When Kwei Kv'var-de entered the cave after spending a large part of the past two days cleaning and storing things away on board the ship, he was immediately assailed by a solid wall of female musk! It was the type of scent that could only be produced by a female at the absolute height of arousal! Strangely though, there was no male present to arouse a female to that degree. Immediately donning his mask to filter out the unusually strong scent, he proceeded further into the cave.
As soon as he ducked past the thick fur bearing hide that was there to muffle sounds, Kwei saw the two females. Both were awake, but seemed lethargic after apparently having exhausted themselves. Jen was lying on top of R'ka idly caressing the Black Yautja and talking softly. Both were wearing their masks, but were otherwise covered in nothing but a sheen of sweat.
R'ka tensed as she looked over and spotted Kwei standing just inside the enormous skin that was hung across the cave near the entrance. She knew the hide was there to muffle sounds, but it would also serve to retain smells within the cave. She knew that the scents created by what she and Jen had been doing for the past several hours, would be overwhelming.
"So Kwei… is the ship all stocked and ready?" Jen asked casually as she continued to lightly stroke her left index finger around R'ka's stomach, ribs, and right breast.
"Most of the materials have been stored on board, but meat storage is still nearly empty." Kwei responded just as casually. He knew exactly what they had been doing, and after all, Jen had told him that it was possible, but now he saw the proof of it. The strange thing about the situation was that Jen seemed to behave as if such things were perfectly normal.
As he thought about it, Kwei realized that perhaps to Jen, such things were normal! Whatever the case might be, both females appeared to have been exerting themselves rather enthusiastically. The problem was, the more he thought about what the two had been doing, the more he experienced a natural physical reaction.
BREAK
Jen followed Kwei and R'ka through the plains near the mountains, while watching them, and watching over them very carefully. During the past year that she had been stuck on this planet and living with the two, she had become very close to both of them. To her, R'ka was like a daughter, sister, and lover all in one. Kwei was much the same way, except that she didn't see him as someone young enough that she needed to constantly watch out for him. Instead, he was someone that she could ask advice from when she needed it, although she continued to give him advice as well. She knew that both were much older than she was, but that didn't stop her from mothering them both. She had taught both of them a lot; both about the concept of teamwork, and about sex. Another thing she'd had to drill into them was the various methods by which an opponent could fight dirty, and the means to counter such tactics.
Neither Kwei nor R'ka were pleased with learning just how quickly they could be overwhelmed by those they called 'Bad Bloods', but as disgusted as they both were, they still learned what was necessary.
One thing that everyone was quite happy with was the sex. Jen was very careful about making sure that R'ka never even came into contact with the sperm that Kwei frequently deposited inside her. Neither the Yautja male, nor the Black Yautja female had any qualms when she had sex with the other, because each knew that they would often be next. Many times, R'ka would lay on her back with Jen's face between her legs while Kwei pumped away at Jen from behind. All three of them were fully sated at those times.
Another thing all three were pleased with was the progress each had made in learning the language of the other. Although she couldn't speak it, Jen was learning to understand Yautja, just as Kwei and R'ka were learning to understand English. Strangely, they were also able to speak it.
Jennifer froze when she realized what she was looking at. It was several times larger than it had ever been on Earth, but even though the creature had gone extinct at the end of the Ice Age, she still recognized it.
:Kwei, R'ka, I don't know how those damn things got here, but those mammoths are a whole hell of a lot bigger than the old skeletons in the museums!:
:Are you saying that you recognize these creatures?: Kwei asked curiously.
:Yeah! They're called 'mammoths' and they all died out more than thirty thousands years ago!: Jen answered over the comm system.
:They are large, fast, and very dangerous, but they possess a gap in their skull which leads straight to the brain. That is in the center of the forehead.: R'ka said clearly.
:And just how do you know that?: Jen asked suspiciously.
:I have killed one of these creatures before. They have a wonderful fur and a lot of meat.: R'ka answered as she grinned.
:There is that.: Jen admitted. :There is also the fact that we can make a lot of things out of the remains.:
:What types of things?: Kwei asked interestedly.
:A lot of the dishes that I have were made from the bones of one of those creatures.: R'ka stated.
:I also know that an ivory long bow is a lot more powerful than one made of wood. As long as those tusks are, we can make one for each of us.: Jen added.
:Are you saying it's possible to make a stronger version than I already have? Then let us kill one of these creatures!: R'ka growled with enthusiasm.
:Sounds good to me. How do you two want to do this?: Jen replied.
Silence seemed to reign while the three discussed exactly how they would bring down one of the large creatures. R'ka admitted to having brought down a young bull that was much smaller than several of those before them. They finally agreed on an older looking cow.
