Well, I'm afraid to say that this is the last chapter for this story. Thank you all for reading my story, I'm very happy to hear that your have enjoyed it! So sit back, relax and enjoy the last chapter!
Ptar'mus stood before Elder Mer'augh on the bridge of the ship, the smell of his angry musk was heavy in the air. The blooding hunt had been completed hours ago, only six of the eleven unbloods survived and they now displayed the blooding mark of the clan proudly on their foreheads. After Ptar'mus layed his friend to rest in the Burial Chamber on the ship—where all fallen warriors were placed until they were given a proper ceremony on the Homeworld—he promptly went before the Elder and told him what had happened on the planet.
"Ptar'mus this is a doomed fight! The ooman obviously lied to you, you know how deceitful they can be! "
The blind warrior bowed his head, his blank eyes remaining still, "He did not lie, Elder. His heart rate and breathing remained steady, his voice did not falter and I could not smell nervousness. The ooman will be there, possibly with witnesses to the fight...and so will I."
He heard Ticka mumble, "What's to say he or his witnesses won't become trigger happy?"
The blind male turned to his mate, "You and the other warriors I selected will make sure that does not happen."
Mer'augh growled, "And if he does not show, then what will you do?"
Ptar'mus nearly roared, "I will hunt him down to avenge Jin! I swore on my honour to kill him and may his gods help him if he runs away, for nothing in this universe will stop me from finding him!"
The Elder made a groan and shook his head again, pacing back and forth. He had the strongest urge to order Ptar'mus not to engage the ooman, but he could not ask his best warrior to break such a vow, it would dishonour him greatly. Seeing no way around it, Mer'augh turned and bowed.
"Then I wish you well warrior Ptar'mus. May Paya protect you."
Ptar'mus heard the uneasy beating of his heart and the unsteadiness of his voice, but he bowed in return.
"And also with you Elder."
Mer'augh growled again as he left the room, leaving Ticka and Ptar'mus alone on the Bridge. The tall female took his hand, feeling her gut clench.
"I am honoured to be one of you chosen to witnesses your battle, Ptar'mus," she turned to leave but couldn't as she felt her mate tighten his grip. The male turned to face her.
"You are afraid for me my mate, I can smell it."
Ticka sighed, she knew it was pointless to lie to her sensitive mate.
"Only slightly, I do not know why."
"Because I told you he was a great fighter, he did after all, kill Jin, "the blind male pulled her closer, "Ticka, if I don't come back, tell my children that I am very proud of them. They have become fine, strong warriors and I could not be more honoured to be their father."
"Ptar'mus don't talk like that, Paya has not set the future yet."
The male smiled, "I know, it is just a precaution. And I want you to know that you have been a good mate to me, I have never been so blessed."
Ticka smiled slightly, feeling a twinge of sadness well up inside her, "Your words honour me, Ptar'mus. I thank–you."
She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was in the room and she pulled her mate into a warm embrace. For a long time, the couple stayed like that.
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"Captain have you lost you're mind!" yelled Dr. Jensen.
Jason ignored him as he sharpened his katana. His vision was still blurry and his eyes still stung, but it would not prevent him from fighting. The scientist paced back and forth, continuing his rant.
"Seeing, let along killing one of those humanoids is very rare! Now I hear you're going to kill another one!"
Jason blew away dust and tested the blade's sharpness with his thumb, "That's right."
"You can't do this Captain, I order you not to engage him!"
Jason stood to his full height and stared down at him, "Your orders are worth shit! There's nothing you can say or do to stop me from fighting that bastard!" he nodded to the seven troops, the only ones left remaining from his team, "and if you even come within a hundred feet of our battle, my men will shoot."
Now the doctor was mad, "By what right do you have in killing this thing!"
"By my friend's right, you son of a bitch! Good day doctor!"
He turned his back to Dr. Jensen, and the short man was about to protest even further, when the Captain spoke.
"Oh wait, there's something I've forgot."
Jason wound up and layed a hard punch across the doctor's face that knocked off his glasses and sent him flying across the room. He hit the metal wall head first and slumped into unconsciousness, blood polling from his broken nose. The Captain shook his hand and grinned.
"Dammit that felt good!"
He heard his team snicker as they shouldered their rifles, it was amazing they still wanted to accompany him, but he was their superior. Jason turned and saluted the seven soldiers.
"I wish my whole team was still here to listen to this. But I just wanna say it has been a privilege commanding you. You were the finest team I'd ever had."
