Yo everybody, sorry for the long wait, but hey at least a long wait results in a LOONG chapter, and I think this is my longest yet, so long that I had to split it into two sections.
Btw Special thanks to Creator of Hybrids for the Brand new cover art, featuring Erik and Sha'ra. Please check her work out :)
Now….on with the show
The Paths Align Pt1
Awkward silences weren't exactly the best moments within anyone's culture. Humans weren't exactly comfortable with the silence, Yautja would get put off due to the lack of activity and Kamads were always used to noises of some kind as silence seemed unnatural to them.
Yet silence filled the room as Erik and Eli stared each other down, Eli with one Katana in hand and Erik gripping the handle of his broadsword. Both were sat on opposite sides of the fire and had removed their helms so that they could properly gauge the other's appearance. Eli's lack of scars seemed strange to Erik and the abundance of Erik's scars seemed strange to Eli.
Kamads never scarred due to their healing ability, so seeing someone like Erik whom had small scars adorning his face was very peculiar. Eli didn't know whether he was an experienced warrior or just a clumsy fool who got hurt too much. In fact Eli's people didn't know what scars were until they made contact with other races.
Everyone else in the room could feel the thickness of the tension, Sha'ra and Norma sat next to each other, Sha'ra with her mask still on looking at Erik and Norma at Eli, Sophie was confused at what the silence was about, Blair was staying silent and Rezeal was intent on not getting involved by polishing his Hook blade. Dexter was perched on Rezeal's shoulder just looking from person to person, wondering why in Sam hell everyone was being so silent.
"So…you were stabbed" Erik stated.
"Through the chest" Norma replied.
"…and he gave you his" Erik once again spoke.
"His blood" Norma replied yet again.
"Alright….and that turned you into" Erik spoke again.
"A hybrid, half human, half Kamad" Norma replied once more. Erik squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to process why Norma was…well…different.
"Alright, so you injected your blood into her, and turned her into some kind of lizard woman" Erik said, gesturing to Eli. The white Haired Kamad gripped his Katana tightly, resisting the urge to unsheathe it. Eli's people hated being referred to as Lizards, they were reptilian of course but calling them lizards was like calling Human's rats, they were as different as chalk and cheese.
"To save me, Erik. Eli did it to save my life, I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for him" Norma explained with passion in her voice. Erik sighed and eased up a bit, lessening the tension around them a bit.
"Anyway, I'm not the only one that has went through changes, since when were you a Myrmidon?" Norma asked.
"It's a long story, Norma" Erik replied.
"Alright I guess it's my turn to ask a question. How the hell do you two know each other?" Eli asked, intent on getting an answer.
"Eli…Erik and I knew each other when we were children. When his…when" Norma hesitated to finish her sentence when Erik raised hand.
"…My parents along with the rest of my colony were killed by Xenomorphs when I was a child. Norma and her father adopted me as part of the Xenomorph victim relief program, after a few years I left to become a Myrmidon to get the justice my parents deserved" Erik explained himself.
"So, you're his sister?" Sha'ra asked Norma. She remembered Erik saying that he considered the girl he grew up with as a sister. The Huntress instantly felt relieved that this very attractive looking Hybrid wasn't romantically linked to her companion. Sha'ra then internally scolded herself for thinking like that, she had to stop thinking like some delusional New Blood.
"I suppose you could say that, oh I'm sorry I just remembered we haven't had introductions, I'm Norma, Norma Rockwell" Norma smiled holding out her hand to the Huntress who grabbed her hand and shook it like she did Erik's when they met. Norma arched her eyebrow at the Yautja's incorrect way of shaking hands.
"I am Sha'ra, it's a pleasure to meet you" the Huntress replied.
"I hope you don't mind me asking but…are you a female Yautja?" the Hybrid asked with a curious look in her eyes. "Yes I am" Sha'ra replied, however she didn't know what to make of when Norma's face lit up with unparalleled excitement.
"Oh my god! Really!? I mean wow! I always thought that Yautja were asexual or something, but wow an actual female Yautja! I hope you wouldn't mind if I could run some small tests on…" Norma almost exploded as her inner scientist shone through, making Sha'ra instantly feel uncomfortable.
"Norma…" Eli called out, making Norma stop in her tracks "…this isn't a research project…remember?" Eli asked, Norma straightened herself out and replied "Sorry, sorry about that, I get excited when something like this happens" she apologized.
"It's fine, I can understand your excitement" Sha'ra replied.
"I'm Eli, Eli Vakros, pleased to meet you" Eli announced, still keeping the stern look on his face. Sha'ra's eyes widened behind her mask, did he just say Eli Vakros? He couldn't be, why would the crowned Prince of the Kamads be on this ship?
"You…You can't be the Emperor's son…can you?" Sha'ra asked.
"I am" Eli replied.
"Wait…Emperor? Sorry just…what the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" Erik finally blew as he stood up. He wanted hard answers right now and he was going to get them.
"Erik, the Kamads are probably the most powerful race in the Universe, and Eli here is the eldest son of their Emperor and…therefore…one of their greatest warriors" Sha'ra replied. Erik looked at the white haired Kamad and realized that he may have just insulted an extremely skilled and deadly alien warrior, though he was not one to back down easily.
"Doesn't look so tough" Erik replied. Eli shot to his feet and in the blink of eye had his Katana out and the blade was against Erik's neck. But as Eli's blade touched Erik's throat he felt the cool blade of Erik's broadsword against his.
This human was fast.
The two glared into each other's eyes, measuring the other's worth. Erik saw the eyes of a Warrior and Eli was the eyes of a Warrior. Both men were surprised when they saw the experience the other's eyes held. That's when a certain blonde American interrupted them.
"Jesus Christ! What is your beef with each other, Huh?! You two don't even know each other! And yet you are already locked in a fucking pissing contest, you are two fucking grown ass men and yet your acting like fucking second graders!" Sophie shouted at the two, both Eli and Erik shocked at how the Blonde spoke to the two of them like they were children.
"Now, introduce yourselves, shake hands and make up!" Sophie demanded.
Erik and Eli looked back at each other, even though they didn't like each other's attitudes they had to respect the other's reflexes. So Erik and Eli almost simultaneously held out their hands to each other and shook with their blades still at each other's throats "Eli Vakros, like I said…pleasure to meet you" Eli spoke first, his expression not changing.
"Erik Reaver, the same to you too" Erik responded, his expression not changing an inch either. The two warriors lowered their blades and sheathed them. Eli sheathed his Katana onto his hip and Erik sheathed his broadsword onto his back. The two then sit down as instructed by the blonde American who scolded them. Rezeal however looked at Sophie wide eyed, he had never seen anyone speak up to Eli like that except Norma and Eli's family.
