sounds of pounding, running feet and he knew that run anywhere and he turned just in time to see Spike run out of the locker room, followed by T'Shara, who was followed by T'Kell.
"Save me!" he yelled, dancing to hide behind him and causing T'Shara to screech to a halt and hesitate before trying to get to him while avoiding T'Kell trying to restrain her.
"What the fuck did you do this time?" Reaper sighed.
"Nothing bad, I swear!" Spike exclaimed, and Reaper looked at T'Shara for an explanation.
"He put another poster in my locker!" she snarled, and Reaper sighed before using the multi jointed arm to grab Spike behind him by the collar and he saw T'Kell's eyes narrow dangerously.
"Don't worry, not going to hurt you, beloved but very foolish man, but he is going to show me," Reaper said, and Spike nodded glumly before leading the way back to the locker room.
The four of them stood staring at the poster now embossed onto the door, "Ummm, if I'm honest, I kinda like it," Reaper said, and T'Shara turned to look at him in amazement.
"Y-You do?" she asked, and he tilted his head to get a better look and nodded.
"If he wasn't a kick ass hacker he'd be a damn good artist," Reaper said, T'Shara made a huff noise and then nodded.
"If my male likes it then it shall stay, you are lucky, this time," T'Shara said to Spike, and he smiled, looking relived, they all looked back of the poster of Reaper stood wearing a speedo posing with his chest puffed out and a real happy look on his face, but then again, who wouldn't be happy in his situation, because, to both his left and his right, leaning down, looking both seductive and fucking dangerous was both Macha and T'Shara, both wearing very sexy bikinis while resting themselves on his shoulders as if to dare any female looking to try and get near him, both wore looks that said, 'This is ours.'
"Come, my love, we're going to have a little talk about winding up huntresses," T'Kell said, grabbing his collar and making to march off and, out of reflex, Reaper spun and grabbed her arm and she looked at him in surprise.
"Don't hurt him," he said, a menacing note creeping into his voice, though he hadn't meant it to, at the back of his mind he remembered the promise he made to Spike, but the Spirit code was screaming in his ear.
T'Kell looked hurt by that accusation, "I would never harm the one I love, and I would skin anyone alive who tried," she said in a very matter of fact voice, and Reaper nodded.
Spike gave Reaper a warning look and Reaper let go of her arm before she steered him away and the pair vanished in the direction of his quarters, which had become their quarters since the Halkrath had assigned her to them as an official liason between the two groups, allowing her to remain with them.
T'Shara noticed the change in him and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, "What troubles you, my love?" she said, and he looked at her, suddenly his heart and mind both swirled, he never wanted to lie to the one he loved but he'd made a promise to Spike, but then he'd made a much deeper promise to her, "Come with me and I'll explain," he said, and he lead her to their bedroom where he sat her down on the bed and told her exactly what Spike had told him.
T'Shara's face clouded into one of purest rage as she sat and listened, "Mate defiling pauk! I will tear her mandibles off and feed them to her!" T'Shara said, snarling and leaping to her feet before Reaper grabbed her and, using his cybernetic strength, forced her back down onto the bed, making her look at him in surprise.
"No! She has paid for it already, my love," he said, and she looked at him curiously.
"Explain," she snarled, so he did and he finished telling her the story and T'Shara visibly calmed down and nodded.
"So he has taken her life as payment? He spared her life and claimed it as his own?" She said, and Reaper nodded, T'Shara clicked her mandibles approvingly, "He has more honor and understanding of Yautja than I would have believed, he is also stronger than I would have anticipated, but I will say that the pair seem very happy together," she said, and Reaper nodded.
"He has forgiven her on the understanding that she never ever tries to dominate him again or treats him as anything less than her absolute equal, and he has sworn the same to her, he forgave her for what she did and now the pair are happy together, I won't allow anyone to take that from him, but he knows that if I even get a whiff of her hurting him again I'll invoke the code, I outright told him to his face," he said, and T'Shara nodded approvingly.
