Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.

"Come in and take a seat. Slowly."

General Woodhurst held her with the gentlest of touches but still maintained a firm grip as they moved across the halls and across nearly the entire floor of the residential quarters, the opposite of what she thought he would take her. Sara still wasn't fully healed and half expected the General to take her back to the healing ward and lock her up for a while, a reasonable response and he would have the backing to validate his decision.

Instead, he brought her to his living quarters, twice as big as the ones for foot soldiers and such, enough space to work given that she saw loads of paperwork stacked behind a wooden desk and much more. Woodhurst pulled a sitting chair from another table and placed it near his desk, settling her with the gentlest of touches.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you need a drink or something?"

Sara shook her head, "No, sir. I'm fine."

Woodhurst puckered his lips in disappointment and then headed behind his desk, the awkward stillness in such a small, enclosed space brought a wave of uneasiness she struggled to contain as she waited for him to speak.

The General sighed, and in a rare display, rubbed his face as if tired. She almost gave in to ask what was the matter, biting her lip in reminding herself.

"Lieutenant," He finally spoke.

"Sir."

He grumbled, again with dissatisfaction, "I want to discuss your actions back there."

Sara swallowed hard, her chest holding in a breath in anticipation, bracing for any punishment that might come as her first thought. He had the grounds for a discharge, and in a case as sensitive and confidential as what they are in, a worse verdict could be invoked. As the minutes turned what felt like hours, Woodhurst did the unexpected.

A polar opposite to a General, like an old man at the end of a long day, sighed and his eyes softened along with the rest of his face, almost taking her aback. She bit into her lip. Don't show it. Don't you dare.

"That's pretty gutsy of what you did."

Sara didn't answer, knowing that if she did without a direct question was impolite if not disrespectful. Despite the soft expression from the General, she refused to buy it as a mere statement or complement in the most subtle way. She kept her guard up, froze her expressionless face, and stiffened her lip, displaying that she wasn't going to back down but not respond either.

Woodhurst leaned back after waiting, "I've never seen any soldier burst into a room with the two highest-ranking personnel within a hundred miles of this base and talk back like you did. Either you are brave or stupid."

Again, Sara held back the emotions emerging from within running through her body, if the man before her wasn't her Commanding officer and some asshole coming at her with no apparent reason, one sucker punch was all it would take to knock 'anyone' out for that matter.

"Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Woodhurst raised a gray-haired eyebrow.

With as much confidence as she had, she spoke with a soft, controlled voice, hiding nothing as she did so, "I came because of them."

"Them?"

"I'koh and Ma'dti."

The General hummed in interest, "Why?"

Sara paused, "Because . . ." She watched Woodhurst's reaction, setting his gaze at her with a serious, yet slightly curious look. She licked her lips and swallowed to soothe her dry throat, fighting an internal struggle. Just say it will you! For fuck's sake or whoever you worship in that tiny brain of yours!

With a deep inhale, she let the words spill from her lips, careful on how she used them, "Because they have saved me more times than I could count. I owe them my life and I firmly believe in repaying a debt of great importance."

The General tightened his lips and remained stoic, "They're not human beings so there's no need in repaying. They aren't your concern."

Sara locked eyes on Woodhurst, a wave of conviction settled inside. For a second, she saw the General flinch as if hit with an invisible force, not expecting such a response.

"With due respect, I can't agree with you on that. It's insulting."

There they go, the thing she wanted to say was released and no way back from this, to make such a comment in front of your superior, especially your commander-in-chief, was crossing a line to which she has been trained all her military life not to break. Still, the sting of his cold words, remembering what the two hunters have done for all of them, hit her hard. Such prejudice.

Woodhurst spoke softly, "And why is that insulting?"

"Because they deserve respect in every manner a soldier would receive when putting their lives on the line for us as they are part of our unit. Alien or not, insulting them after all that occurred reflects poorly on not just them, but on us too."

The General went silent and leaned back into his chair once more, this time while twiddling his thumbs together as if in contemplation of what was said. Sara kept her serious demeanor and remained unwavering in keeping a stare on him, meeting when he looked back.

