Spyrro was wrapped in sleep, when the sound of a sliding door cut through her dreams. Her eyes snapped open.

"Get up, scion of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka," Barked a tall female, with skin as dark as shadow, who stood framed in the doorway.

"No," Spyrro curled herself tighter into a ball, "I will not leave this room until you bring me my Father and… just bring him to me!"

"There is no time for you to lie around, being soft and lazy," The looming figure was next to her, jerking her from the bed and turfing Spyrro out onto her feet, "You are due in the kehrite {Trans: training room/ gymnasium}."

Spyrro glared up at her, "Due for what?"

The female threw out an arm, backhanding her across the face "Your place is not to question. I am Xal'Uate {pron: Tzsal-O-ar-TAY} and I am D'tai N'as {trans: combat master/ trainer} to you. Now, get up."

Spyrro glared up at her, unspeaking.

"Get up." The combat master's eyes narrowed, "Your place is to obey me and I promise; if you do not hear, you shall feel." She raised her hand as she spoke, leaving no doubt as to the meaning of her last expression.

Spyrro's brows drew down even further and she glowered up at her captor, but she decided it would be better to co-operate for now than risk having her ears boxed again. Instead, she followed the female out of the door and through the levels of the vast ship in sullen silence.

When they reached the kehrite, it was large and brightly lit. Spyrro blinked, she had been expecting something dark and gloomy, but this place was abuzz with activity, thronging with yautja, fighting and training.

Xal'Uate led her over to a group who all had the look of juveniles. As Spyrro approached, one of them – a girl who looked a few years younger than her brothers – turned and gave her a glare of pure hostility.

Spyrro returned her gaze with a black-eyed stare of her own and was rewarded when the older girl snorted and looked away.

"Huh, she thinks I am a frightened little infant she can scare…"

She spread her mandibles in the direction of the other juvenile again, trying to attract her attention, screwing up her features in the rudest way she could think of. She was still busy pulling faces, when a cuff to the back of her head made her stagger.

"Cease your insolence, small demon!" The Combat Master bellowed, "Or I will make your ears ring a second time!"

"You big, stupid lump!" Spyrro yelled back, her temper flaring, "Touch me again and see what I do!"

The blow bowled her across the room like a ball, sending her crashing against a weapon rack. The hubbub of the gym fell silent around them as all eyes turned to watch. Spyrro picked herself up. Her shoulder and side were hurting but her pride was hurting more. 'Mei'Savir never hits me like this. Nor do Ize and Sel… and Mei'Varsi never hits me…'

The adult female stood, looking down at her, "No more words from you, impudent creature."

Spyrro looked up at Xal'Uate, her face pale with anger. Where the blow had landed, the skin felt hot and tight 'I need to stay alive, no matter what these creatures do to me, I need to stay alive so that I may escape them…"

As Xal'Uate turned away, the juvenile who has been staring at her sidled nearer, sniggering, "You think you can vex old Xala? She will cut you down even shorter than you are now, hellspawn!"

Spyrro did not really understand the last word of this speech, but she understood enough to know she was being insulted. She drew in breath to snap some retort but another glare from the trainer silenced her and she subsided, a mutinous look on her face, 'Whatever might have happened, I cannot stay here. Mei'Savir and Mei'Varsi may be prisoners for all I know… so maybe they cannot come after me. I will play along for now and find a way to escape. Then perhaps I can save them!'

Isaac opened his eyes just a sliver, watching between his lashes. Beside him Selim lay, unmoving. Above them, the lid of the tank slid back to reveal a looming shadow; a yautja male, towering above them. The male wasn't wearing a mask, but he held in his hand an unpleasant-looking, metal implement with a long needle attached. The point glinted in the half light, a droplet of liquid poised on the sharp point, trembling.

The apparition leaned down over the tank, so close that the strange chemical stink of him invaded Isaac's nostrils; so that his fetid breath raised a sheen of moisture on Isaac's skin; so that Isaac saw – through half closed lids – the hot blood pulsing in the veins of his neck.

"If I let him get a hold of me, we're finished. He wants to kill me… and Selim too!"