"Um…ok, I'm Rezeal, just Rezeal" the Black Haired Kamad spoke next. Dexter then screeched out before jumping up and down on Rezeal's shoulder "Ha-ha and this little sweetheart is Dexter, come to mommy, dear" Norma chuckled holding her arms out, the flying Capuchin then flew straight into his mistress' arms to receive an overdue cuddle.
"I'm Sophie, Sophie Burns. Good to finally have some new faces around here" Sophie smiled in a friendly manner.
"I'm Dr Phineas Blair and as of now I am probably the most senior member of the crew still alive, I am glad that a Myrmidon rescue party is here for us, perhaps now we can get off this ship in one piece" the Doctor introduced himself.
"Um…my team and I aren't a rescue party" Erik explained.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sophie asked.
"Before I got cut off from my men, our mission was to blow this ship to kingdom come due to the infestation on board of it" Erik explained.
"My people were also on their way to blow the core, however I'm not sure it makes much of a difference" Sha'ra spoke up.
"Oh great! As if the Black Yautja and Xenomorphs weren't enough! Now we have a time limit until this fucking ship blows!" Sophie exclaimed.
"Not necessarily, since I got cut off from my men and they didn't see me die, they will probably be less inclined to blow the ship up immediately, not to mention the core is a way away from here" Erik replied, trying to make it sound as if they had much more time.
"Ok, so why haven't you contacted them yet? Shouldn't you have some kind of communicator?" Eli asked.
"I would, but both mine and Sha'ra's communicators got busted when we fell. I would have tried to repair mine but I'm not exactly a tech expert when it comes to our communicators" Erik explained.
"Why don't Sophie and I take a look at that?" Norma asked holding out her hand as if asking for Erik's communicator. The Myrmidon simply handed them his helmet while he kept his earpiece in his ear, the piece of equipment wasn't broken, but didn't work due to the fact it was designed as a short length radio communicator.
"Alright, Sophie could you?" Norma began but Sophie interjected.
"On it" the blonde American said as she stood up and followed Norma into what was the office of the researcher whose room they were in. Chances were that the room still contained some of the equipment that the scientist used when they were alive.
This left the male members of the group alone with Sha'ra, whom felt the slightest bit uncomfortable especially with the way Eli and Erik were looking at each other. Rezeal however being the kind soul that he was put a hand on Sha'ra's shoulder and said "Sha'ra was it? I think it's best if you join the other girls, things may….well…Guy stuff if you know what I mean"
The Huntress raised a brow in confusion before she heeded what Rezeal had to say, she was not one that would understand the complications of 'guy stuff'. No matter the species, males and females never really understood one another when it came to things like this. Sha'ra stood up and as Rezeal asked, she walked into the room where Norma and Sophie were tinkering with Erik's helmet.
This left the two Kamads, the human scientist and the Myrmidon in the same room, with Erik and Eli locking gazes once again. Both Warriors may have sheathed their swords but they still had their hands hovering over the handles, ready to draw them at a moment's notice.
"So….you are what the humans call a Myrmidon?" Eli asked.
"I am, and you are a Prince?" Erik asked.
"I am….normally I would see men like you bow or salute me instead of draw your sword" Eli replied.
"There aren't any men like me" Erik responded to the Kamad Prince.
"Oh no? I'm over a thousand of your human years old, I've seen many types of men in that time. Though your type seems to be a dying breed among humans these days" Eli said, his tone softening a bit.
"You don't know anything about me" Erik stated bluntly.
"Is that so?" Eli asked, Erik nodded back before the Kamad smirked and continued.
"I know that you have seen battle due to those scars on your face, you have seen things that you cannot be unseen, and by the way you looked at that Yautja I can tell that you have feelings for her" Eli said, smirking when Erik's eyes widened in complete shock.
"I…I don't know what you are talking about" Erik replied.
"Oh Please, I have the best sense of smell in the room, Hormones and Pheromones never lie and you two reek of them" Eli smirked, on the verge of laughter at the sight of Erik going slightly red.
"Oh don't get me wrong, Yautja women are….well…very attractive, I just didn't think that humans were that into the whole 'mandible' thing" Eli grinned.
"How about you mind your own business, Lizard boy?" Erik replied with a scowl.
"Don't call me that, Monkey boy" Eli growled back.
"All right why don't you two blow off some steam? I can tell you want to" Rezeal sighed as he shook his head. He knew the look in both Eli's and Erik's eyes, they were both the look of an alpha male, Eli was the future emperor of his people while Erik was a high ranking officer in the Myrmidon corps. Both were alpha males in their own right and they obviously didn't take kindly to being in the presence of another.
Eli had to agree with Rezeal, in times such as this Kamads would usually settle their differences with the sword, if both Kamads could prove their skill and strength with a blade then mutual respect would be achieved. Then again Erik was not a Kamad and would probably not understand this cultural fact, but at the same time Eli could tell he was a warrior through and through.
It sounded like a good idea.
"How are you with a blade?" Eli asked Erik as he stood up.
"I can hold my own well enough" Erik replied as he stood up opposite Eli.
"In that case, I won't go easy on you" Eli said as he threw Rezeal one of his Katanas. The Black Haired Kamad caught the sheathed blade and had a close look at it, under close inspection Rezeal realized that Eli had chosen to use only his best Katana for this fight.
One of the more vital aspects of Kamad warrior tradition was when a Kamad had proven themselves worthy as a warrior of the highest calibre then they would be given a pure Kamad steel blade which was infused with their own blood. The techniques used to create these blades made them virtually unbreakable, this was not done often as such blades took years to forge and pure refined Kamad steel could only be procured by only the finest Kamad steel smiths. Not to mention such blades were considered part of the wielders' soul, Eli being part of the royal family and an elite meant he had probably one of the strongest and most well-made blades in the whole of the Kamad Empire.
Eli usually fought with two Katanas, in hind sight it seemed like the best way for a Samurai like him to fight, but truth be told he was much deadlier when using only his Pure Katana. The second Katana he used, even though well made in its own right, wasn't anywhere near as special as his pure Katana. If Eli lost his lesser Katana, he would probably have it replaced within a week.
Rezeal looked with concern at Eli, he didn't meant to kill this human did he? Eli was renowned not just on his home planet, but across the entire empire as a deadly swordsman, probably one of the best in the universe, as there were not many opponents that could best Eli in terms of swordsmanship other than his father, the Primarchs and a few of the Elite Marshals.
However Rezeal had no idea what skills this human named Erik possessed, he was an unknown to him, all that Rezeal and Eli knew of the skills of Myrmidons was that the best of them could cleave down Yautja like wheat. The info they had downloaded concerning Myrmidons told them that the Myrmidons were one of the only reasons that the Human race could possibly have a 'fair' war against the Yautja.
This was going to be interesting indeed.