"Good, because I will not allow him to be harmed or defiled or belittled by anyone!" T'Shara snarled, and Reaper patted her shoulder.
"Spirits protect Spirits, always," he said.
"By the code we live is the same code by which we die..." T'Shara began.
"...I will live my life to defend those who cannot defend themselves..." Reaper picked up.
"...I will be as silent as the night and live always in shadows..." T'Shara said.
"...I will be the sword of the innocent..." Reaper said.
"...I will be the shield of the weak and the helpless..." T'Shara said.
"...I will fight to my final breath that they shall live free..." Reaper said.
"...I will be forever unseen and unheard, I do this not for glory..." T'Shara said.
"...I do this for honor and for justice..." Reaper said.
"...For I am a Spirit and I am a weapon of truth and justice..." T'Shara said.
"...From this day until the day I lay down my last..." Reaper said.
"...I will fight on and should anyone harm my brothers or sisters..." T'Shara said.
"...Then I wish my fellow brothers and sisters will rain fire down upon them..." Reaper said.
"...For we are Spirits and we die as we live together as one!" both finished together.
T'Shara beamed at him as he leaned down and kissed her deeply, there was just something about the code of the Spirits that always warmed their hearts.
Finally, Reaper made it to the bridge with T'Shara in tow, he found Queen Bee in talks with both Tik eleth and Paul Twenty, "Ahhh, Reaper, good to see you up and about properly, how's the new leg?" Queen Bee asked, and Reaper tapped it on the deck plate, making a metallic ringing noise.
"Does the job, would rather have my real one but I'm just glad to be still breathing, a fact I owe to her husband and something I'm never going to forget, a Spirit never forgets a debt," he said, and Tik eleth growled approvingly.
"I am glad to see that you are the people of honor that I believed you to be," she said, and he nodded.
"So, we got any news from the Council?" Reaper asked, and Queen Bee nodded.
"The data we sent them really stirred up the hornets nest, then pissed on it before setting it on fire," she said, and Reaper raised an eyebrow at that.
"Team's one, two, and three, with aid from our friends at the Guardian Core and Section 5, as well as the Halkrath, are currently storming all three of the major Weyland Yutani headquarters, there's been a capture or kill order issued on the corporation's major heads, so there is going to be a scramble," she said, and Reaper grinned darkly.
"'Bout time the hammer came down on those bastards, the amount of pain they've caused over the years, we finally got them," he said, and Tik growled darkly and nodded.
"I agree, Reaper, and it gives me great honor for my hunters to be a part of this great mission, we, together with our allies, will deliver justice upon them," she said.
An hour later the ships were on approach to the homeworld of Clan Mason, Yin'tekai prime, which, in Yautja, meant Honor, Tik eleth explained that they'd named it because she and her beloved Ack had shared a mutual honor that built the foundations for Clan Mason to be formed and then the Guardian Core and they both believed that if the people of the clan never forgot that their world was built as much on honor as it was on love that they'd never forget to conduct themselves with it every second of every day.
The world itself was an utter paradise because all of Clan Mason were taught to honor nature by the Tamers in their clan like Ryan, the head of the Seeker Tamers, they believed in the power of nature and the balance, it was something that was taught to all, that all true hunters knew to utterly respect their pray and to do that you had to respect nature because strong nature produces the strongest prey.
The world was a mish mash of amazing biomes, huge jungles with trees that carted the ground in a see of green and yellow, huge forests that had trees so tall that Pegasus had to evade them on his approach, roving plains that stretched for miles that had creatures the size of tower locks walking across them.
Right in the centre of a huge forest and utterly entwined by nature, not only on all sides but from within as well, was the capital city, called Hope in English, a collection of wooden houses right up to huge pyramids, and Reaper began to wonder if that was where the rich lived, until, sensing his thought, Jack stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Each member of our clan chooses their path, lead a simple life as a hunter or a forester and you are no less important than a Hunter in the Guardian Core, each and every member of the clan contributes to the whole and everyone knows that if they call for help the weight of the whole clan will come down like a hammer to protect them, we protect our own with a fire that is unrivaled anywhere else," Jack said.