What's he going to decide? Was it a reckless move on my part? Her mind shook, riding such a thought. No, not this time. No doubt. No regrets.

Finally, after the tension between them came so quickly, it was gone the moment Woodhurst smiled and his eyes softened, "You have a strong heart and willpower. I'll give you that."

A wave of surprise broke her solid stance, "Sir?"

The General relaxed and leaned forward onto the table with his elbows, "Guess I chose correctly when I picked you to be our candidate."

The conversation took a bizarre turn, one minute she thought this was a possible scolding and then the next thing she knew, she was receiving somewhat of praise in a vague sense.

Why . . . is he . . .? It took a solid few seconds to process part of his statement, one word that stuck out like a thorn. Wait . . . candidate?

"I don't understand, Sir . . ." She licked her dry lips.

"Yes . . . The Seeker Project was relatively kept secret for confidential reasons, mostly for nonpartisan selection."

Her brows squinted together, perplexed at the meaning of the General's word, her reaction noticed by Woodhurst, "My apologies. Since you're aware and now deep into this project, I think it's time I tell you the details."

Sara nodded, "Yes, Sir."

"But one thing to make clear before I tell anymore."

The air thickened as he folded his fingers and stared right into her eyes with serious intent. Sara knew well the intent behind the sudden change, too well it seemed when you trained most of your life in the military and eventually became an instinct that is picked up easily. With a confirmed nod, she straightened herself in the chair, chin raised and enduring the aches and pains from her healing wounds.

General Woodhurst waited patiently for a moment, watching her until he deemed it enough, "Once I tell you, there's no going back at all and I can't give details in advance. It's either in or out, Lieutenant."

He leaned closer to her, inhaling deeply, "Do you still accept?"

Sara dropped her head, letting the words sink in. No going back? I already accepted that but for him to say it now, it must be serious.

She can guess it would be this scenario, the last few days have been more than challenging and grueling in a sense. She can still remember the screams of her comrades dying, gurgles as they choked on their blood, and the sight of the gigantic monster coming from the smoke and fire to kill them all.

But also, the two hunters who came, throwing their likely chances of escape, saving her when they could have left her for dead . . . and the strange feeling she got from the blue-striped warrior. The expression on his face was something she'd never forget at that moment.

With a firm conviction, she turned back to the General and spoke with a clear conscience, "Yes, sir. I understand."

He nodded firmly, "Then let's get this started."


It had been hours since he heard the news from his commanding officer along with the hushed rumors circulating like a swarm of pestering flies and he wasn't happy. He paced back and forth across the hard floor for some time, fuming at the decision to let the details out in such a way, even more so that there was nothing he could do to stop it. When it was clear that his mind refused to let it go, he stormed out of his room.

Through hallways and doors, he kept as much of the emotions in and appeared professional. Still, many faintly noticed something was wrong in their attempt to get out of the way, avoided eye contact, and spoke in hushed tones. It didn't matter to him; he had something to take care of and nobody was going to stop him . . . or find out for that matter.

At the door, he scanned inconspicuously for any wandering eyes before getting the clear, gently entering the code and scanning his fingerprint until it lit green and clicked open. He hurried inside, securing the exit behind and taking a sigh of relief before directing forward, glaring at the two beings on the other side of the glass.

"Hello, my dear friends. Long time, no see . . . Well, not that long."

He grinned faintly as the closest one raised its head, the dreadlocks parting from the middle and the familiar, crab-like face appeared decorated in blue stripes and scales. Right off the bat, it hissed and growled, mandibles stretching open for the inner mouth to snap, its so-called brother with purple shaded skin kept a close eye at each step he took, but he ignored it.

"Ooman. Evans."

He snorted, "Ick-koh-ah or whatever your name is."

The alien stretched forward, attempted to get up from its knees but went back down, soon snapped upon realizing it couldn't do anything for the moment. Evans chuckled at such stupidity. And these aliens are the key to saving mankind? What a joke.

