Disclaimer: I still have no claims to any of the predator movies. If it was not for the movies my story would not be here now.
No money gains here just pure dee fun and alot of wishing on my part.
Now on with the story. Enjoy!
Chapter Nine
Za'Ruc leans back and takes off his mask then he helps Alpha with a few questions himself for he has been through this with Poe years ago.
"Are assassins worse than Bad Bloods? How do you learn these skills? Can anyone be one? My favorite: Why kill my uncle?"
Alpha can only nod at the calmness of those questions.
"The assassin can be worse than Bad Bloods only when he lets his power go to his head. Some Arbitrators hire the assassin to deal with a few Bad Bloods. Most assassins think they are above the law and abuse the power their skills give them. When they cross that line in my opinion they are no better than the Bad Bloods they hunt. You learn the same way you learn all your skills from your instructors. You have to prove yourself. The ones, only who can endure the brutal tests and survive them, can continue the training. Killing my uncle is a die or be killed situation. It was either him or me." Za'Ruc answers.
"How did you know that I was going to ask those questions?" Alpha ask.
"Easy for those are the most common questions anyone would ask. If I was from a different clan wanting to know about another I would ask them. What else would you like to know?" Za'Ruc replies.
"Who else knows about you?" Alpha asks.
"Poe, Omega, Elder Guaxlec, and now you." Za'Ruc answers.
"I do not understand why so little. If I had those skills, everyone would know. Do you think I can learn the skills?" Alpha says with a puzzle look..
"Alpha, I am not proud of my sire. I am judge by my skills that I earn and the trophies I brought home. I am a warrior of many hunts, not an assassin. And I do not wish to be. You are young yet. If you prove worthy, I might consider it under one condition." Za'Ruc states calmly as he looks out the viewpanel.
"What condition?" Alpha question.
"That you use them for the Hunt and not for hire. For if I find out you ever use them for personal gain, I myself will personally hunt you down and kill you slowly and painfully. YOU WILL NOT ABUSE THE POWER. Do I make myself clear." Za'Ruc commands.
"Ye.ye.Yes. Do not become an assassin." Alpha stutters.
"Good. I may do it for I do not wish you to learn from the wrong ones." Za'Ruc says.
"What are you going to do with the female? You know the elders will not approve of her." Alpha asks.
"She is my servant. A living trophy. The elders will have nothing to say about it for I am entitle to her by means of my warrior status. Besides she has knowledge that we can learn from about oomans." Za'Ruc states.
"What can we possibly learn from her? They are weak and predictable. Will you use her in our training?" Alpha inquires.
"Alot. She can tell us about that sonic wave and any other weapon they may have that can affect us. We can learn about their fighting skills and what to look for in the next hunt. No. The other students may not understand that I do not wish for her to be hunted and killed." Za'Ruc answers looking towards his quarters.
"Go on to your quarters and think on what we talk about. Polish your trophies and rest. This was a good hunt. Be proud of your accomplishments." Za'Ruc praises
He watches Alpha go to his quarters with a light step daydreaming of assassin skills.
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After Za'Ruc leaves Tish in his quarter, Poe goes to the infirmary to get the needed items he needs to tend to her injuries. Especially his mini chemlab in order to do the necessary lab test to determine how much medicine he can give her without killing her.
Upon returning to Tish, he sees how shallow her breathing is. This is not a good sign for too slow of breathing means death and Poe will hate to give bad news to Za'Ruc right about now. So he quickly sets up his equipment and turns to the task of trying to save the ooman.
First of all he does an overall scan to see where her levels are and to see if there is any broken bones that need to be set. Once he does his inital scan, he compares it to the ones he did earlier on the planet, noting the difference. Then comes the cleaning of her wounds. Her wrists are raw and bleeding so he clean them with a witch hazel base cleanser, puts an antibiotic cream on and wraps them. He notes the bruises on her abdomen and gives her an injection of a hernabate solution in her lower abdomen that will cleanse her insides and prevent any possible births at this time. Slowly he rolls her onto her stomach in order to tend to the wounds on her back.
Seeing the damage to her back, she will have some more scars showing her worth. The smaller gashes will not scar just the deeper ones. Poe is worried when he puts the astringents on her and she does not react. Not even a moan. He gives her a mild dose of amytal, but he is afaid she has suffer nerve damage. He coats her back with an ointment that both prevents infections and seals it without the use of bandages that will stick to the wounds. Poe draws some blood from her to do some lab work to determine how much of a dose he can give her and what type of medicines he can give her now that she with them until her death.
After doing his tests he finds out that she can handle an eighth dose of most medicines. The main problem at the moment is the lose of blood she has suffer. He does not have any possible means to replace it without experimenting on her. He has no blood compatable to ooman DNA. If she dies, it will be from the blood lose.
Now to tell Za'Ruc the bad news of his female.