"Jesus Christ, you actually built paradise," Reaper breathed as he looked at a monumental hive that was shaped like a giant cone that stood taller than most of the pyramids in the city itself and Jack laughed and smiled.
"Thank you, young one, that means a lot coming from an outsider, oh, and that's the home of King Cortez and his brood, or it was, before he died, a sad loss for us all, and his beloved queen still mourns him to this day, her jelly extended his life far beyond that of a normal human, but it doesn't make you immortal, but it did mean that they were able to have a huge brood of kids, same with the great Builder Yoshi and his beloved queen Citrus, every single one of their sons and daughters are engineers and architects, best Xeno builders you'll ever see, just, for the love of Paya, don't let them see your arm," he said, and Reaper cocked his head curiously.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because nothing in this world gets those Xenos more pumped up then a tech problem to solve, they'd take your arm and leg off and they'd have it in bits before they built you a new set even better than before," he said.
"And that's bad why?" Reaper asked.
"You ever sat in the middle of a hive of arguing Xenos before? It's bad enough when you can only hear the screeches and hisses, when you can hear their voices as well, yeah, that's a whole new level of head ache, though, I am told by the more Xeno inclined members of our clan that there's nothing sexier than a xeno in a lab coat, but for me it's a fine Yautja woman decked out in full battle armor looking like a force of nature, a proud fierce daughter of Paya, strength and fury combined and then wrapped up in the prettiest skin the goddess could dream up," Jack said, and both of them turned to look at both T'Shara, Tik, and Macha leaning on the guard rails of the ship's command deck as they gazed out of the window.
"Doesn't hurt when they have a rear end that can turn a grown man into a gibbering wreck either, does it?" Reaper said as Macha flicked her tail from side to side, mesmerizing him, and T'Shara cocked her hip slightly, drawing his eyes over and nearly making him go cock eyed as he tried to look at both at the same time.
"Amen to that," Jack said, running his eyes over his beloved life mate's shapely rear end.
"You know we can hear you, right?" Tik growled, turning her head and looking at her beloved male with seductive eyes that burned with love.
"You think I'd be ashamed to admire you in public, or to announce that my wife's beauty drives me crazy?" Jack said, smiling, and Tik purred happily before turning and pulling him into her.
"Not even for a second, my male, as I proudly say, not a day goes by that I do not count the seconds from when you get dressed to the point where I get to take that armor back off you and see my delights made flesh again?" she purred, and Jack nuzzled her, making her purr.
Suddenly Aiden found himself enveloped by both Yautja and Xenomorph flesh from front and back, "She gives voice to how both of us feel, our beloved one," T'Shara purred softly, and he felt Macha's tail snake around them both and the three embraced tightly.
Once they were on the ground at the huge space port Aiden and his team watched as the civilians were unloaded from the ships and bustled off by members of the Guardian Core to be taken care of.
Jack and Tik lead the Spirits and the others who were going to be joining them, like the police, through to a briefing room which was at the top of the tallest pyramid, which they reached by taking Jack and Tik's private shuttle and flying over the truly beautiful city far below them before flying in through a huge gate at the top of the pyramid and landing on a pad.
The conference room was like a large version of Camelot and its round table, "So, ok, let's bring you guys up to speed and you can do the same for us and then we can decide what needs to be done and how to do it together," Jack said to all the seated people.
The police went first, telling their story of what happened in the city, this was reinforced by the information that Macha provided from her time in the labs, the Spirits added their part, as did Paul Twenty and T'Kell.
Using holo tech, the Guardian Core had hooked in the Council, the Halkrath and Section 5 into the debriefing so that the leadership could be included in the after mission debrief and the decision as to what came next, this also allowed the Council to inform them that, while a great many of the Wayland Yutani heads had either been captured or killed, a few key members had fled and were currently on the run and being hunted by all the major special forces.