Kwei was going to act as a catalyst in that he would get fairly close, throw his spear and then turn to run for all he was worth. While Kwei was running, R'ka would decloak, try her spear, and then run as well, but in another direction. When the mammoth focused on R'ka, Jen would be able to sneak closer so she could try her spear. Working as a team, they would eventually wear the creature down from exhaustion, but it was hoped that the resulting injuries would be cumulative in their effect, and thus wear the beast out that way as well.
Kwei moved in complete silence as he edged closer to the chosen target. He'd been told just how fast these things were, so it was agreed that everyone would go straight for the kill. That agreement was made when R'ka told of how she had nearly gotten run down by one of the smaller creatures. A drawn out battle of attrition could not be beneficial to the trio, so they had to try for killing blows.
Kwei informed the other two once he was in casting range, but since he was down wind and moving in total silence, he crept closer still. He was at about half of his accurate range when he decloaked and flung his spear with all of his might. Almost as soon as he decloaked, one of the others began to trumpet loudly in warning. Kwei knew that it was too late because he'd already launched his attack. He watched as his spear flew straight and true. His strike killed the big beast almost instantly. A few staggering steps were taken before the large mammoth slumped to the ground in death.
R'ka and Jen were grinning widely and congratulating Kwei on a marvelous cast as they approached his position. That was when they realized that they had a problem. The small herd of now ten members had gathered around the downed and dead cow. It was obvious that they were not going to abandon one of their own easily, even if that herd mate was dead.
None of the three were willing to kill any more of the animals because they would never be able to use all of it before spoilage set in. It was finally agreed that Jen could use her plasma casters on the lowest setting to see if she could drive them away. At first, it didn't seem that it was going to work. The bursts from Jen's plasma casters sent clods of dirt and other debris straight into the legs, chests, and faces of the surrounding animals. All of the bellowing and trumpeting herd ignored what Jen was doing for several minutes. Finally, the remaining creatures began to disperse, but they were clearly angry and ready to kill anything that moved. The herd left the slain female reluctantly, but Jen continued her assault on the ground around the feet of the creatures.
It was nearly fifteen minutes after Jen began to use splash damage and shrapnel to drive the rest of the mammoth herd away from their kill. When the trio was finally able to get to their downed target; they made short work of skinning and butchering the carcass.
"Hey Kwei! Do you think you could bring the ship here, so we can load up everything we want to keep? Otherwise, I'm sure that most of this is going to spoil before we can get it back to the cave." Jen asked after thinking about the sheer amount of meat and materials provided by the mammoth.
"Good idea. I'll return soon." Kwei answered before he took off at a run.
Kwei ran to where he had the ship parked and went to the ship's library where he was able to access the main computer and control the vessel from there. It didn't take him long to arrive at the site of the kill. Once he did, the small team began to carry everything they intended to keep inside the ship.
While Kwei was busily preserving the hide so that the fur would remain intact, Jennifer and R'ka were in the ship's engineering section where they were discussing different types of bows.
"A long bow, like you have is good. An ivory long bow is better because it's more powerful. Then there is the recurve bow which adds even more power than that. After that is the compound bow which uses a couple of pulleys to increase the power even further. What I would like to do, is design a recurve compound bow out of the ivory we got. If we can somehow manage that, we'll each have a bow that is several times more powerful than the one you have right now." Jen suggested with a smile.
"The ship's computer was able to make some suggestions on how to make armor small enough to fit you. Do you think it might be able to help you with such a design?" R'ka asked curiously.
"That sounds like a definite possibility. If nothing else, we can always make a few recurve bows instead. The amount of pull required will depend on how thick it is. So if it's too strong, then we can always slim it down some." Jen replied impressed.
While Jen gave instructions and made suggestions, R'ka entered the information in to the computer. It took them a while to actually come up with some original designs for the weapons, but in the end, both were very pleased with the results. The automated fabrication systems on the ship were able to make all three bows out of the materials provided, along with thirty shafts for each. Now all that was needed were heads and fletching components.
Instead of one break-over point, the new design had two; with each point doubling the amount of force in the shaft. Thus, a two hundred pound draw, became a hundred at the first break-over, and a mere fifty pound hold after the second break-over. It meant that Jen was now able to actually use something that was much stronger than she would have tried back on Earth.
The two females decided to walk back to the cave in the hopes that they could find something to finish out the arrow shafts they had. They each moved silently while carefully checking the ground and trees around them. Jen was looking for both flint, which she knew could make excellent arrow heads, and any type of leaf or other material that could be used for fletching. That was how she spotted it.
During the past year, her helmet had been equipped with 'the ooman spectrum'. Meaning that she could now see as she normally did while wearing her helmet. She was looking at some leaves that appeared to have some potential when a strange, but very slight distortion caught her attention. Looking around very carefully, Jen realized that there was an opening in the trees.