Erik took off his Pulse Rifle and his Revolver belt, he didn't need to burden himself with unnecessary gear when he needed to be as light on his feet as possible. He could tell by the size of this guy, that he was a Powerhouse, by the way he tackled the Predalien he would have to guess he was at least twice as physically strong as Vlad. That meant that Erik needed to make up for his lesser strength with speed and agility.
The two exited the room and stood out in the hall, Eli unsheathed his Katana while Erik unsheathed his broadsword. The two were set on fighting, there was no way getting around it now, they were going to find out which of them was the better fighter and settle their differences once and for all.
Eli stared dead into Erik's eyes as he held his Katana in the style of a Samurai, Erik thought it weird how similar to Hanzo's fighting stance Eli's was. Erik had spent time training with a genuine Samurai, his fellow Myrmidon Hanzo fought like a Samurai and Erik had to admit that Hanzo was one of the best fighters the Corps had to offer aside from himself.
But the way Eli held that Katana, how he shifted his large size and gripped the Katana not like a tool but like a part of himself was like nothing he had seen before. Erik was beginning to think that picking a fight with a guy who not only towered over him but was over a hundred times older than him may not have been the most well thought out idea. But Erik was not one to surrender or give up, he was a Major in the Myrmidon corps and he would see this through to the end, he wouldn't show weakness in front of the Kamad Prince who stood opposite him.
"So what signifies a win?" Erik asked as he flourished his broadsword
"I don't want to render you unable to fight, so how about….first to draw blood?" Eli asked. It seemed like a reasonable rule, neither species would be bothered by a single cut, Erik had enough facial scars that it wouldn't make a difference and Eli would recover from a cut in mere seconds.
"Sounds fair" Erik replied as he took a battle stance and readied his grip on his blade.
"Ready?" Eli asked before taking a sniff of the air.
"Yeah…you?" Erik asked back as he gripped his sword.
"I was born ready" Eli grinned before he lunged at Erik, the Tensile Poly alloy steel blade of Erik's Broadsword clashed with the Pure Kamad Steel blade of Eli's Katana, causing sparks to fly across the hall.
Erik was taken back at just how ungodly fast Eli was, he didn't expect a 9 foot alien samurai wearing heavy armour to move faster than an Olympic sprinter. Erik had made his bed now he had to sleep in it, he had to prove to this Kamad that he had no weakness, that he was an equal.
Erik locked gazes with the Kamad, Erik's green eyes looking into Eli's burning golden orbs, both had the look of a warrior, now Erik to prove that he could back the look up. He pushed back with every inch of his Myrmidon strength and managed to push Eli from their locked swords, the Kamad was taken back at the strength of the soldier.
After all Eli had never experienced the strength of a Myrmidon, all he had seem of human warriors was the marines aboard the Asclepheus who did not do so well against the invading Black Yautja. Seeing this Myrmidon be able to physically push him back was something else, not to mention how he had the reaction time to block one of his dash attacks.
Eli was impressed with this one so far, he couldn't wait to see what else this 'Erik' could do. He flourished his Katana with grace and spoke with a clear and joyful tone "Continue"
Rezeal meanwhile sat next to Blair, just sat content with polishing his Hook Blade. The human scientist looked at the Black Haired Kamad with a look of confusion "Are…are those two actually going to fight?" Blair asked.
"They are warriors through and through, Blair…you wouldn't understand even if I tried to tell you" Rezeal explained, his red reptilian eyes still fixed on his Hook blade as he polished the well designed and rune covered blade.
"Alright…mind if I…?" Blair asked, motioning to 'his' room. Rezeal nodded yes and simply kept polishing his weapon. The Black Haired Kamad hadn't had problems with Blair like Eli did, this was probably because Rezeal was very tolerant to people who seemed to be on his side, this was due to his childhood as being one who would always get picked on.
Blair, once he got in his room shut the door behind him before he reached into the interior pocket of his lab coat and pulled out the device that he had used to contact his boss earlier. He sat on the nearest chair and plugged the earphones into his ears before switching on the device. After a minute or two the device sprung to life, the image of the face of Mr Weyland was shown.
It seemed like the scientist was interrupting something as Weyland was wearing a dressing gown with a glass of scotch in his hand. The ageing man looked to the screen and asked "Dr Blair, I trust you have a good reason for calling me at this hour".
"I do sir….we…we have a situation" Blair said with an urgent tone.
Tra'kan could not describe the irritation he felt right now, all his life he had been a decorated Elite of his people, well known for his deadly tactics, the way his Hunters respected him and his enemies feared him. He was one of the Vanguard of the Black Yautja Sovereignty for over two hundred years, his family lineage was one of the most prestigious and he had earned the reputation of a Hunter worthy of legend.
Yet here he was, subjected to working with white skinned abominations like the Twins.
Tra'kan was walking past many of the ships inside of the fifth Landing Bay that the Asclepheus had installed, towards the ship that the Pale Twins had docked. The Asclepheus being the gargantuan ship that it was, was equipped with several very large scale docking bay's that were large enough to hold many fighter and Frigate sized ships. The Black Yautja had put two of said Docking Bays to good use, using them to hold the higher ranking hunter's personal ships.
Tra'kan looked to his right to see a group of Hunters stripping down a human Fighter ship, the human weapons were of no use, but the reinforced armoured alloy panels of the ships hulls was being used very wisely. The Black Yautja knew of the many hundreds of alien species on board the ship, so building barricades with the hull panels was a sure fire way to keep them from storming into the areas they controlled.
After all the humans wouldn't be needing their fighters for much longer.
Tra'kan had in fact suggested to Ma'zax the idea of stripping down the tech of the Newton and the Quatermaine seeing as the human technology was inferior and the humans would no longer need the warships. But the Elder told Tra'kan that having four warships instead of two would be greatly beneficial if any other species tried anything funny.
The Hunter finally found his way to the Ship that the Pale Twins shared between themselves. It was a very unique looking ship as far as their species was concerned, as instead of the usual black hull, it was painted a pale white like the skin of its owners. Though the decorations didn't stop at a mere paint job, the ship also had the skeletonized corpse of a lesser Yautja tied to the front along with Black Yautja markings painted in red all over the Hull. The ship would more than defiantly strike fear into the hearts of any creatures that saw it.
Tra'kan had to admit, even though he was a fearless hunter who had seen some things in his day, he was slightly afraid of the Twins, they were much better known among their people. They were infamous across the known universe as Mass murderers, Genocidal maniacs and Universal criminals, not to mention there were several rumours among the fleet that the Twins were cannibals or practiced in the consumption of their lesser Yautja prey.