Jack stood up from his seat at the head of the table next to Tik, "We have bigger problems here, my esteemed colleagues, the Creeping Darkness, which we thought to be utterly defeated, managed to plant seeds that we were not aware of, we call these seeds Agents of Chaos, we believe it is they that are responsible for what happened here and you can be damn sure that they will strike again, and soon, they will want to further modify and test their weapon before they mass produce it, these agents are not to be taken lightly, a mixture of highly trained zealots and Nightmare Assassins, they are ruthless and they are deadly, they will not stop or rest until the universe as we know it burns and life as we know it is extinguished, leaving only darkness in its wake," Jack said.
A shadowed figure representing the council spoke, "We agree with you, Grand Patriarch Mason, the evidence we have seen is both compelling and disturbing, that's why, effective immediately, we are assigning Spirit Team Six to assist you with hunting these bastards down and wiping them out, they will give you all that you need," she said, and Jack nodded.
"We of the Halkrath agree and are sending a team of hunters to be lead by Huntress first Class T'Kell, they will assist you," the leader of the Halkrath said.
"We too agree and are doing the same, an assasin team is enroute to your location, once there they will attach themselves to Paul Twenty's command and they to will aid you," the leader of Section 5 said.
"Any news on a vaccine or cure?" the Council representative asked.
Zachee stood up, "Not yet, but I am working on it, but circumstances were not ideal to study the virus," she said.
"We are sending you a research team to assist you, Doctor Twisthorn," the Council representative said, and Zachee nodded her thanks.
"Queen Bee, your ship, the Ghost Shadow, has been instrumental so far but, for the mission ahead, it is inadequate..." the Council member began before Pegasus jumped up.
"That's bullshit! The Ghost Shadow is an outstanding girl! She has given more to this galaxy than any ship of her class!" he yelled, and Queen Bee put a hand on his arm and silence him.
"Ahem, of course, but in order for this mission something more fitting is required, that's why we're sending you the Sword of Silence," she said, and Pegasus's eyes flew open.
"T-T-The Sword of Silence!?" he exclaimed and the Council member's shadow nodded.
"It will be with you today, so, if you could please make arrangements for it to land," she said, and Jack nodded.
"We will," he said.
"The Sword of Silence," Pegasus repeated in utter amazement.
"What's the Sword of Silence?" Zachee asked Picasso quietly.
"A top secret experimental ship, it's a heavy cruiser but it has the power of a Dread naught class battle ship, it's supposed to be the last line of defence for the Council to deploy in extreme circumstances, it's the fastest, most powerful warship in the galaxy and it can be crewed by a single Spirit team, in fact, it can only be operated by a Spirit team, the entire thing is code locked so only we can operate it, but it's got everything on it, including a fully operational virology lab to deal with bio weapons threats," he said, and she looked amazed, then he leaned in close and, giving her horn a quick kiss, he whispered in her ear, "Means I get to see you in a sexy lab coat again," he said, and she shivered wonderfully at that, swishing her tail happily.
"We will personally accompany this mission as it is of great importance, we will assign a team of both our very best Hunters and Seekers to this mission to accompany Spirit Team Six and Myself, Tik eleth Mason, our son, Ryan, the Head of the Tamers, and our daughter, Sela eleth, the head of the Saviors will come with us as well, each bringing a team of their very best with them, together we will find this evil and we will stamp it out of our galaxy and together we will show these pauks what the forces of good and justice can really do!" Jack said, to applause from all.
Once the briefing was done Queen Bee gave the Spirits some time to rest up, Sela eleth quickly scooped up all the police officers and shuttled them off for training, both Xia and Shey had obtained special permission to bring their special ones with them on the mission, Mark had been offered a position in the Guardian Core in the Saviors so he was going with her to train, Leon had been granted special permission to remain with Shey, thanks to her begging Moodstone to put in a good word for her so that she wouldn't have to leave him on the planet just after she'd met him and before she could really get to know him, it worked and Leon was actually glad as he didn't wish to be separated from his 'scaly angel' as he put it.