"Za'Ruc, you can come back now. I am finish and ready to give you the results." Poe tells Za'Ruc waiting for him to enter.
Za'Ruc enters and just stares for a moment to see if she is even breathing for she is so pale. Once the inital shock is over, he sees the lashes on her back and is drawn to them. He slowly touch each one and turns to Poe to get the report.
"How bad is it? Most of these will scar." Za'Ruc states.
"Yes. The larger ones will scar, but the smaller ones will fade in time. Her wrists will heal fine though. She has minor internal injuries that will heal along with the bruising. My main concern is the blood lose that she sustain. I need to get her blood replenish for her to get well, but we do not have a ready supply of ooman blood." Poe says.
"Is there anything you can give her that will enhance her own blood production... Is she... breeding?" Za'Ruc asks.
"No. I gave her some medication to counteract it. Yes there is something I can give her for her blood, but I wanted your okay before doing it. It is dangerous for I am not sure how much to give her without putting her body into shock. It has to be monitored closely for any reactions." Poe says.
"Then do it. I will help monitor her levels in shifts so we can rest...What are you not telling me?" Za'Ruc states.
"Physcially she will recover. It is her mental state that concerns me. She may not want to return to the living. She has to want to live so we need to work on that. The ooman mind is so feeble that I am not sure how it works." Poe answers.
"So what do we give her and how often do we do it?" Za'Ruc asks.
"It is a form of plasmanate. I will have to give it intravenously at a set rate so you will not have to administer any of it. You just have to watch for signs of distress, such as vomiting, flushing of the skin, chills or fever. If she has any of these symptoms, you must let me know immediately. Think you can handle it." Poe states.
"Think I can not handle such an easy task as watch a female sleep. I think I can notice if she changes colors. Ha, Ha. Poe, I wish to learn her language. Teach me. I need to be able to communicate with her anyways so why not start now." Za'Ruc teases.
"Go take a shower and return and I will start your lessons. You smell of oomans." Poe orders enjoying the only time he can order him around.
Za'Ruc leaves to get clean and Poe starts preparing Tish for the treatment. If anyone can bring her back, it will be Za'Ruc just by ordering her to do so. He has that way with everyone. Either you do or you don't. No middle ground with him.
Ten minutes later Za'Ruc enters his quarters ready to watch and learn. So begins the lessons of both grammar and medicine. Poe shows him what to look for at the site. He needs to check for redness and bubbling that means that they have to have another site to infuse the medicine and to slow down the rate of infusion.
Poe teaches Za'Ruc the basic key words he will need for now. How, feel, good, bad, pain, better, worse, thirsty, hungry, day, night, hot, cold and so on. Za'Ruc catches on real quick and sends Poe to his quarters to rest for he will take the first watch.
Poe leaves after he sees that Za'Ruc sets a chair by her so that he is able to see her site and is able to watch for any reactions to the medicine. Once he is settle, Poe leaves him to get the much needed rest he deserves.
Za'Ruc keeps a vigil on Tish. Thinking of ways to get her to come back to reality, he settles for the old trusted way. Talking about idle things helps sometimes. So he starts to talk. He has a deep rustic tenor tone to his voice. He knows that she will not be able to understand what he says, so he just talks about everything and anything. The soft purr, clicks, rumble, and chatters of his mandibles keep a rhythm. Every so often he will touch her to see if she responses.
Hours pass with little change. Tish levels stay stable and the plasmanate is working. She is not looking so pale and every now and then she moves. Poe enters the room listening to Za'Ruc say the words over and over again.
"You are getting better with the pronounciations. I think I need to give you some more words to build your vocabulary. How is she doing?" Poe says.
"She is stable. No signs of problems. So what are my new words. I am surprise that you have not ask about the chat I had with Alpha." Za'Ruc says.
"If it was anything like my talk, Alpha is trying to think of ways to prove himself. Need I say more. Now for your lesson. Chair, table, floor, door, light, bed, blanket, pillow, armor, weapons, Tish." Poe says.
"Tish. I already know that one." Za'Ruc suddenly states.
"Yes. But I just want to know if you were paying attention. She will recover for she has the spirit of a warrior. Now it is time for you to get some rest or else I will have to take care of you too. Now go." Poe orders.
Poe changes Tish dressing and checks on her back. All is healing well and her site is clear and intact. Poe draws some blood to see where the levels are. After doing his test, he finds that her blood is building up just another hour or so and she will be finish.
Poe does a test by shaking Tish's shoulder to see what reaction he gets. All he gets is a moan, but that is a start.
Alpha enters the quarters looking at Tish. "She is going to die right."
"No. Why?" Poe asks.
"Za'Ruc is in the galley drinking C'ntlip. Why else would he drink if not that the female is dying?" Alpha says.