All the while, S'Kia's voice was echoing his mind, repeating the lessons the hunter had drummed mercilessly into his head over and over again, "Never let him get a grip…. do not flinch… go for the throat… no mercy!"

Isaac leapt, launching himself at their captor's unprotected throat and sank his razor fangs into the other male's flesh, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood. Instinctively, his victim jerked backwards dragging Isaac with him, trying to fight him off and protect himself at the same time. One clawed hand gripped Isaac's shoulder, the talons biting into his skin, the other hand groping desperately for his face. Still, Isaac bit down as hard as he could; nauseated by the feel of gristle crunching between his teeth; a horrible gurgling noise almost drowning out the pounding in his ears as he all but choked on blood.

Then the fingers gripping his face and throat loosened, the hands going slack. The yautja male collapsed, taking Isaac down with him. Tearing his teeth free, he looked up to see Selim standing there, holding what looked like some kind of surgical bone-hammer. They looked at each other, in appalled silence, then down at the body that lay between them, bloodied and unmoving.

"I had to do that," Selim breathed, "Ize, I could not allow him to hurt you."

Isaac retched the last of their former captor's blood onto the deck "We had to;" He said, his yellow eyes holding his twin's "You and me, Sel."

Selim knelt and held two fingers to the other's throat and nodded to himself, "At least he is alive."

"Sel, who cares?" Isaac wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, "In fact, if he isn't dead – we should finish him off. One less Rough Skull to worry about!"

"Kill him, while he is out cold?"

"Yes! Don't you think S'Kia would tell you to do it? Or Mom, for that matter…"

He stopped, seeing Selim's luminous eyes widen, his mouth hanging open, "Brother, let us just get out of here…"

Isaac was about to speak again when the door purred open…

Lex's senses were on high alert as she and Scar made their way up the tunnel. 'We're away from the natural rock of the caves and back to the dark stone of the Pyramid, which means… more traps. At least we're moving away from the underground river. I just hope we'll find a way out if we keep moving…'

Something else from their earlier conversation was also nagging at her. She had been too exhausted to put it into words before now; the spells of enforced unconsciousness from the shockers the nearest she'd come to sleep since leaving Earth.

"Scar?" She said "What was that word you said to Nar'Jat? The 'D'aRan-thwei' – what does it mean? It sounds like… blood sacrifice… or blood… obligation?"

"Do you remember why I took you on board the Shadow of Death?"

"Yes; because I saved your life."

"You did, and so my life was in your keeping. I owed you the blood debt."

"So?"

"Lexsss, how many times have we saved Nar'Jat's life? Or, at least, the lives of many Rough Skulls?"

"At least three times by my count, but then I wasn't keeping score." She said in English with a half-smile, "Is that what you mean? Nar'Jat owes us one?"

"His life is ours." He stopped and turned to her, "Nar'Jat is under… obligation to us both. He cannot with honour… disregard this."

"He seems to think he can!"

"You do not understand," He looked down at her, switching to his own language again, "Other members of the clan would be disgusted by his failure to honour a blood debt. They know he will be punished for it – either in this world or in the next – as will they. They will suffer for what they have done to us."

"But they still sent us out here to die," She frowned, "Maybe that is why Nar'Jat made us both the offer to return… but in such a way he knew we could not accept."

"Yesss, that is the way his crooked mind works." He nodded, "Then he could show others that he was willing to fulfil his obligations – but also claim that we are abhorrent criminals who rejected his attempts to treat with us with honour. That would negate his debt in the eyes of many."

"And he needed to make sure we turned him down," She said, "Otherwise he would have nothing to offer your Mother – "

"Ha! She is none of my blood!"

"Once we had refused," She went on "He could turn us over in exchange for the antivirus. The one called D'Jukai said that was the agreement. All those things Nar'Jat said about me – I thought he was acting strangely. He just wanted to make sure I rejected his offer … and make you angry enough to attack him. I think it was another way to discredit you and justify his actions – "

" – and I took the bait like a moron." He shook his head, "Yes, that sounds exactly like Nar'Jat; using my own weakness against me. He knew I could not stand to hear him speak so of you… but you are more cunning than I, to see through his tricks."