Considering their reputation, Tra'kan would hardly be surprised if that were also the truth. The Twins didn't spend much time with anyone besides themselves and Lord Ma'zax, to be honest it made Tra'kan curious as to how Ma'zax knew the two Hunters. As Ma'zax's second in command he wasn't entitled to know every detail of everything his Lord knew, but it would have been nice if he had an inkling of how his Lord knew the two.
Tra'kan came to the entrance to the ship, surprised to see that the ramp was open as was the door to the interior of the ship. Tra'kan then realized that not many of even the best hunters would willingly delve into the lair of the Twins, given their reputation.
"Qul'tan! Tra'zen! Are you in there!?" Tra'kan shouted into the open ship, not willing to step inside just yet.
Silence
The Hunter looked to his left, then his right, then behind him. How often would he get the chance to take a look at the interior of the ship that belonged to the infamous Pale Twins? The Black Yautja stepped into the ship slowly, making sure that he didn't accidently set off any sick twisted traps that the Twins had undoubtedly set up.
Tra'kan stepped into the ship, no sign of any trip wires or any pressure plates on the floor. So far so good he thought as he made it into the ship, one thing that many species didn't know about Yautja ships in general was how spacious they were on the inside, even for creatures as tall as 9 foot.
Tra'kan very soon came to what he wanted to see, the Pale Twins' trophy wall. Many of the best Black Yautja Hunters had so many trophies that they kept them not only at their homes, but on board their ships as well. Tra'kan was curious to see what kind of trophies the two had taken, a Hunter's trophies spoke volumes about their skill after all.
As Tra'kan found said wall, his eyes widened substantially as he found the various skulls and trophies taken from all kinds of prey. It was more of a trophy room than a wall as it took up twice as much space as any other Hunter's wall and the trophies themselves were way more exotic and varied than ones he had seen before.
The skull of a fully grown Queen Xenomorph
The bony exoskeleton of a large Insectoid creature, 10 foot tall with scythe like claws
The assorted skulls of Lesser Yautja, said skulls having very pronounced foreheads suggesting them as Elites or Elders
The skull of a River Ghost
An ancient Japanese Katana
An old age Pirate Flintlock pistol
A skull looking like that of an earth Triceratops
The assorted skulls of Xenomorph warriors, many having bladed or spike crests
Two or three Kamad skulls, unique from the rest of the skulls by their mandible bones over their lower jaws, and the many pours around the nasal cavities. The Skull of a Kamad was a trophy of godly proportions among the Black Yautja, signifying the Hunter as being one of the best of their species. Lesser Yautja didn't dare fight Kamads due to their reputation as one of the universe's most powerful races, the Black Yautja however had severed ties with all over species, making them fair game in their book. Though Kamads were not like any other race, their god-like sense of smell, gargantuan strength and regeneration ability made them a force to be reckoned with, only the greatest of the elites had Kamad skulls on their walls.
Tra'kan thought he had seen enough, until something caught his attention, a faint green glow in the corner of his eye. The Black Yautja turned to see a curtain in the room, filled with curiosity the Hunter walked towards it and pulled it back.
The curtain was shrouding a Shrine that the Twins had apparently kept in their trophy room. It was not uncommon for the more religious hunters to have shrines to the god's in their dwellings, shrines to Cetanu the god of death and Paya the goddess of all Yautja were not uncommon.
But this shrine was not to any god as instead of a statue of Cetanu or Paya, there was a large jar filled with a glowing green substance. Tra'kan picked up the Jar and in a fit of utter shock, almost dropped the jar as he realized what was inside it.
The preserved severed head of a Black Yautja.
The head was defiantly of an older Hunter as his brow was more pronounced and his mandibles longer than the average Hunter. Tra'kan was shocked not because he was squeamish, far from it, it was forbidden amongst Black Yautja to kill their own kind, so seeing the head of one of his people being kept as a kind of trophy was certainly out of place.
"You know it's rude to trespass" came a voice from behind. Tra'kan turned quickly to come face to face with Qul'tan. The Hunter was leaning on his bow, looking intently at Tra'kan and the Jar he was holding.
"I would say it's more than rude to kill one of your own kind" Tra'kan replied showing Qul'tan the jar and its contents.
"I see…you have found our dear father" Qul'tan stated blankly, not a single emotion adorning his face.
"Y…Your father? This is…"
"Yes, I thought I made that clear" Qul'tan replied before he stopped leaning on his bow. He slung the weapon back onto his back with his quiver and walked over to the other Hunter, reaching out he took the Jar from him and placed it back upon the pedestal were he had found it.
"You must understand this Tra'kan, Yautja like my brother and I…we do not exactly have the best beginnings to our stories" Qul'tan said stroking the jar containing his father's head.
"Our Father wasn't exactly what you would call….loving. When my brother and I were born, it was seen as a curse on our family, to have not only an Albino…but Twin Albinos? You must understand that our father was a very well-known Hunter at the time of our birth, his blood was 'pure' and we couldn't be discarded like any Cjit on the side of the street. But once we reached an age where most Yautja would undergo training…he…killed our mother, at the moment we don't know why he did it, but what we know for sure was that once he did he blamed it on us…proclaiming that we were a curse and deserved to be skinned for what we did" Qul'tan said stroking the side of the tank before he turned to Tra'kan and looked him in the eye.
"Our punishment was a severe one for children of our age…my brother lost his tongue and…well…you know what punishment comes for murderers among our people" Qul'tan said as he reached up and unbuckled his leather torso armour to reveal his chest. What Tra'kan saw on the Albino was a very intricate brand over his heart, it was a Yautja symbol than translated to 'scum' it was very intricate because it would cause the most pain for the one to receive the brand. The punishment for Murder in Black Yautja was punishable by having the Brand implanted on their body.
"My Brother had his burned on his back…equal punishment wouldn't you say?" Qul'tan smiled before he began to latch his leather chest armour back on.
"Lord Ma'zax happened to come across us when we were on the streets, he looked on us and…he saw potential, he took us under his wing and trained us to become what we are today, he was more of a father to us than this scum" Qul'tan smiled pointing to the jar containing his father's head.
"Lord Ma'zax trained my brother and me to be the greatest Hunters that our species ever saw. But when my brother and I became strong enough…we tracked down our birth father, Tra'zen shattered his legs so he couldn't run, I sliced his tendons so he couldn't move then Tra'zen cut out his tongue and vocal chords with a red hot dagger so he couldn't scream and we each took turns….taking him apart….piece….by piece" Qul'tan smiled as he fiddled with his necklace. Tra'kan then noticed that the necklace Qul'tan was wearing was a bone necklace of Yautja fingers.
"I…I see, so that is why you are so Pauked up?" Tra'kan asked earning a chuckle from Qul'tan who put a hand on Tra'kan's shoulder.
"Hehehe, well said. Now come, my brother and I are itching for some Kamad blood and I can guess that you are as well?" Qul'tan asked as Tra'kan nodded in approval.