:R'ka, I need you to come back me up. I think I've found something cloaked.: Jen sent softly. She knew at once that R'ka would be right there to help if needed.
Jen proceeded slowly but still knocked her head pretty good. If it hadn't been for the helmet, she knew that she'd be cussing in several languages! Instead of seeing stars though, she heard the loud clang of metal striking metal. Sticking out her hand, she began to follow the edge of the cloaked object and discovered that it had some serious size to it.
:Kwei where are you?: Jen snapped out seriously.
:I am in the ship parked near the cave. Why?: Kwei responded curiously. He knew that Jen only assumed that tone of voice when something was wrong.
:I think I've found a cloaked ship.: Jen replied cautiously.
R'ka gaped at the small female a few dozen nok away from her. She checked every spectrum available to her, but could see nothing that might indicate a vessel.
:Are you certain? I do not see anything near you.: R'ka sent skeptically.
Jen grinned beneath her helmet and jumped nearly three dozen feet in the air only to land long before she touched the ground. With a smirk of triumph, she stood up straight and decloaked.
R'ka gaped at the small ooman's bravery. :She has found something cloaked, because she is now standing on it!:
:I'm bringing the ship, so I will arrive shortly!: Kwei answered distractedly. The male Yautja was already busy controlling the vessel and homing in on Jen's location.
When Kwei arrived at where Jen and R'ka were, he could see that there was no spot to land in the immediate area. He set down at the edge of the trees and covered the rest of the distance on foot. Needless to say, he did not take his time about it!
Once Kwei reached to two females, he saw that they were both standing well away from the object ready for a fight if needed. He examined his wrist computer and found that, yes, there was a cloaked ship nearby, but he couldn't access it. Hoping that a different frequency of operation might be the key to the vessel, he checked R'ka's wrist computer with the same result. It was when he checked the strange setup on Jen, that he found her computer was already linked to the vessel!
Kwei quickly typed in a command and watched with a smile as the large vessel decloaked. He could immediately see that it was more than four times the size of the one he was using.
All three approached the entrance cautiously and from three separate directions. Each gave the other two a clear field of fire so that if it came down to a fight, they had a good chance.
Once the small group got inside, Jen was going to have the other two stay put while she checked for hostiles. Kwei had a better idea. Using the access granted by Jen's computer, Kwei was able to check the internal sensors to find that there were only three life forms aboard. The rather advanced systems of the much larger vessel even told him what type of life forms were detected! Even though they were cloaked, the ship's sensors picked up their life signs, but no others. Kwei decloaked with his mandibles flexed in a wide grin.
"The ship is clear! There is no one here but us!" He said happily.
Kwei returned his ship to the parking spot near the cave. Then he returned on foot to the newly discovered vessel. He was quite happy to relocate the ship to a spot near the cave where the trio lived. Before he did that though, he accessed the main computer aboard the ship and locked out all wrist computers except theirs. Now, no one else would be able to gain entry, or operate the vessel if they somehow got inside.
"Okay… so we have a working ship. Now what do we do with it?" Jen asked seriously.
"I was exiled here by the command of the High Matriarch. What ever is decided can not include returning me to the Great Yautja. I must accompany one of you." R'ka said sadly as she thought of the reason for her being on this world.
"If I went back to Earth, I'd be shot on sight as a traitor and a thief. I wouldn't get the chance to explain what happened. What about you, Kwei?" Jen stated.
"My Clan has no quarrel with me. The only problem I will have is that the Clan's ship is damaged. I do not have the credit to repair it. I will most likely have to serve the Clan's needs until the credit is earned to repair the ship, but I have no problem with that." Kwei explained easily.
"Why not just give your Clan the new ship as payment? Wouldn't that be enough?" Jen asked.
"It would be far more than enough! The problem lies in the fact that it does not belong to me. The vessel that was found belongs to you Jen! You are the one who killed the Bad Bloods who owned it, and you are also the one who found it! This is not some simple trophy to be shared so easily." Kwei said heavily.
"So that ship belongs to me… big deal! What am I going to do with it? I can't fly it! I don't have the slightest idea of how to use it. All it would do is sit around and rust. I'd rather get some use out of it. So you say that thing is worth a lot more than the repairs would cost… okay. Is it enough extra to get them to consider giving me and R'ka a safe place to live?" Jen asked seriously.
"Even now that we have the means to leave this world forever, you still think of the team, don't you?" Kwei asked.
"Of course I do!" Jen stated forcefully. "I was trained to be a team leader! I can't be a team leader, without a team to lead, now can I?"
Both R'ka and Kwei shook their head in answer to that.
"Then it's settled. R'ka and I will go home with you. What ever happens then, is something we'll worry about then." Jen said in finality.