INTSTM 4
R'ka-thwei had been dwelling in the cave that she now considered to be her home for more than six full moons. The cave still retained a somewhat primitive aspect to it, even though the Great Yautja had spent countless hours modifying various features of the cave. The entirety of the floor was now covered in hides and furs, and an exhaust vent had been carved, smashed, and, thanks to her plasma caster, blasted through the rock to the outside of the cliff so that she was able to keep a fire in the chamber that contained her bathing pool. The rock that composed the pool had been carefully smoothed so that she could readily relax in it to either bathe or soak as she chose. The shallow fur lined pit that she used as her bed was now so thick with furs, that she couldn't tell that the whole thing was based on solid rock. The carving she had made of The Dark Hunter was still incomplete, but was easily recognizable as to who and what it was intended to be. The Great Yautja knew that she had reached the limits of her skill in making the carving, and though it wasn't quite finished and remained somewhat primitive in appearance, she was still very pleased with the overall result.
She could look around her home and see the various th'syra that adorned her walls. Every single spot that she'd made to hold a skull was filled with a trophy that she could be proud of. The only things that were missing were the five skulls from her Chiva. Trophies that could never be recovered or replaced.
R'ka-thwei's mandibles tightened even as her eyes began to burn from angry tears as she recalled that horrifically fateful day in the chamber of the Council of Arbitrators. She remembered how angry the Matriarch of the Clan that had provided transport had been, and how that same Matriarch had insisted on full punishment for the lack of payment. She recalled being forced to watch helplessly as that Matriarch had been granted the right to smash, break, and destroy every last trophy that she'd fought so hard to claim during her Chiva. The heart rending pain of having been taken straight from the ship to the Council Chamber where she had learned of her Bearer's death had caused tears to begin flowing down her face. She was immediately stripped of every trophy she'd claimed, and sentenced to permanent exile on the game world. The last and final blow was when she had dared to inquire after the fate of the one who had killed her Bearer, and she was told that the investigation had proven inconclusive, and that the perpetrator would forever remain unknown.
As the heart wrenching grief and anger flowed through her mind as fresh as the day it had occurred, she knew that she couldn't sit still. She had to work off some of her frustration. She quickly donned the scaled armor she had made from the hides of a Spike Hound, her mask, along with her wrist blades, and then grabbing her Ki'its-pa, she headed out to find something she could kill.
Kwei-kv'var-de was well pleased with the results of his latest hunt. The unknown creature that he was carrying back to his ship was something that he'd never heard of before. Unknown and extremely deadly, the beast had proven to be a true challenge. Venom glands in the mouth, poisoned claws, and even a toxic coating on the sharp spikes of the creature were all things that he'd had to struggle to avoid while fighting the beast. In the end, he had finally won, although he knew that his victory had been a very near thing. Having been raked by the claws of the creature had nearly proven to be his death. Even as he struck that final killing blow, he had known that something was wrong. His moves were becoming sluggish, his vision was blurred, and even his coordination was off. It had taken every last drop of healing serum in his trauma kit to counter the poison that had been running rampant though his body, but he had survived. Not only had he survived, but he had proven the victor as well.
The carcass was undoubtedly heavy, and at seven nok in height, even his great strength was having a bit of difficulty in hauling the massive burden of his kill. He stopped for a brief moment to adjust the load on his shoulder, and when he did, he could have sworn that he heard… something. He looked around carefully, and cycled through every visual mode in his mask, but he didn't see anything that might be considered any type of cause for alarm. He knew that this world was full of danger, but it was also filled with the potential for great honor as well.
The Game World had been meticulously seeded with literally thousands of different creatures that would prove to be a worthy challenge for a Blooded Yautja Warrior. Even though there was no Hard Meat to be hunted on this planet, there was a plethora of other prey that could prove to be almost as dangerous and sometimes even more of a challenge. It was that challenge that he had come here for. He was experienced enough, and had sought out advice from other Hunters who had been here, that he had taken some precautions for his own safety. Doing things like hiding several sets of awu'asa and half a dozen trauma kits in the holding cell of the Clan ship he had come here in. He had even locked out the controls of the ship, so that it could not function for anyone else without his living DNA, and his voluntary cooperation. Since the ship belonged to his Clan and not to him personally, there was no way that he was going to allow it to be stolen.