It didn't take long for the Hunters to gather in the main hangar, ready for their Hunt. All 20 Black Yautja Hunters were the Elite of the Elite, the best their fleet had to offer, all of them had their unique skills and strengths that made them valuable for Hunting Kamads.
Tra'kan was already equipping his weapons and battle armour as he was not about to let that Kamad out do him again, so he was wearing the armour most Black Yautja would wear on their way to war. It was not light weight by any means, it was thick armour made for warfare and had very little places in terms of weak spots.
This however was not uncommon among the Hunters, now that they knew these Kamads were not only Elites, but that one of them was the prince, nearly all of them had equipped their war armour instead of their more lightweight gear, Qul'tan for example had his lightweight leather armour equipped due to the fact that his role was more like that of a Ranger, light and fast on his feet.
Qul'tan's brother Tra'zen was wearing white heavy battle armour with black war paint smeared on the plating, unlike his brother, Tra'zen was more of a tank as being a Black Yautja of his size and stature made him very tough and not one to fuck with. He had already latched his Halberd together and was giving it a few practise swings.
The other Black Yautja Elites that the Twins had suggested consisted of:
Mh'jax the Breaker, a Black Yautja who may as well have been a wall of steel and flesh. His size was comparable to that of Tra'zen, he wore Black heavy Battle armour and wielded a two handed Mace that made him infamous. He had earned the name 'Breaker' as he was famous for his unnatural strength and the way he would reduce his enemies to little more than smears on the floor.
Lin'theiw the Butcher, a Black Yautja feared by not only lesser Yautja but by members of his own race as he had a nasty habit of devouring the remains of his Lesser Yautja victims and painting his armour with their blood. He wore Black Battle armour and was right now in the midst of applying Glowing green blood in the form of war paint to his mask. He wielded a wide variety of knives along a vicious Yautja version of cleaver knife.
Yul'Tran the Tracker, the best tracker in the entire fleet. While many Hunter's needed their masks in order to find trails of their Quarry, Yul'Tran could track his prey relentlessly no matter how hard they tried to cover their tracks. He was the owner of the vast majority of the Hell Hounds that were brought with them, he also used a flying drone that was latched to his shoulder in place of a Plasma Caster. He was the one who would lead them to the Kamads the fastest without a doubt.
The Black Yautja hadn't only equipped their heavy battle armour, but they had also prepared their mounts, Hell Steeds as they were called. These huge quadrupeds were the Yautja equivalent of horses and bore a strong resemblance to their Hell Hounds as they also had the multiple horns erupting from their skull cavities, not to mention their tough scaly hides. The Kamads would have made it far in the amount of time the Yautja let them be, and the Hunters would not be able to move as fast with their heavy gear and battle armour, so they would need the assistance of their Hell Steeds.
One such Yautja was preparing a Hell Steed for Qul'tan, once the Pale Hunter saw this Hunter he smirked and walked up behind him.
"Hello little Brother, how are things?" Qul'tan smirked at the small Black Yautja. It was the same Black Yautja who had fitted Tra'kan's cybernetic arm, Lord Ma'zax's son.
"Hello….Lord Qul'tan, I'm….I'm fine" the small Black Yautja replied as he tied up another buckle of the Hell Steed's saddle.
"Oh will you be joining us on this hunt?" Qul'tan asked with a smirk on his mandibles.
"N-No my lord, I…I will not" the small Black Yautja replied timidly.
"Oh yes that's right! Worthless little runts like you aren't suited to hunt for Kamads are you?" Qul'tan chuckled as he smacked the shorter Yautja hard on the back, causing him to stumble for a second.
"So why don't you make yourself scarce? Or I might just decide to give Lin'theiw over there a smack" Qul'tan smirked, pointing his thumb over to the Black Yautja applying Yautja blood to his mask.
The little Black Yautja departed as fast as he could keeping his eyes fixed on the ground like he was taught to.
The Pale Yautja snickered as he mounted his Hell Steed, the beast grunting as he did. Once mounted on his steed, Qul'tan rode the beast to the front of the Hunting party, holding his bow up high.
"MOUNT UP!" he ordered and like clockwork all the Hunters hopped onto their steads with little difficulty, their main weapons at the ready and Hell Hounds ready to start following the scent of Kamad and human.
"My Brothers! Who here thirsts for Kamad Blood?" Qul'tan shouted with a smile plastered upon his mandibles. The Hunters all let out a long and ferocious roar that echoed through the halls, the beating of fists against armoured chests and the snarling of Hell Hounds made a sound that would strike fear into the hearts of all those that heard it.
"Hehehe….good, then I'm glad to call you my brothers. Yul'Tran!" Qul'tan shouted to the tracker who nodded in response.
"Release the Hell Hounds" the Pale hunter smirked as Yul'Tran smiled widely as he held pressed a few keys into his wrist computer resulting in the sound of a long and shrill whistle. The Hounds immediately started to slather at their mouths and began to bolt forward at a fast and rabid pace.
Qul'tan reared his hell steed and began to keep pace with the Hounds, the other Hunters latched their masks onto their faces and kicked their steeds in the sides, spurring them to begin galloping down the halls onto their hunt. Yul'Tran lead the Party, he knew his hounds better than anyone would, not to mention he didn't want anyone mistaking the signs of Kamad.
Kamad Blood was sure to stain the halls once the Hunters found their prey, one way or another the Hunters would gain their trophies and quench their thirst for blood.
"So…you're a girl Yautja?" Norma asked as she crossed a circuit
"I would have thought that obvious at this point" Sha'ra replied, still a bit uncomfortable around Norma and Sophie. She wasn't exactly one to be timid, but she didn't want to say the wrong thing to someone Erik considered a sister, especially since she was now half Kamad and by that logic could probably bite her throat out.
"Yeah, I just hope you understand that you are the first Female of your species that a human has probably made contact with" Norma smiled, her inner scientist was screaming inside her mind, telling her to ask as many questions as possible but seeing as Sha'ra was obviously a friend of Erik's, her inner sister was telling her to go easy on the questions.
"Well what did you expect? Did you honestly think my people didn't have females?" Sha'ra asked back.
"Oh no, it's just that the only records of we have of your people are the males, after a while we started to suspect that Yautja were either genderless or that your genders were identical" Norma explained.
"Well, our Males aren't exactly known for being subtle, if not for the cloaking they would bumble around like idiots and everyone would see them" Sha'ra smirked a little.
"Did…did you just make a guy joke?" Sophie asked.
"Hehe, I guess Yautja aren't humourless after all" Norma smiled.
Norma and Sophie continued to work on Erik's helmet, the inner circuitry of a Myrmidon helm was much more complicated than they initially thought. The circuitry had to be battle ready and be able to take a lot of punishment, so fixing something that wasn't meant to be damageable was quite a tall order for the two.