The hunter's anger grew as he came closer to the entrance to its cells, frantically thrashing when the lock clicked open and Evans came inside, spewing out its nonsense language. He had no idea what was said but he guaranteed it wasn't pleasant, mostly foul words no doubt.

"Still pissed off with me? You should," Evans crept closer, maintaining a safe distance despite the restraints keeping the alien under control, remembering the last time this happened.

Evans stared down at the furious hunter for a few seconds before leaning onto his knee until their eyes met on equal ground, the golden eyes pierced into him, only fueling the growing emotion ready to burst like a bomb.

"What are you plotting?"

The alien pulled its head back in astonishment, mandibles rubbing against each other.

"I know you're not that smart but this is a ridiculous move," Evans hissed faintly, "Getting close to the Lieutenant won't release you and whatever game you're playing with her won't work this time. I can see through your fiasco."

The hunter said nothing. Evans huffed in disappointment, expecting a reaction of some kind. He crept his face closer, never losing contact with its pupils surrounded in gold amber, "Sara is not yours to play with."

The alien snapped, lunging right at him with all of its rage and might. Evans jumped and gravity forced him to tumble backward, hitting the back of his head on the metal wall. You little . . . The brother let out a series of clicking, much like a chuckle, which struck a nerve.

"You think that's funny? Do you?"

Without hesitation, Evans brought out a baton from his belt and swung with all his might, the end smacking into the temple of the alien, and a cracking sound echoed across the room. The brother screeched with barely any sound flowing through the soundproof glass as his kin dropped to the ground, green blood splattering across his legs.

"You think you're in any position?!" He hit again, "To make remarks!?"

Another hit toward the head, meeting the cheek of the alien as it yelped in pain, "Do you?!"

Evans went at it again, "After everything!?"

Another hit and then another, more of its foreign blood painting the surrounding area, including his hands and ankles, "Well!? Do you!?"

Each strike on the alien did little to alleviate his rage and pain, rather causing the opposite effect, giving him a relentless surge of energy that went into the strikes he gave with all of his might, blood pumping into his ears that muffled the cries of a wounded animal. Still, it was never enough.

It was only after a few minutes that exhaustion finally took hold of him, taking steps back while panting and sweating from the short session. He glanced at his handiwork, the beating had left lacerations across its skin, one mandible was barely hanging by flesh and muscle while the other was crooked into an unnatural position. It was barely breathing while its brother roared and thrashed like a caged animal. The sight of such a scene would have made knots in people's stomachs, for Evan . . . it wasn't enough.

"You . . ." Evans huffed, his muscles aching but his grip on the baton remained frozen, "After what you did . . . to her . . ."

The memories flashed back in him, pure shock as he dropped the baton and covered his face in his hands. Stop this. Freaking out won't do any good . . . not at this moment. Too early for—

Commander.

The radio, which remained silent on his belt, came to life and snapped him back to reality, dropping the baton. With a grunt, he answered, "What is it, Corporal?"

General Woodhurst is looking for you. He wants to discuss the plans for the deployment.

He turned his back on the alien and rolled his eyes, "I'll be there soon. Commander, out."

He shut off the radio and sighed, releasing any tension that was slept over from their 'session' and grabbing the baton from the floor, placing it back on his belt, "We're not done yet,"

Evans slowly turned his head around, barely seeing the wounded hunter from the corner of his eye before leaving the two sons in darkness once more.

"I won't let history repeat. She's not yours. I'll make sure of that."

Hello, my fellow readers!

A new chapter for Rise Up is here and boy is there a lot. Had a bit of trouble with writing it but filler chapters are my weak spots (plus the world is going batshit crazy right now). But better late than never and so many questions about what's going in here, especially with the interesting interaction between our characters.

What does it all mean? Only time and more chapters will tell.

Hope to hear from all of you and Good Hunting! :D

P.S. Praying for those in Ukraine and hope all families are safe and well :(

Normal = Human speaking human language

Bold = Yautja speaking ooman language