He was just about to walk up the ramp of the ship, when his entire field of vision exploded in a swirling sea of brilliant and sparkling stars. He knew that he'd fallen to the ground, and that he was completely helpless while his armor and weapons were stripped from his body. He struggled valiantly against the looming darkness that threatened to engulf him, and though he was successful in that, he had been unable to prevent his assailants from trussing him up like a piece of game that had already been killed. He retained enough presence of mind to carefully note the direction that he was being carried in, because as long as he was alive, he intended to find someway to escape from those who had struck him from behind like cowards. His assailants moved swiftly at a run, and though he was unable to see anything except for the legs of the one that carried him, he knew beyond any doubt that he was being carried by one of those known as a 'Black Yautja'.
The Black Yautja were something that he had been told of. Their history and even their origins were known to him. He had been told how, in an age long forgotten, that a large faction of Yautja Warriors had forsaken the ways of normal Yautja, and left the known regions of space. He'd been told how; they had altered their very DNA to make themselves larger, stronger, faster, and supposedly even smarter than their now smaller brethren. They had chosen to remake themselves, because they wanted to become better and greater than any possible prey could hope to be. This was something that no true Yautja would dare to consider now. Hunting prey was supposed to be a challenge! It was supposed to be difficult and life threatening! How else could it be assured that only those Warriors who were truly worthy would survive? He had heard that such arguments had been tried on those who had left, but that such reasoning had also been ignored.
Kwei-kv'var-de remained silent even as he was tied to a large pole in the ground with his hands secured firmly above his head, while his feet were also tied to the pole. His feet could barely touch the ground, and there was no way that he could use them to support his weight. He knew that sooner or later, his strength would begin to play out, and that then, merely breathing would become a rather difficult task. He looked around quickly to see that he had been captured by a group of four Black Yautja, and that he'd been brought back to their camp to be trussed up like a live trophy.
His mandibles spread in anger when he spotted a second and already occupied pole setup that held… a female? His jaw fell open in stark disbelief at the dishonor that he was now a witness to. He couldn't help but stare in rude and stunned silence at the female who had been completely stripped of all clothing, and was now tied naked to a set of poles. She was positioned backwards over one pair of poles with a crossbar, so that she was face up, but her hands were tied to the poles that supported the cross member. Her feet were tied separately to two other poles that had obviously been driven deep in the ground to be able to hold the female captive. When he finally looked up at the face of the female who was so obviously as helpless as he was, he received an even greater shock. She was also a Black Yautja! Shocked to the core of his being, he began to look around this little camp and take note of everything he could.
He watched in studious silence as one of the males left for some reason or other, but when a second male approached the unconscious female and began slapping her into wakefulness, he could maintain his silence no longer.
"What's wrong coward? Do you not have the honor to face her on equal terms?" He challenged the male who had struck the female until she gave voice to protest.
"Honor is only for those who are too stupid or too weak to take that which they want! We of the Roaring Sky Clan will take whatever we want and by whatever means we want, and there is nothing you can do to stop us!" The male promptly retorted with a sneer as he turned towards him.
"Only cowards and bad bloods behave in such a fashion! Which are you?" Kwei-kv'var-de demanded in angry disgust.
The male laughed as he approached him. "We are the ones who hold you prisoner. We are the ones who hold her prisoner. And it was my elder brother who planned all of this. We will take this female by force and fill her with our seed. Since she has yet to enter her first breeding season, the hormones from our seed will cause her body to change so that she can never get with a pup, but she will begin to constantly crave to be bred; she will need that constant breeding, and we will keep her as a pauk slave for the remainder of her life. Long have we searched this world to find her after her exile here, and now that we have her, we will keep her!"
"Ell-osde' Pauk! Pauk-de S'yuit-de Tarei'hasan!" Kwei-kv'var-de bellowed in rage.
The male Black Yautja laughed even louder at being cursed and called a pathetic, and unworthy opponent. "This from one who is helpless to do anything against us? Do you believe that we will not kill you slowly? Believe it! Because we will! Long have my brothers planned the capture of this female, and long have we all planned for her to be placed on this world. We will make you watch as we force her into to becoming our pauk slave, and there… is… nothing… you… can… do… about… it!"