"So…how did you and Erik meet?" Norma asked, trying to both pass the time and get a little bit of info out of the Huntress at the same time.
"To be honest, for the first few minutes Erik and I were at each other's throats. We tried to kill each other because I was a Yautja and I didn't even know what he was. Then he ended up saving my life from some Kainde Amehda, he got hurt during the fight, I helped him heal and from there we decided to stick together, safety in numbers after all" Sha'ra explained, smiling as she remembered how Erik saved her life, risking his against a full grown Xenomorph.
"Kainde Amehda? I guess that's what you guys call Xenos?" Norma asked.
"It means 'Hard Meat' in your tongue, but yes they do fit into that category" Sha'ra explained.
"Well, Erik always did have a knack for getting his arse kicked for others. When we were children he would always keep me and other kids safe from bullies….he got beaten a lot of the time. Some of those scars he has on his face aren't from Xenomorphs after all" Norma spoke, remembering how Erik would act like the model brother, keeping his little sister safe even if it mean getting beaten up.
"So…you like him?" Norma asked out of the blue. Sha'ra's eyes instantly widened and her gaze was glued on Norma after what she just suggested.
"E…Excuse me?" Sha'ra stuttered.
"Oh come on, the way you look at him, its obvious right Soph?" Norma asked the blonde American.
"I'm not getting involved, especially with stuff like this" Sophie sighed as she crossed a few wires.
"I don't blame you, especially with all the changes we've been going through" Norma replied continuing her work on Erik's helmet.
"Changes?" Sha'ra asked.
"Let's see, there is the fact that we have made contact with a race of Yautja that made you guys look like puppies, no offence by the way. Contact with a race of space samurai resulting in me becoming a reptile lady, the entire crew has been either killed or escaped the ship, Myrmidons and Yautja are both on route to destroy said ship and to top that off we have an infestation of Xenomorphs that want to turn us all into their personal baby makers. I can't really blame Sophie for not wanting to hear about interspecies romance" Norma spoke with an understanding tone.
"I…I like Erik as a friend, nothing more" Sha'ra said, trying to hide her blush.
"Oh come on, you don't have to be shy about it. I bet scars are a big thing among your people and Erik has plenty of them to go around" Norma joked.
"Well since the war, I doubt any of my people would find Erik acceptable" Sha'ra spoke with a heavy tone. Even though she did find Erik attractive, and not to mention he was a great warrior even by the standards of her people. It's just that her family would never accept him, not to mention interspecies relations would be seen as a betrayal, in some clans even the thought of it was punishable by death.
"Well, people change…there was a time when my people thought that men with white skin were the only people that deserved rights. But we now have leaders of all nationalities, genders and colours, times change, trust me" Norma said, putting a hand on Sha'ra's shoulder.
"What about you? Do you think people of different species should be together?" Sha'ra asked the Hybrid who laughed a bit in response. For a moment it worried Sha'ra as if Norma was laughing at the notion altogether, but when she responded it was not in a way that the Huntress expected.
"Oh please, I'm not sure I count as a single species anymore, Sha'ra. If I had a relationship with anyone I'm pretty sure it counts as interspecies" Norma laughed. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure I anyone can figure things out its Erik" Norma continued, the smile still plastered on her face.
"I'm amazed that you are taking the 'Hybrid' thing this easily" Sha'ra admitted, not many she knew would be so accepting as Norma.
"I'm a scientist, this is probably the best thing to happen to me to be honest. I mean come on, not only am I gonna be remembered for being the first Human Kamad Hybrid, but just imagine all the medicines and vaccines I can make from my own biology!" Norma beamed at the concept for actually being the next advance in science.
"You…..You are a strange being, Norma" Sha'ra admitted with a chuckle. Norma was defiantly an oddity, but in a very amusing way. Sha'ra was genuinely surprised to meet not one, but two humans on this ship that reshaped her opinion of their species.
"Speaking of Hybrids, how do you think I did against those Predaliens? Not too shabby eh?" Norma asked with a smirk. Sha'ra only raised an eyebrow before replying.
"Your combat skills….could use some work" the Huntress replied.
"What do you mean by that?" the brunette Hybrid asked.
"You fight like a newborn. Simply stabbing a Hybrid in the head isn't an efficient battle strategy" Sha'ra shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh really? And what do you know about fighting?" Norma asked with a smirk.
"A metric tonne more than you" Sha'ra smirked back.
Norma found herself really liking this Yautja, by all means as a human it would have been expected that she wouldn't like Yautja after the war. But here, getting some face time with a Huntress like Sha'ra was really enriching on a number of levels, both as a scientist, a fact which made Norma scream inside her head, imagining the title of 'first human to make peaceful contact with
"Ok….I can already tell that you and I are going to get along just fine" Norma smiled at the Huntress.
"Oh, by the way I wanted to ask something" Sha'ra asked.
"Fire away" Norma smiled back.
"Where did you get such….strange attire?" Sha'ra asked, eyeing the leathery short skirt that Norma was sporting. Norma raised an eye brow and eyed Sha'ra's attire, especially her midriff.
"You can talk" the Hybrid replied.
"Wake up….please wake up" a voice asked politely and softly.
Grey could barely open his eyes, or even respond for that matter. The dryness that plagued his throat was unbearable and rendered him unable to speak loud enough to be heard, not to mention the intense migraine burning through his skull as he tried to concentrate on the blurry image he saw in front of him. It couldn't be Tra'kan, the voice was too high pitched and polite to be that sadistic alien bastard.
"Drink this, it'll help" the voice spoke again and Grey felt something like the rim of a bowl or glass touch his lips. The Human Captain shut his mouth tightly and refrained from letting whatever it was, pour some unknown liquid into his mouth. For all Grey knew this could have been some trick set up by Ma'zax and Tra'kan and whatever was feeding him this liquid could have been using some kind of truth formulae to get information and the Captain would rather die than let the Black Yautja learn his secrets.
"Nathan…it's alright, he's here to help" spoke a familiar Russian accented voice. The human captain may have been nearly blind at this point, but he knew that voice anywhere. Captain Azarov's voice was very distinct and had its own tone of kindness and experience that Nathanial could pick up anywhere.
The captain relented and opened his weak lips, letting the liquid pour into his mouth and down his throat. The instant that the cool, refreshing liquid passed his lips and make its way down his throat he felt more alive than he had ever felt in all his years as a Captain. He felt the liquid rehydrate him almost immediately and almost as if it were some heavenly concoction reserved for gods and angels.
"…GAaak! Ugh…what…what was that?" Nathanial asked as he felt his vocal chords come back to life, his single vision only coming back in the loosest of terms. During his torture at the hands of Tra'kan, his cybernetic eye had been damaged to the point that he had lost his depth perception, though it didn't mean it couldn't be repaired.
