"Glass, they think coloured glass is valuable?"
"Erm," Hermione ventures, "I don't think it's glass that's valuable. I remember someone using a hammer to prove that sapphires were the real thing. Oh, I've got a drink with me. They come in glass bottles. This is Coke Cola."
Arry takes the bottle of coke and breaks the top off with a claw, "Kinda fragile isn't it? How's it supposed to stand up to micrometeorite impacts?"
"I guess, dad did walk through the back door once. He's got a massive scar he likes to say was from a tiger."
"Anyway, let's see what this is made from. Oh, hey there's a lot of sucrose in this drink, and some poison too, don't let Krizror drink any till she's older, it might kill her. Hmm, Silicon Dioxide, no discernible structure. Absolutely useless, no wonder that sapphire is so valuable. Probably a chip off of something important."
"Actually, they're found in the ground and mined out. I think they're valuable because we can't just make them."
Arry stares at Hermione like she's grown another head, "Huh? You mine it? Why? I could understand if it was something useful, but Aluminium Oxide?"
"I don't know, I'm only 11. I just know they do."
"Oh, yeah, humans grow slower than we do don't they."
"Arry, am I going to grow up quickly too?"
"What? Huh, probably not. The other two are still growing, and they've been with me for a couple of cycles."
"Aww, I wanted people to treat me like a grown up."
"Don't worry about it. So, I'm going to print out some coloured glass into a small box or something, do you want me to make you one while I'm at it?"
"A new compact mirror would be nice. Mine keep breaking under my books."
"That's another thing I don't understand, why books? Why not computers like this, or share information like we do?"
"So far as I know, we don't have any computers that could do that and be portable."
"I'm sure we've got some in the junk that pirates leave around, I'd give you a Yautja one, but they take minimalism to an extreme with their computers. Probably the small nuke they carry around with them taking up too much space."
"Nuke?"
"What, oh yes. All Yautja hunters carry a nuke with them. As they are often involved in clearing out Xenomorph nests, it's a prudent safety precaution. My children have all learnt to disarm them first, then deal with their weapons."
"How many have you had to face?"
"Oh, a hunting party every 30 rest days or so, they're actually… Oh wait, here they are. Let's get you to the laying room, as I don't want you to get caught up in this until you've got the means to defend yourself. Luna's also there so she needs defending."
Arry breaks into a jog and Hermione struggles to keep up, that is until Arry just changes form mid stride and throws her on her back.
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Arry paces backwards and forwards in front of a suspended Yautja hunter, "Why is it always the children that get here first?"
"I made my way here unopposed, I passed up the opportunity to gain lesser honour for the honour of taking out the Queen."
"Yeah, that would do it, well you're the first one in a couple of cycles that didn't just attack as soon as they saw me."
"You have an Ooman, I might have hurt her and lost the chance to take her for my breeding stock."
Arry pulls open his loin covering, "Oh, you're male! I wanted to see what would happen if I adopt a male. I don't think you'll be male for long though, as I've not found any drones yet."
"Let me down and fight honourably!"
Arry cocks her head, "I'm using my natural abilities, and you're using weapons. I think you'll find I'm the one fighting honourably here."
At the back of the room, Hermione bites her hand to keep from shouting. She was going to ask for leniency until he said she'd become a breeding stock. She's not cattle for crying out loud.
Arry looks over her shoulder, "Oh, I forgot you don't know. Yautja are all Hunters, with the capital H. Earth is considered to be a Yautja hunting reserve, different clans visit every 50-60 cycles, sometimes more often, sometimes less. But many clans don't want to lose the challenge of fighting a species as inventive as you, so they kidnap a few every time they visit. They also use them for stress relief, whatever that is."
"That's… Horrible. How could they do that?"
Arry shrugs, "You're not Yautja, so they don't have to go through the social rituals to force you into being a brood mother. I've sent an instruction to my children that any unbloodied should be brought here alive if possible. I'll let T'o-Ba'sall decide their fates."
The male struggles vainly, "That abomination needs to die, she's betrayed her clan and her species."
"See, here's the thing he's not saying, T'o-Ba'sall had the choice of becoming a bloodied hunter too young, or becoming a brood mare forever. Like this one she made her way straight here to attack me, though in her case it was because having the skull of a queen is an undeniable honour that can't be put down to luck."
Hermione nods and then says, "Wait, how comes I can understand you, you haven't changed back yet."
"It's the seed working, in another few ticks it will be completely gone and part of you. Language is the simplest aspect of the Hive to pick up so that's what you picked up first. What's interesting is that the male here hasn't considered the implications of a Xenomorph being able to speak, let alone speak Yautja."
The male stills, and his eyes seek out the trophy wall, "Pauk, you've been listening to us!"
"There is that implication too however we weren't. I was thinking more along the lines of it takes actual intelligence to use language. And actual intelligence means the ability to plan beyond basic ambushes and pack tactics."