Jack swooped in and grabbed Macha before they could head off to explore the city, "I'm sorry to steal your queen away from you but I need to train her as fast as possible," he said, and both T'Shara and Aiden looked at one another then nodded before both embracing their nervous queen between them.
"It's ok, our beauty queen, you're going to do just fine, first Xeno Dream Warrior, remember? But we'd love you even if you weren't, to us you'll always be our big beautiful beauty queen, our little love Xeno," Aiden said, stroking her mandibles before kissing each one in turn and then T'Shara turned her and did the same.
"Thank you so much, my loves, I will do my very best for you both," she said, hugging them both tightly and then she allowed Jack Mason to lead her away.
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Jack lead Macha to a simple room with a slab like bed in it and what looked like machines with lots of tiny needles on them, "Don't worry, we won't need those, you're friends, like the police who are joining us will, but you won't, you're in tip top shape," Jack said, patting the bed, she hopped up on it and wrung her hands.
"This is a closely guarded secret, young one, so what happens here stays here, understood?" he said, and she nodded.
"Good, ok, now lie down," Jack said, patting the bed and Macha did as she was told, looking up at the ceiling with its bright lights, "Ok, now, just relax, Macha, and let your mind go blank," he said, so she did, and, as she did, she felt him reaching out and entwining his mind with hers and then everything just vanished.
Macha found herself standing in an utterly white place, just white nothingness in every direction as far as the eye could see and just when she felt like she was going to panic a voice called out, "Welcome to Seeker training, young one, or, as the initiates call it, purgatory," Jack said suddenly from behind her, and she found herself staring at him in full silver battle armor.
"I can see why," she said, looking around at the nothingness.
Jack laughed softly, "Here you will learn to think, move, and fight like a Seeker, but not just that, like a Soul Knight, you'll learn to feel your opponent, to predict them, you're going to lean to be in their head more than they are, to see them for who they really are and you'll learn that sometimes it's not a sword or a claw that wins a battle, its the right word in the right ear at the right time, that's the truth of a Dream Warrior, now, defend yourself!" he said, and, with that, he began by launching himself at her and the fight truly began.
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"Holy shit, will you look at this place!" Pegasus yelled, bouncing all around the bridge like a bunny on a hot roof.
"I swear to Paya, if you say that one more time, my love, no sex for a damn week!" Queen Bee grumbled, and Pegasus grinned at her, his eyes sparkling.
"Like you could go a week without," he said, and she grumbled to herself, caught out on that one, but he did have a point, this ship was utterly badass, one part work of art, the other ultimate shit kicker.
A sleek, jet black dart with four retractable wings for inner atmospheric flight, it was a truly amazing beast, it wasn't huge but it wasn't meant to be, it was a high speed heavy cruiser, the teams from the Halkrath and Section 5 had arrived and were busy setting themselves up on board, eight in each team, both split half and half, half male half female, including their leaders so seven had been sent and, with their leaders that made eight, and the best of their very best at that.
Add on top of that who had come from the Guardian Core, there were four Tamers, including Ryan, on board, Four Saviors, including Sela, in fact, that Savior team was Sela eleth, Xia, Shey, and Mark, four Hunters, including Tik eleth, four Soul Knights, including Jack Mason and also newly knighted Lady Macha, as, apparently, according to their custom, all Soul Knights bore the honorific title Sir or Lady, but it was designed to show that they served the people of the clan, and four Seekers, including T'Sall.
During their time on the planet they'd met quite a few interesting people, even though it was a grand total of two days, Clan Mason truly did include everyone, including a race that none of them had met before called the Beledon, a race of walking talking Minotaurs, they actually looked like bulls at about 8ft tall with huge horns and made out of solid muscle, and the females were no different, just smaller horns that coiled instead of grew straight, apparently they'd been rescued from their dying world by Clan Mason during the early days of the Hybrid wars after the creeping Darkness consumed it, now the only place the race wished to live was with their saviors.