Each of the last seven words had been punctuated by the blow of a fist to his abdomen. His body and even his head rocked from the sheer force of each impact. But even as helpless as he was, his honor would not allow these males to use a female in such a way. He would die first! Further speech was made impossible by the continuing blows and strikes of the Black Yautja, which were kept up until he lost consciousness.
Kwei-kv'var-de opened his eyes to see that it was nearing midday. He knew that he had remained unconscious for a very long time because it had been nearing nightfall when he'd been captured. His ribs and stomach ached abominably where the male had beaten him, but he knew from the feeling that nothing had been broken by the beating.
'They must want to try to break me first. But that will never happen! I will watch, and I will wait. When the moment is right, then I will be free, and I will send these bad blood cowards to Cetanu for judgment!" Kwei-kv'var-de thought fervently. He only hoped that he could somehow manage to free himself before he became too weak to effectively fight these Black Yautja who were already much stronger than he was.
When the three males present gathered their weapons and left the camp, he turned his attention to the female who was a prisoner along with him.
"I am named Kwei-kv'var-de by my Bearer. I am of the Broken Knife Clan. If I were able, I would greet you properly in honor." He said by way of introduction.
"Greetings, Kwei-kv'var-de. I am named R'ka-thwei by my Bearer. I had not earned a Clan before my exile, so I don't have one to name." R'ka-thwei replied sadly before she hung her head back down.
"Why would you need to 'earn' a Clan?" He asked in confusion.
"Only those who are born to the higher ranked females are assured a place within the Clan that they are born to. Everyone else must earn such a position. Is it not that way among your kind?" R'ka-thwei asked now showing her own confusion in turn.
"Of course not! If one is born into a Clan, then they are a part of that Clan until they die, are exiled, banished from the Clan, or accepted into a more prominent Clan by being taken as a lifemate. The Clan is forever! It is what binds Yautja together as one. There are many bloodlines in each Clan, but all within that Clan are considered to be as siblings." Kwei-kv'var-de answered forcefully.
R'ka-thwei gaped at the much smaller Yautja in stark disbelief. For the past nineteen generations, her line had struggled to earn a place or position within various Clans, and though many had succeeded, neither her Bearer nor she had been able to accomplish that feat. But apparently the smaller Yautja did things much differently! It was a mind boggling concept to even consider. She gave a firm shake of her head to clear such thoughts from her mind before she turned her head to study the smaller male.
Bound to a pole and just as much a prisoner as she was, she could still see that although this male was full grown, he was not quite half her height. He was maybe seven nok tall, and perhaps a fourth of her weight. This was the first time that she had ever seen one of the smaller Yautja, so she took the time to look the male over. She was forced to hold her head up at an awkward angle to see the male, and she was surprised to note that that he didn't have a high domed forehead like a Great Yautja. Instead his forehead was a flat slope that went from just above his eyes to sweep upwards towards the back of his head. The other thing that she noticed was that his lower mandibles weren't as long or prominent as hers were.
"Clans do not matter now. They will leave us tied and starved until we are too weak and exhausted to resist them. Then, they will begin to torture you, before they finally kill you, and they will do much worse to me. What they plan on doing to me will not only alter my body but destroy my mind so that I won't want or even care for anything except constant fruitless breeding." She answered with terror obvious in her voice.
"They only plan such things because they have no honor!" Kwei-kv'var-de retorted angrily.
"No one who comes to this world ever has any honor. Those who are exiled here have been stripped of it, and those who hunt here have forsaken it. Honor has never had a place on this world, and only The Dark Hunter can regard this planet with any esteem." R'ka-thwei answered disgustedly.
"How did you come to be here?" He asked cautiously.
"My Bearer was killed by a Bad Blood while I was taking my Chiva. The Clan of those who have captured us had provided my transport. Both I and my Bearer had thought that we were lucky to secure such transportation, but apparently we weren't. The result is that she is now dead, I have been stripped of all honor, and exiled here because she was killed before she could pay for my transport. Now it seems that I will not even have the freedom of this world or even my own body once they have used me in the way that they've bragged about." She answered sadly.
Suddenly things began to click into place in his mind. Kwei-kv'var-de knew that their captors were somehow responsible for the exile of this female, and he was also convinced that they were somehow responsible for the death of this female's Bearer. He was about to tell the obviously depressed female of his conclusions when the three Black Yautja males walked back into the camp.