A too young female appears in a pillar of fire, with a worker, her legs glued together with resin, and the stump of one hand sealed to prevent her bleeding out. The other hand is encased in resin. The worker runs out of the laying chamber as quickly as it arrived.
"Pauk!" Arry swears, "T'o-Ba'sall stop having fun and get here now. I need you to confirm clan markings."
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T'o-Ba'sall looks down at the unbloodied female, the memories that Minva and Pomona have added to the hive making her emotions roil even more than they would normally. "She is of the same clan that claimed me, I also see an erased clan marking."
Arry flows down into her more human appearance as she crouches down next to her, "I see, and am I right that she's too young?"
T'o-Ba'sall can only nod.
"Youngling, can you tell me why you are on this hunt when you should still be in your creche learning your ways?"
The female glances at the male suspended in mid-air and shakes her head.
An older female appears in a pillar of fire, in much the same condition as this one. A moment later, another male appears, also older.
"T'o-Ba'sall I leave their judgment in your hands, I need to take this young one to have her hand reattached. Come Hermione, you may as well see this, rather than watch what T'o-Ba'sall is going to do."
Once Arry and the new ooman Ermione have left, T'o-Ba'sall turns back to the three captives. "You have all shown yourselves to be without honour. A youngling like that has no place on a hunt, and yet you did not speak up against her. The males I understand, they just want the chance for a Breeding female if no chiva are available at the appropriate age. But what of you? Should you not have defended her right to be a full member of the clan, and not be forced into the path of failure?"
The older female spits, "She had h'chak when she was found, her kin had no yin'tekai so she need to show she not pyode."
"Am I pyode?"
"M-di."
"I thought so, I was like her. All younglings are pyode, that's why they're younglings. R'ka will become her family because you are without honour. She will have the chance at chiva, R'ka or not, when she's old enough to choose. I am going to show you mercy, you will all return home later. However, I am going to remove your tusks, so that you have the same mercy she was shown."
All three of them start to struggle, and the female says, "You can't do that, we'll be Eta."
"Isn't that what would have happened to her? Never mind, they'll certainly have the space for you, as my queen has just found out that there are others that were captured at the same time. One of whom has already been declared Eta for not doing her chiva."
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T'o-Ba'sall stalks across the ceiling of the clan ship, while the Yautja on console tries to raise the hunting craft again. For one of her hive, getting aboard was as simple as finding a window to look through. Slowly she makes her way to the building shared by all the orphans, those who have been taken when their family were declared bad bloods, or those whose family died during a hunt. There may be a few more joining the house soon. As she teleports through a window, she makes her way around the bunks and training area, noting with disgust that there are no males with markings from another clan. Idly she wonders what the Adjudicators would make of this. Fortunately, from the 20 or so younglings, only three have the erased markings of another clan. Silently, when they leave the group and are out of sight for even a few seconds, she captures each one, and returns them to her hive in a flash of fire.
Leaving the building the same way she arrived, she makes her way to the Eta quarters. Where those who failed their chiva's, or refused to take them, reside. There she finds a place to relax until the rest period ends, and the Eta return to take their rest at the beginning of the next rest period. While resting she records a message for an Adjudicator, she'll send it just before she leaves.
"Adjudicator, forgive me for sending a recording. However, my concern is for the life and honour of my charges. Each one of the Yautja that I have taken from the Dark Blade Clan today were denied their chiva's or forced to take them so early they could not succeed. I and my R'ka will give them family and a chance to earn their own honour, rather than having it stolen from them. Feel free to trace this message, as it will lead you straight to the clan ship I'm recording it on. I'm sure their records will show my name somewhere, I am T'o-Ba'sall formerly of Dark Blade, formerly of Jungle Hunter Clan."
Soon enough, the Eta are gathered in the social room. Releasing her grip on the ceiling, she drops silently to the floor and spits resin around the main door. It won't prevent them from leaving, just delay them until she's finished with her tasks. As she enters the communal room, she spots three tuskless Yautja. They look at her, anger in their eyes, before rushing her. After a short, but frenetic fight, T'o-Ba'sall is victorious and all three of them are lying on the floor bloodied, but alive.
Paying the three of them no mind, she turns her gaze to the shamed Yautja in the room, "I am T'o-Ba'sall and I could have been like you. Instead, I chose to take my chiva early. I was then sent on a suicide mission to take on a Queen with a small hive. I didn't know it at the time, but she has been attacked regularly for years, and never once been defeated. I was lucky, I made my way directly to her chamber, as I knew only the most prestigious of trophies would secure my future. She didn't kill me. She doesn't kill children. Instead she gave me a gift. At the time I thought it was a punishment from the gods, now I see it as it truly is. These three accompanied another youngling that should have still been training for her chiva. Though, she, like I, was taken from another clan because her family were declared bad bloods. My queen has decided that all those who were denied their chiva should be given the opportunity to join our family. Ne'stbei said that Ce'jaun was taken just before she chose to leave early, having no opportunity to undertake chiva until after her name day."