There were three of them on the team of the Gaurdian Core, two females and one male, one in the Soul Knights, one in the Tamers and the other in the Hunters, that one was the male, thankfully every bed on the ship was made to be Yautja sized so they weren't cramped.
But Queen Bee barely had time to make any kind of introduction before they got an emergency distress call from a space station fifty light years away, it wasa multi species station called Midnight Star, a stop off point between systems where people of all races came to refuel their ships or just to rest and stretch their legs, though people lived there too, ex-boomers, mainly guys who used to haul cargo and just couldn't let go of the life of living in space, the call said there was an unknown virus or alien entity tearing through the station, they'd locked it down to quarantine it but they were in dire need of help as people who died of the disease didn't stay dead.
The Sword of Silence dropped out of hyperspace right next to the station and instantly the intercom on the bridge lit up, "This is an automated warning, this station is under quarantine, no one is allowed to board or to leave, the stations defences are primed and any ship either attempting to leave or board will be fired upon," it said in a robotic female voice.
"Spike, hook in," Queen Bee said, and he gave her a thumbs up to say they were on, "This is Spirit team six, Council authorisation code seven seven six nine two five, passphrase Firefly," she said, there was a moment of silence before the voice came back on.
''Council special forces code accepted, ship is authorised to dock and depart at will," it said.
"Scan it," Queen Bee said, and Jack held up his hand and she looked at him.
"I only feel one life in there," he said.
"Me too, such fear, such pain, it is in great despair, Grand Patriarch, but it feels like one of ours," Macha said with a hiss from beside Aiden, who was holding her hand tightly after she'd reached for it.
Jack nodded, "I feel it too, young one," he said, then he turned to Queen Bee and she nodded.
"One innocent life is enough for me, saddle up, people, we're going in," she called over the intercom, and the team began preparing.
It was decided not to send everyone over as it would be pointless and risky and with the close quarters it could also be suicidal, so a small team of ten was assembled, two Spirits, two Hunters, two Section 5, Two Halkrath, one Soul Knight and one Seeker, under the command of Reaper, who was one of the two Spirits going, with T'Shara being the other.
Reaper lined his people up in the shuttle bay before the large sleek silver dart like shuttle, he looked up and down the line, "Alright, people, listen up, half of us have fought these fuckers before and believe me when I say they are no joke, they are undead, so only head shots or decapitation works, do not waste ammo on their bodies or you'll get yourselves and us killed, stick together and let's do this right, that person over there is counting on us to get them out of there, so let's do this by the numbers, understood?" he said in his best sergeant's voice, there was a cheer of affirmation and he gestured for them to board the shuttle.
The flight was short and tense as they approached the docking hatch of the huge disc shaped station that reminded Reaper of a huge roulette wheel, "Docking in ten seconds," he called back, piloting the shuttle towards the large extended docking clamps, every Spirit could pilot a shuttle if needed.
As soon as it locked on the whole team were on their feet, weapons at the ready and pointed towards the hatch, with a solid jolt the shuttle came to a stop in the darkened hanger bay, "Night vision," Reaper said, and there were faint clicks all around him as they flipped their goggles down and, with that, he punched open the hatch.
What greeted them could only be described as pure hell itself, a metal gangway had extended to reach the ship and beyond it the walkways glistened under the night vision in pure black and Reaper knew that it was blood instantly, that's when they began to see the bodies and body parts, bodies shot so full of holes that you couldn't tell what species they belonged to, limbs missing, guts torn out and strewn around like grim silly string, "My goddess," V'Len, a member of the Halkrath said from next to him as she looked around at the carnage.