"It is called Val'Ava, it is a medicine from my home world, it should help treat the pain and bring you strength" the voice continued to say.
"W….who…who are you?" Grey asked, his voice slowly coming back.
"My name is Na'Yal, and don't worry, I shall not harm you" the one known as Na'Yal spoke.
"Ugh…..when…when will I be able to see again?" Nathanial asked as his voice returned.
"With time, it differs from person to person" Na'Yal replied softly.
"It's alright Nathan, just give it time" Azarov said, her familiar Russian accent managing to calm him down. The medicine took its time to effect Grey's vision and restore it, his depth perception wasn't going to return anytime soon, but the medicine would restore his vision to its apex if given the time.
The blurs that plagued the Captain's mine began to clear and shapes became sharper and much more focused than before. He managed to regain his vision rather quickly due to the medicinal effects of the Val'Ava and when he could finally see again he was reasonably shocked to see who this Na'Yal was.
He was a Black Yautja! But he seemed shorter than the others he had seen, almost human sized in height while he lacked the various battle scars or weapons that the other had adorning their figures. For some reason though, his eyes looked eerily familiar, he couldn't put his finger on it for the life of him.
"What the fuck?" Grey said, his vocabulary not able to find another apt response for the situation he found himself in.
"It's alright, I'm…I'm here to help" Na'Yal replied, trying to keep Grey calm under the circumstances.
"Why the fuck would a Black Yautja want to help us?" Grey asked suspiciously. The longer he went without an answer the more it seemed like this Yautja was toying with him.
"I have…my own reasons for wanting to help you" Na'Yal replied timidly.
"I doubt you could help us anyway. Your people have made it pretty abundant that me and Azarov aren't going to last much longer if we don't speak, and I don't plan on squealing anytime soon" Grey replied sternly.
"I'm not like the others on board…I…I no longer want any part in what they are planning anymore, though if I abandoned them I would be executed in the most painful way possible" the small Black Yautja replied.
"So…why help us? What do you have to gain?" Azarov asked.
"You two…you…you know your way around the ship? You know the passage ways that my people do not, you know how to get to the further levels?" Na'Yal asked.
"Yeah, we do, what's your point?" Grey asked.
"You need me to get out of this room, and I need you to get out of here alive" Na'Yal asked with a timid tone.
"So you're only concerned with escaping with your hide at the expense of us…there is a word for that you know" Grey replied. Still somewhat sceptical of what Na'Yal was suggesting.
"Coward, Whelp, Slime, Scum, I've heard them all before, Captain. The fact is that you aren't getting off of this ship alive without my help, and I without yours" Na'Yal continued, he had been ridiculed and abused by his own people for his entire life so being called a coward by a human who proven his mettle in the face of Tra'kan wasn't really going to bring him down.
"Why exactly would we try to escape? If you ask me, it would be a better plan if you just give me a blade and point me to where Ma'zax is so I can slit his throat" Grey suggested.
"That…isn't the wisest course of action"
"And why is that?" Grey asked.
"Because over ten thousand Black Yautja warriors stand between you and him, and even if by some miracle you made it to him unscathed, he is a warrior with thousands of years' experience while you could barely speak a few moments ago" Na'Yal explained. As Grey thought about it, it wasn't exactly the best plan he had thought up. Besides even if I did make it that far, it was clear that the Black Yautja would not kill him, they would make him suffer a fate far worse than anything they had subjected him to thus far.
"Nathan" Azarov said, gaining the British Captain's attention.
"It could work, we still have allies on board that could get us off this ship" Azarov explained.
"Of course, the Kamads can't have gotten off the ship yet, and there are Myrmidons on board" Grey continued.
"Myrmidons?" Azarov asked.
"Yes, I heard it from Ma'zax himself" Grey smiled. Finally it seemed like they had some hope of turning this situation around.
"Um…I hope this won't break your spirits but, Tra'kan has been sent with a formidable hunting party to kill the Kamads" Na'Yal explained, Grey's facial expression immediately changed.
"What? When?" he asked.
"Little more than an hour ago" the Black Yautja explained.
Grey sighed and pondered the situation, putting his well-trained military mind to use. If Eli and the others had any chance, then they had to be warned and quickly. The deal that this Black Yautja offered them started t sound better by the minute, that and Grey had no other choice than to accept it.
"Alright, we'll help you get out. But we have to made a detour or two first" Grey offered. The Black Yautja also had no choice but to accept, then again the Captain had a much better mind for strategy than he ever would. After all, it was technology that was Na'Yal's forte, not war strategy or espionage.
"Very well" Na'Yal nodded, he drew his dagger from his hip and stood behind Grey in order to start cutting away at his bindings. Grey then finally felt his arms free from the tensile Yautja rope, he rubbed his wrists and the rope burns were bright red against his chocolate skin. The Captain slowly rose to his feet, feeling the medicine course through his veins and give him strength enough to stand without collapsing.
Na'Yal put a hand upon Grey's shoulder to steady him. The Human stretched his joints and limbered up as best as he could, that Black Yautja medicine was some effective stuff as he could feel it restoring his strength by the minute. Na'Yal then began cutting away at Azarov's bindings, the Russian Captain was not one to be ignored for long.
"Now, let's get out of here before anyone notices" Grey ordered as Na'Yal finished cutting Azarov free from her bindings.
*CLANG!*
*CLANG*
Erik's sword cut through the air and yet again made impact with Eli's Katana. As the blades clashed, sparks flew through the air from the impact as neither would yield under the strength of their wielders.
Eli had to admit that Erik was a worthy opponent, the Myrmidon was not like any foe he had faced before in fourteen hundred years. Many of the warriors Eli had faced in combat wouldn't fight in the manner in which Erik did, the Myrmidon fought with tenacity and struck every blow like his life depended on it and he went for every single opening that was available.
Eli would call Erik someone who had very little patience who would go for the kill as quickly as possible, being a trained in the methods of the SAS of course Erik was supposed to adapt and react quickly as possible. Eli however was trained in different methods, he was trained to bide his time and attack when he thought it best to land a killer or crippling blow to his enemies.
Erik was a Soldier
Eli was a Samurai
But both could see the other wasn't going to go down easily, even if this was just to blow off some steam. Eli's size and raw power was defiantly making things harder for Erik as his sword blows were nearly three times as powerful as his, and if his broadsword weren't made to take such damage it would have been cut clean in half by now.
"Getting tired yet?" Eli asked with a smile as he flourished his Katana over and over as he circled Erik.