"I am Ce'jaun, is Ne'stbei safe?"
"She is, she was still having her hand reattached when I left."
A male calls, "How do we know this isn't a trick?"
T'o-Ba'sall laughs, "You don't, but these three didn't have the tusks to stand up for a youngling, so I took them from them. I will be leaving in 2 ticks. Any of you that wish to come with me can hold my tail. Where is your communication hub?"
Ce'jaun points to a console in the wall.
"Thank you."
For those ticks, T'o-Ba'sall busies herself looking up as many Arbitrators as she can and attaching their details to her message. Ce'jaun was the first one to take hold, but another 4 also have the courage to do so. Two of which are also from other clans originally. What surprises her, is when the Female from the ship crawls over and takes hold, and a male does too. She feels him look at one of the other two, ah, he's mated then.
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Hermione looks up from her conversation with Ne'stbei as T'o-Ba'sall reappears in the infirmary again. The surprising part being how many chose to accompany her. Arry was already talking to the three younglings that were kidnapped. Turning back to Ne'stbei, she sees her smile at one of the people that just arrived, she blinks a couple of times, how does she know that's a smile?
"Hey, Ne'stbei, how are you feeling about the process now?"
"It's disquieting, I should be dead or glued to a wall waiting to die. R'ka shouldn't save you then patch you up."
"R'ka?"
"Our word for these creatures, means hard meat."
"Do you think you could wear a face hugger without panicking so that those three can see it doesn't hurt?" Hermione indicates the three younglings.
"Why do you ask so softly?"
"I think it's a human thing, my mother does it too."
"Ooman. I believe that I am ready. I was ready to face my death for my chiva, so facing this for my death seems a small thing."
Hermione raises her voice, "Arry, would you get a face hugger for Ne'stbei?"
Arry looks up, "Really? That was quick."
"I was able to describe my experience with it. I think it made it easier to swallow."
Arry frowns, "I don't see how it made it easier to swallow. It should make it easier to swallow but Ne'stbei hasn't had one yet."
"It's an English expression, it means easier to accept."
Arry disappears with a pop and reappears just as quickly, a face hugger wrapped around her hand. Hermione stands up and walks over, "May I take it?"
With a curious look, Arry allows it to transfer over and wrap around Hermione's hand. Hermione then walks back to Ne'stbei, "This is the way that Arry did it for me a few hours ago. When you're sure, take it in both hands then bring it up to your face. It will jump at you, just remember, if you try to bite it, or pull it off with your hands, it will knock you out until it's finished."
Ne'stbei confidently takes the face hugger, and then discovers that there is a vast difference between choosing and doing. Everything she's ever been taught tells her that this is a death sentence. A painful death sentence. Yet across from here sits a soft meat that wouldn't harm a pjaque if she was starving, and she's already done it. Not only that, but she was able to give advice about it.
"Don't worry, it took me a long time to lift it up too."
How did she know what she was thinking?
"Because it's written all over your face, and I had the same thoughts."
Closing her eyes, she enters meditation, and then, with her thoughts centred, lifts her hands to her face. When it leaves her hands she almost tries to rip it off, but gentle hands take hold of her own and she opens her eyes and stares at Hermione. She could rip her arms off accidentally, and she's just smiling at her.
"See, it's not so hard is it. It's not strangling you, or clutching your head too tightly. Here, I've got a mirror, have a look."
She holds up something that absorbs heat, and is absolutely useless for her to see her reflection in. Fortunately, Arry calls over, "Hermione, they can't see visible light naturally, they see heat sources."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. You must think I'm so insensitive."
Of course, now that she can't reply, the ooman has decided to retell her life story. Under the watchful eyes of every other Yautja in the room, Ne'stbei resigns herself to how ever long it's going to take this process to finish.
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Henry hands Vivian a coffee, "How's your patient doing?"
"Better, he's more able to order his thoughts to communicate what he wants to say. It turns out that fire chicken is phoenix, and it appears that Arry took Luna."
"Is it me, or did that girl behave more like she'd read about how a girl behaves and tried to do it, rather than growing up."
"It's not you. But then again, she does have a tail, so it could well be that's exactly what she did. That's beside the point, I think he's going to need regular counselling, to help him come to terms with the death of his wife, Pandora. That's why he kept saying hope left the box. When they get back. If Hermione had a good time, I'm going to ask if Arry can look after her for another week so that we can put Mr Lovegood up in our spare room."
"That bad?"
"I think he might be suicidal, and I want to get him on some Prozac and keep the anti-psychotics going for a week while we have daily chats. If we can find out if Luna is ok, then that will help. Especially if we can determine a timeline for her to see him again, it will give him a target to work towards."