The team saluted back, and one soldier with a small mustache stepped up.
"It was our privilege to serve with you Captain, no one else could've pulled off all the missions we've been on. Be sure to kick that alien's ass for Cameron and all of us."
Jason smiled at the soldier as he sheathed his sword. Everyone knew there was a strong possibility he wouldn't return. Dr. Jensen had ranted that these, Predators as he called them, were born warriors; trained in the ways of hunting intelligent species like animals. The Captain surmised he would need all his skills as a ten year marine to win. But ten years, compared to a life time of training was not very comforting odds. Jason didn't care, any odd was worth avenging Cameron.
His select witnesses left the unconscious doctor and followed him outside, where they piled into the remaining rover. Before Jason stepped in, he squinted his eyes and took one last look at the beauty in front of him. The sun was once again blood red against an orange–yellow and blue sky, there was a fresh smell of greenery in the moist air and he could hear the morning birds of the planet sing their songs. Jason sighed, he never knew how wondrous the planet looked, to bad he didn't notice the nature before. Jason took in another deep breath and stepped into the rover, telling the driver the location of the battle.
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Three hunters, including Ticka stood behind Ptar'mus, dressed in full armour on the edge of a round clearing at the top of a hill. The Hard Meat were no where to be seen, mostly because they were not partial to early morning light, but the warriors had their senses on high. The blind male only wore his chest plate, gauntlets and loincloth and he held his h'sai–de tightly in his right hand. He raised his head and closed his eyes, breathing in the heavy, moist air and feeling the warm sun on his face. He opened his gray eyes once more, keeping his mind focussed for the battle ahead. He heard one of the warriors snort.
"I knew it, that ooman is not coming."
"He'll come," said Ptar'mus.
As if on cue, the male's ears picked up the roar of an armoured vehicle and his sandalled feet felt the continuous vibrations of large wheels running along the earth. The ATV pulled up to the edge of the field and the side door slid open with a loud creak. The three hunters stood ready for an attack, but Ptar'mus remained still. Jason and his armed soldiers stepped out of the vehicle, holding his sheathed weapon down as he faced the aliens. The Captain, wearing his muscle shirt, army pants and boots, narrowed his eyes at the alien group and grimaced.
"Jeeze, you sons of bitches look uglier up close!"
The team mumbled in agreement, but the Yautja remained silent. Ptar'mus growled and pointed his h'sai–de at him. Jason rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'."
The Captain made one last salute and his team made the gesture back, each of them nodding encouragement; however their eyes showed uncertainty. Jason gave a nod of thanks back, turned to his opponent, and pulled out his freshly sharpened katana. The blade sang in the air as Ptar'mus showed his long, deadly looking sword and shifted into a crouch. The gentle breeze suddenly halted and all sounds became still, as if mother nature anticipated the fierce battle. Jason inhaled deeply and closed his eyes to get himself centred into a deep, fighting mood.
"This is for you, Cameron," whispered Jason.
His eyes opened and he charged at the alien with a howl of power. Ptar'mus was slightly surprised at the speed from the ooman, but he quickly recovered and blocked the on coming swing with this sword; he could hear the hard breathing from the ooman and feel the immense pressure he put on the steel. The male felt his blood boil with exhilaration as he pushed the weapon out of the way and swung, making the blade come down on the ooman's back. Jason shifted his weight to regain his balance and brought his weapon up, deflecting the Yautja's blade with expertise. He went into a series of thrusts and sideways cuts with his katana, trying to penetrate the alien's defence, but every blow was blocked with the Predator's h'sai–de. Jason took a step back, hardly believing the alien in front of him was blind. How could he fight like that when he couldn't see? Maybe this was how the King Pin felt when he fought against the Dare Devil.
Ptar'mus heard the male pant and he sensed him step away. He underestimated the ooman male's strength and skill, but thankfully it didn't cost him his life. This time, Ptar'mus made an aggressive assault with a roar, shifting into a melee of stabs and strokes. Jason grunted, barley stopping the fast, hard hits from the massive Yautja and he couldn't block the last swing that came across his arm. Ptar'mus smelled fresh ooman blood, he heard the cry of pain and he took that split second of distraction to charge, but his onslaught was once again brought to a halt by an amazing parry from Jason. He and the alien fenced for a good few minutes, their footwork and balance matching with precise timing. From the spectator's view, it looked as if the two were performing a deadly dance. The team of marines shouted and cheered on their Captain, while the hunters remained ever silent. Jason gasped for breath as he quickly thought of another plan; if he couldn't over power the muscle bond alien, perhaps he could outmatch him in speed. The Captain deflected another oncoming swing, darted to the right, then ducked and rolled forward, at the same time slashing the Yautja across the calves.