"Stay here and watch Tish. If she does anything, get me immediately. I will be with Za'Ruc." Poe states as he heads to Za'Ruc.
"Female do not you dare die now. You still have a challenge to preform with me. Do not let them win." Alpha tells Tish after Poe leaves. So he watches her as Poe says to.
"What the Pauk! Explain now or Dtai'k-de." Poe states with his mandibles flared when he sees Za'Ruc with a tankard of C'ntlip.
"It is not what you think. Look. I have not taken a sip. I am too tire to fight you fairly. I have not been able to sleep since Tish has been injured. I thought maybe if I had a drink, I could relax enough to sleep. She just lays there and there is nothing I can do to change it. Why won't she wake up? Her levels are improve, but still nothing." Za'Ruc says calmly not even bothering to look at Poe.
"Good, for I really would hate to hurt you." Poe says seeing Za'Ruc turn his head to stare at him.
"Hurt me! I think you have been sneaking some yourself to think you could win." Za'Ruc laughs.
"I did not say that I will win, just hurt you. I check her blood and it almost to the norms for her. It is up to her if she wakes up. Come with me, I know a way you can sleep." Poe says as they leave together going back to Tish.
"Nothing happen I see since you are still you." Poe says. Alpha nods and leaves them.
"Now what?" Za'Ruc asks.
"Easy. You lay on your bed and sleep. This way you can rest knowing that she is safe." Poe tells Za'Ruc.
"Won't I hurt her?" Za'Ruc asks for he does not want to hurt her.
"No. You did not hurt her the last time. Maybe being next to her will make her want to come back. You know something familiar just might do the trick. And I know it will put you at ease knowing you are helping." Poe says easing his mind.
Za'Ruc crawls into bed gently so not to move Tish too much. Moments after getting in Za'Ruc falls asleep. Poe sits back and watches them both sleep. He continues to monitor Tish's levels.
Within the hour Tish starts to wake up. She feels stiff as a board. Slowly she takes inventory, she notice the bandage on her wrist then she sees the I.V. in her arm. She panics and bolts straight up. Surprising both Poe and Za'Ruc. She instantly grabs for it to rip it out, however she is grab from behind and is immobilize by a pair of arms. That is when she notices her state of dress or should I say undress. Tish feels the fur blanket rising up to cover her with a soft voice saying, "No...pain...Poe"
"Tish..I..take out..medicine..for blood only." Poe says looking Tish in the eyes.
"No experiments, right!" Tish counters.
"No..you..suffer..enough." Poe reassures.
"How..feel..good..bad?" Za'Ruc asks.
Upon hearing this Tish lets Poe remove the I.V. and leans up against Za'Ruc, but barely feels him. Tish trys to answers their questions. Just as she is about to answer, Tish's body starts to convulse.
"I am going to be sick. I feel like..." Tish says.
Za'Ruc picks Tish up and heads for the restroom just barely making it in time for Tish to be sick. Once she is finish, Tish asks, "Is there anyway I can get clean. I feel dirty."
As she speaks Za'Ruc draws her a bath and starts to undress for he is going to help her with her bath. Za'Ruc tells Poe to bring her some clothes and the necessary medicines needed for her wounds.
"What are you doing? You can not see me naked. Not right." Tish tries to tell Za'Ruc as she holds to fur closer around herself.
"You..mine...no..fear.." Za'Ruc answers lifting her chin up to see her eyes.
"Poe tell him that I am to ugly to look at. My scars are hideous." Tish pleads after he returns with the stuff.
"Tish..scars..badges..of..honor..not..ugly..he..leader." Poe says.
She agrees and lets Za'Ruc help her with her bath. Tish has never bathe with a man before and it feels both awkward and invigorating. Deep down Tish fears she is not worthy of this attention. After the bath they dry off and Za'Ruc applies the medicines and wraps her wrists and gets dress. Then he carries her back to his quarters, he puts her back to bed.
"I will get food." Za'Ruc says leaving Tish alone.
When Za'Ruc returns her language lessons start. "You..learn..words..Yautja (Pointing to himself) ooman (pointing at Tish) Dto (tree) Guan (night) Naxa (fruit) S'pke (fruit stew) Nan-ku (alive) Thei-de (death). Tish repeats them until she says them right.
Surprisingly Tish is a fast learner and manages to learn quite abit of words before getting tired. Za'Ruc leaves Tish sleeping and goes to join Poe and Alpha in the training room.
"How is the female?" Alpha asks.
"She is resting and do not worry she will be able to challenge you soon. She is learning our language also. So who is up to a little Kv'var?" Za'Ruc says waiting to see who wants to first. Alpha comes first and works out with Za'Ruc for a hour then Poe's turn.
This becomes the pattern for the next few days. Za'Ruc and Tish learns the language, Poe and Alpha keeping themselves busy with one thing or another with Za'Ruc joining them when Tish sleeps.