"Not cunning enough to avoid getting captured," She said, with a wry smile, "He outplayed us both."

To her surprise, he gripped her upper arm, turning her round to face him. "Lex, you will see our children again. I swear it to you."

"Scar…"

She stared up at him. Reflex anger made her want to pull away but she stopped herself 'If we're going to get out of here alive, we have to trust each other – like when we were together. We have the same enemies; we want the same things…'

"We will see our children again." She said, "Death to all our enemies' – right?"

The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and he went rigid and pulled the spear. In the tunnel behind them, the slither of sinuous bodies...

Nar'Jat stood in the nearly empty council chamber. He had dismissed most of the other senior yautja on the pretext of precautionary measures against further infection. The only others left besides himself were his usual enforcers, but even they had been told to wait outside.

"They were willing to believe I did it for their sakes," He smiled grimly to himself "But in truth it is more convenient for them not to be here whilst I am still awaiting the return of D'Jukai with the antivirus shipment from the Vortex. The fewer listening ears and chattering mouths, the better to prevent the spread of any inconvenient talk."

His grin faded for a moment as a silent fit of coughing racked him. It was only for a few seconds before he suppressed it, talons clamped over his jaws to stop the noise escaping. When it had passed, he looked down at his hand. There, showing up bright against the dark skin of his palm, tiny specks of vivid, green blood. Nar'Jat looked at them, his eyes slitted.

He was still looking at them when an icon lit up on the council chamber screen, warning him of an incoming transmission. Slowly, he wiped his hand on his thigh and with the other hand, pressed the control to accept the communique. A face appeared on the screen; it was D'Jukai, his second in command. In the background stood H'Jahrak, who had command of Nar'Jat's scouting; the warriors tasked with patrolling Rough Skull space and defending against incomers.

"O Destroyer of the Bad Bloods," D'Jukai said "I have troubling news."

"Tell me."

"We were attacked not far off the Belua system, my commander," D'Jukai said "We were hugely outnumbered. The Dagger managed to evade capture, but we lost contact with the Bah-a-Nak." {Trans: bladed weapon, with spines that protrude between the knuckles when gripped}

"We have recovered the ship just beyond the orbit of Belua's minor moon." H'Jahrak said "It was on the drift, engines dead. An inspection of the craft confirmed an attack by a rival clan: the crew were all slaughtered."

Nar'Jat sighed. The loss of any warriors – particularly trusted and competent warriors – was deeply inconvenient, but there were much more important things at stake here, "And the cargo?"

D'Jukai shook his head "Looted. By the looks of it, I would say that the Bad Blood clan did it. The kills had all their hallmarks."

Nar'Jat eyes flared, a flicker of displeasure, "And yet, somehow, they were able to penetrate into Rough Skull space – even as far as Belua – without being detected or challenged?"

"They have become more active of late… possibly the news of this contagion and our dwindling numbers have emboldened our enemies."

"Are we powerless to prevent this?"

H'Jarak's jaws curled up unhappily, "If you wish me to increase patrols, I will need more bodies at my disposal."

"I will see what can be done. Just be sure you keep this quiet. There will be consequences for careless talk." Nar'Jat pressed the control again, ending the communique and then sat there for a few minutes, the only sound in the room that of his talons cracking against the table surface, echoing in the empty chamber.

'This must be kept quiet as long as possible; the cure I took such pains to win from the GhaRan-S'i-Ka is gone and we are beset with enemies. And the problem will become worse now that I have sacrificed the Abomination and the Witch… such a useful deterrent to rival clan marauders. That in itself is vexing enough, but to have sacrificed them and gained nothing…'

Another spasm of coughing shook him; tiny flecks of blood spattering the smooth surface of the table in front of him before he was able to stop. He held onto the back of a chair, waiting for it to pass.

'Ironic is it not S'Kia?' He thought, struggling for breath, 'I sent you to your death, but perhaps I will meet mine first!'

Snarling, Scar pulled Lex behind him, the ki'cti-pa held up to warn off the shadows that were taking on solid form, creeping towards them.