"Ha, not on your life" Erik replied with a smile of his own, holding his broadsword in both hands. Truth be told, Erik was downright enjoying himself, he had never faced someone like Eli before. Despite the obvious fact that Eli was an alien, he still fought with the soul and courage that one would expect a human to fight with. Not to mention the constant vigil Erik to stay on was beginning to become more and more of a challenge.
"You know…this is a first for me" Eli smiled as he leaned his Katana on his shoulder.
"And what would that be?" Erik asked, curious as to what the Kamad was suggesting.
"Finding a Non Kamad opponent who could match me for this long" Eli admitted.
"Really? Is it that hard finding good opponents?" Erik asked.
"Well Kamads are born warriors, we train to become the best we can possibly become…other races train in different ways" Eli said.
"Really? And what would those be?" Erik asked, curious to hear what the prince had to say about other races. This was a chance that any human would kill for, being able to learn more about other alien races was something he dreamed about when he was a child.
"Uh…well, Dwavarians are naturally short tempered and have skulls as thick as steel, Aurellians have extremely good aim and are experienced as long range combat, Tyniarians are colossal in size and can hurl energy spears…" Eli explained until Erik raised a hand to stop him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa wait a second….what exactly does these guys look like? Give me a frame of reference here" Erik asked as he balanced himself on his sword with both hands resting on the hilt.
"You Humans like to ask questions don't you?" Eli smirked.
"Just answer the question, mate" Erik chuckled. It was then when Erik noticed just how friendly the atmosphere had gotten, turns out Rezeal couldn't be more right. Their fight had managed to purge them of their Alpha Male urges to kill each other and now that they had purged that feeling they could finally get along.
"Well…Dwavarians stand at about a few feet shorter than you, long bushy beards, short but stocky builds, very famous for going into battle in heavy armour as thick as their skulls" Eli explained. Erik couldn't help but put two and two together, the aliens that Eli was describing sounded just like something you would expect to find in the works of Tolkien.
"You're kidding me right? Are you seriously telling me that mythological Dwarves are real?" Erik asked with disbelief.
"In your eyes…yeah, a lot of the mythological creatures in your people's history were actually alien races, visiting your planet when you were young and not so…well…easy to panic" Eli explained as best as he could, letting the information he was giving Erik time to sink in.
"Are you alright?" Eli asked, hoping that the information wasn't too much for the Myrmidon to handle.
"Yeah, just…wow, I really guess the world is going to change once this whole fiasco is over and done with" Erik smiled.
"Your world will certainly get more interesting" Eli smiled. Once the Alien Prince had finished speaking, he began to regret giving Erik such a hard time when they first met. He saw a lot of himself in the Myrmidon, they were both warriors that gave their all and judging by Erik's actions of saving Sha'ra's life he was obviously an honourable man.
"Listen…Erik" Eli spoke with a sombre tone. Erik paid attention to what Eli had to say, as he began to like this Kamad also.
"Yeah?" the Myrmidon asked.
"Sorry about that earlier, I wasn't thinking straight" Eli admitted.
"Hey, tensions were high mate, to be honest I would be worried if you weren't tense because I certainly was" Erik admitted with a smile.
Eli smiled before he held out his closed armoured fist, Erik smiled and held out his equally armoured hand. Black Myrmidon gauntlet met Chrome Kamad steel as the two fist bumped, a sign of friendship known to most species.
"So, did you see Norma fighting?" Erik asked.
"Oh god, how could I not? She needs some work" Eli chuckled.
"Some?" Erik asked with what could best be described as a shit eating grin.
"Alright, Alright a lot of work" Eli laughed as the two of them began to make their way back to the others. Their fight had taken up a hefty amount of time, so Norma and Sophie must have at least come close to finishing their repairs to Erik's helm.
However before the two could even make it close to the door, to their utter surprise, Sha'ra burst out from a corner with a horrified expression on her face. Her breath was ragged as is she was rushing with everything she had and her dreadlocks flung around her head wildly with her rapid movements.
"Eli…Erik" she gasped between breaths.
"Whoa, Sha'ra catch your breath" Erik said, gesturing with his hand for her to slow down.
"There's no time for that…We have to go…NOW" The Huntress gasped between breaths.
"Why? What are you talking about?" Eli asked.
"It's your team Erik, something has happened" Sha'ra gasped.
"What? What's happened? Are they alright?" Erik asked with concern for his team.
"For now…" The She-Yautja replied raggedly.
"What do you mean for now?" the Myrmidon asked.
"They've….ran into my people" Sha'ra responded, fear ever present in her eyes.
With those five words, Erik's heart stopped, the very thought that any of his men could be responsible for the deaths of anyone close to Sha'ra killed him, and as did the thought of someone close to her killing anyone of his teammates.
"They'll kill each other Erik…we…we have to do something" Sha'ra replied. The dread and fear evident in her gaze, under closer inspection Erik noticed that she was trembling in her utter shock. The Myrmidon reached out and grabbed her shoulders firmly and comfortingly, he gazed into her eyes and spoke to her confidently and as softly as he could.
"Sha'ra…nothing will happen to your Uncle, Your Brother or anyone of your people. Alright?" Erik stated, before he leaned in closer, locking his eyes with hers and placing his forehead firmly against hers.
"I give you my word"
As Erik spoke, his words burrowed into Sha'ra's mind. But unknown to any of the three, they were being watched from the air vents above them. This figure leered over the three and his jaws slathered with slime and glob. The only reason why Eli could not pick up the scent of this tracker was because of the way the air ducts blew the scent away from Eli's God Scent.
The Kamad, the Myrmidon and the Huntress had taken the lives of his sons...and he was ready for payback.
So everybody, what did ya think? Please I hope you guys can leave your comments and reviews in the form of a Review or a PM if you want something more personal.
Another few quick notes:
For those of you who didn't read the last authors note I did, I encourage you to read my Asclepheus Spin-off 'Al'Dan the Pale Hunter' as it is set within the same universe and WILL connect into future storylines that this story will delve into.
If it seems like those introductions to Black Yautja customs and Other Alien races seems a bit forced, DON'T WORRY, like I said these will also factor into Al'Dan and if you want to see them I suggest reading.
I would also like to give a shoutout to a very special AVP writer who pretty much inspired this story. Jago-Dakari, Author of 'A Slayers Vengeance' which is pretty much the inspiration for what created this entire story, read his story trust me. And dude if you are reading this note You Rock!
Now everyone I'm afraid this concludes the latest chapter of 'The Asclepheus' but do not worry because…
Next Chapter:
We catch up with Alpha team as they and Zen'tau's hunting party butt heads
Captain Grey and Azarov attempt to escape the clutches of Lord Ma'zax
Tra'kan and The Pale Twins gain on our heroes' tracks
The Mysterious tracker follows our heroes in their race to stop the Myrmidons and Yautja from beginning a Massacre.
This is Dakkaman777 signing off