"Tighten it up, huntress, it's only going to get worse, trust me," Reaper said, and she nodded at him, despite him not being able to see her face behind her hunting mask he knew her eyes would be as wide as dinner plates, he turned to Macha, "Lead the way, my beauty queen, you're on point," he said, and Macha nodded her armored head and the group tightened up behind her as they began to move through the station.
Reaper had been right, of course, the narrow corridors and close confines had made perfect choke points for this hellish virus to spread like wildfire, as people panicked and got jammed in a crush as they tried to escape the infected those at the rear fell prey to them and before long it moved up the crush line from one to the next to the next till there were none left, they found entire crowds of undead just standing blocking up entire corridors like silent sentinels of death, Reaper ordered his team not to fire unless they had no choice or it would bring the hordes down on them and they'd end up like them.
Bulkheads full of holes, blown lights, entire decompressed sections vented into space, they saw it all as they moved through the station, following Macha as her new gifts lead them like a psychic blood hound homing in on the life sign 'till eventually they found a locker room and this room just felt different from the others, there were bodies strewn absolutely everywhere, huge holes blown through them, they looked like they'd been hit by a fucking tornado made of bullets, then they found a gun, burned out and empty, then another and then another, each surrounded by a group of dead undead, there had to be about two hundred in here, all dead, the last thing they found was what appeared to be a body with its head utterly caved flat from the face back, turning its head into a flash shaped disc and laid next to it was a frying pan with a face print dented into it and the handle snapped.
"Pauk, and my cubs say I have a temper," Tik eleth's voice said through the comms, showing she was watching the feed as well.
"Holy shit, look at this place," Slek, one of the Beledon's said, looking around in utter shock and horror, she was the Tamer in the group and she turned her huge frame through a slow rotation to take in the extent of the damage.
"If he wasn't there with you I'd say this was Reaper's handy work, this the sort of shit he pulls when cornered," Spike said over the comms as he was watching the live feed from the helmet cams.
"Can it, Spike," Reaper said in a serious tone.
"Roger that, boss," he replied, and suddenly Reaper heard something and held up a hand, the whole team froze and, from one of the lockers came a muffled whimper, Reaper pointed and the team stacked up on either side, he counted down from three on his fingers and as he hit zero Macha tore the door off its hinges with her hands and, just in time, Reaper stepped forward and, with a tremendous clang of metal on metal, caught the cybernetic arm that flew out to punch Macha and pulled it.
The arm turned out to be connected to an eighteen year old human girl, though it was impossible to tell what color her skin or hair were as she was covered in gore from head to toe.
"Let me go, you zombie bastards! I'll kill every fucking one of you!" the girl screamed before Reaper yanked her around and locked the struggling girl up in a reverse bear hug, where she tried everything from head butting his metal helmet to kicking his metal leg.
"We look like zombies to you, kid?" he said, and the girl froze solid like she'd just gone eye to eye with Medusa and turned to stone.
"Y-Y-You're not undead?" she stammered, and Reaper shook his head.
"Not yet, kid, my name's Reaper and this is my team, we're here to rescue you," he said, and no sooner had his words sank through her skull the girl just sagged into a limp doll of flesh as her exhaustion and fear crashed in on her.
"Thank you, god, thank you, you heard me," she sobbed in his arms, and Reaper scooped the limp girl up into a bridal carry as she'd now clamped onto him and was refusing to let go and her cybernetic arm made it impossible to remove her.
"What's your name, kid?" Reaper asked in a soft voice, she didn't lift her face from the metal of his chest armor as if just looking at him would make him evaporate into smoke.
"R-R-Rose, Rose Thornwin," she said.
"Good to meet you, Rose Thornwin, now, let's get you out of here, shall we," he said, and she nodded into his armor.
"Yes, please, I want to go now," she said quietly.
"Reaper to Queen Bee, Package secure, we're RTB, there's nothing left here," he said,
"Roger that, Reaper, scans confirm that's the only survivor, head on back," she replied, and Reaper motioned with his head and the team formed a protective circle around him and his precious cargo as they headed back through the nightmare to the ship.