She raised the plasma gun, "They tracked us through the water – "

"Then they have tracked down their death." He glanced back at her – at the dark weal on her throat, the cuts and swollen bruises on her face – and felt the bloodlust build, a wellspring of violence.

"Do not fear them."

"I'm not afraid." She said, through gritted teeth.

He could not help the grin, "I know."

He lunged, impaling the first shape that charged forward, the spear bursting through its ribcage, only to be yanked free the next moment to be driven into the throat of the next, the blade protruding through his victim's jaws. Blinding flashes of plasma lit up the dark as he carved his way through the first phalanx of drones. She picked off the second and third wave that was rising from the subterranean depths, aiming far enough away so as not to shower him in their caustic blood.

"Move up the tunnel," He snarled, hacking and slashing "We must retreat, find somewhere defensible."

"That won't do us much good if they keep coming!"

"Just use the gun to cover us!" He drew closer until they were pressed against each other and gripped her round the waist, dragging her up the corridor. She fired round after round of glowing plasma, defending their retreat and he skewered any hard meat that came too close.

Then came the noise that they had both been dreading; the deep, awful groan of the Pyramid changing, the end of the tunnel, closing…

Without a second thought, he swept her up in one arm and ran towards the disappearing square of light, heedless of the shrieks behind them, throwing out an arm to knock aside the bugs that drew level with him.

They reached the shrinking opening and he threw himself through it, the stone edge striking him as they scraped through, trying to shield her as they rolled, trying not to crush her. With a maddened squeal, the nearest of the hard meat lunged, claws extended… the slabs slammed closed with a crash that echoed off the walls.

They both looked up. A twitching hand protruded, trapped between the two locked slabs. The fingers curled in one final convulsive action, as if trying to snatch the air, then shuddered into stillness. Acid blood hissed and fizzled, etching its way into the rock.

Lex's nostrils flared at the choking chemical stench, "Can their blood dissolve the stone enough for them to get through?"

"Let us not wait to find out!" Scar was already looking around. They were in a huge chamber, a cavernous, echoing hall; the ceiling so far above it was lost in a darkness even his eyes could not pierce. The floor was a complex pattern of tessellating shapes, the black basalt fitting together perfectly. As they moved forward into the chamber, he felt a prickle of recognition. This was similar to the Pyramid on Earth; the walls carved with intricate, yautja bas-reliefs, rows of pillars looming up on either side, too many to count, marching away into the darkness, each adorned with more carvings. Scar's brows drew together in the dark, 'All of the carvings depicting heroic deeds, no doubt; battles and duels and hunts – all of them glorious and honourable. I remember when I swallowed such stories whole. When I carried them with me, all the way to the chiva,' He let one jaw curl up, 'When I was young and naïve… and an idiot!'

"Let's get moving," Lex hissed, standing in the shade of a huge, fallen pillar, plasma gun drawn, "I don't like this room – we're too exposed here."

Scar was about to reply when something made him freeze. It was the ghost of a scent trail, only just perceptible over the poisoned stink of hard meat blood and melting stone. He inhaled silently, trying to determine whether the odour was real or just a figment of his overtired brain.

"Yautja," His mandibles twitched, "Yautja female – "

He dived behind the toppled pillar, dragging Lex to the floor as a burst of plasma fire screamed down from the blackness.

Hello all, sorry for the hiatus. It's been a busy few weeks. Two weeks holiday now though - blessed be the twin deities of not doing any work and not getting up in the morning!

Tenjp & Kagami 18: Yes, Lex and Scar definitely need to have 'the talk'. Unfortunately, they're a bit distracted right now. It's difficult to sort out your relationship issues when stuff is trying to rip your head off all the time :)

LovyDovy7: Yes, the twins are still alive and kicking and gouging. Spyrro too, though she's going to have to deal with her grandma sometime. At the moment she doesn't even know what a 'grandma' is! And yes Rika and most of the other Rough Skulls think Scar and Lex are dead, that's Nar'Jat's public line anyway. Only the ones who went on the mission to capture them know different - so it probably won't stay secret for long.

Lexia the beautiful wolf: Hope it's worth the wait!