Ptar'mus howled, feeling the katana slice through the muscle and he staggered for a few moments before coming back to reality. The enraged hunter's ears hurt from the jeers and taunts of the ooman witnesses, but he forced the voices out as he brought up his sword, proceeding to evade every offensive strike, until he was given a chance to cut the marine across the middle. Jason screamed and glance at the deep cut over his stomach, but that was all the time he got when the alien's weapon came down again. Jason ignored his anguish and dodged and parried as best he could. Ptar'mus shoved away the burning agony in his legs, feeling warm blood pour down to his heels and make his feet slick in his sandals. The blind warrior used his hearing to locate the position of his opponent's blade; a slight ring went through the air and Ptar'mus caught the sword inches before his face, held it, then shifted his weight to one foot and kicked out. The marine caught the blow in the chest and he went hurtling into the dirt. Ptar'mus charged to make the final blow, but Jason miraculously recovered, stood up on his knees and swung out with his katana. Ptar'mus heard the weapon cut through the air, but he couldn't move away in time. The katana slashed across his neck and the blind male gurgled, nearly falling to his knees as he turned his back to Jason. The Captain got to his feet and sprinted towards the Yautja with an animalistic roar, blinded by rage and saddness. Ptar'mus felt the tremors from the ooman male's boots and as he spat out blood, the warrior faced his opponent fearlessly. Jason reared and put all his strength into the swing, but Ptar'mus batted the blade to one side, took a step forward and pushed the h'sai–de up. The marine lost his breath and his eyes widened with shock, feeling the cold steel of the weapon skewer him right through the middle. Ptar'mus shoved hard, causing the ooman to cry out, slide off the sword and fall to the ground. Blood pooled out of Jason's mouth and wound while he glared at the Yautja before losing consciousness.
"Lucky...shot...asshole..."
The Captain felt his whole body lose strength and become very cold in the hot weather. He rolled to his back and looked up to see blurry clouds glide along a blue sky. 'I'm sorry Cameron, I tried my best...' It was the last thought Jason had before his vision blackened. The soldiers stood deathly quiet, staring at their fallen Captain in denial; one of them even dropped his gun and fell to his knees. The Yautja had their heads bowed in respect, for the ooman male had fought a glorious, honourable battle.
Ptar'mus straightened himself to roar out his victory, but suddenly felt dizzy. He tried to breathe in and choked on liquid. His hand flew to his mouth and the blind male felt and smelled blood on his palm. Ptar'mus's other hand dropped his h'sai–de and flew to his neck, where he felt the deep cut inflected by the ooman. Without warning, it was as if the male's strength had been sapped out of him and he fell to one knee. He heard both ooman and Yautja gasp as he raised his head.
Ptar'mus squeezed his eyes shut to fight a painful cough that was building up, when he opened his eyes, he suddenly saw dark shadowy images begin to form into visions of colour. He looked around deliriously and he opened his eyes wider, not believing what he was...seeing. Was this some kind of dream? A hallucination? No, it was very real; for the first time in his long life, Ptar'mus beheld the infrared sight of his kind. The warrior didn't care how such a miracle came to be, all he wanted was to enjoy this new feeling. He saw the blue, fuzzy shapes of the foliage and the dazzling red–orange signatures of the oomans, watching in awe at how the colours changed with the different temperatures of body heat. The male looked to his hands and saw that they were slowly getting darker in colour; how fascinating! Lastly, he turned to his fellow warriors. Ticka had pulled her mask off and she was watching her mate with concern. Ptar'mus smiled as he gazed his mate for the first time. He let his eyes wonder over her entire body and face, forcing himself to memorise every feature before he lost all strength to stay up. Ticka noticed him smiling at her and she gave a questioning look. The male could only stare lovingly at his life mate.
"Beautiful..." he managed to whisper.
With a final sigh, his colourful world went black, his heartbeat slowed to a stop and the warrior fell softly onto the grassy field; the sounds of nature once again beginning their gentle chorus.
THE END
By Golden Wind
August 2005
That's all folks, my first story completed. Wow, it feels weird not having to write any more, but the accomplishment feels great! Thank you everyone for reading my story and sending me reviews, they mean a lot! I'll bid you good bye for now, and thanks again!