The Yautja ship approached the gas giant and started to read the properties of the planet and its moons. The gas giant was as large as Jupiter with swirling clouds including a large giant anti-cyclone that resembled the Red Spot. The atmosphere readings indicated that the planet was majority hydrogen and helium but had concentrations of ammonia which gave it a bluish tint. It had over a dozen moons but no ring system. This planetary system was in the Alpha Centari star system, the closest to that of Earth. Despite its close proximity it was well outside the capabilities of mankind to visit there.
Lex felt grateful in a sense to be able to see these wonders. As a human she would never have been given the opportunity to see what she had seen. The Yautja ship traveled around the gas giant and found what it was looking for: a life sustaining moon.
The moon was slightly smaller than Earth with a powerful magnetosphere that blocked the extreme radiation belt of the gas giant. Due to it being far enough away from the gas giant it did not suffer from tidal forces. Lex could see the green vegetation and the large oceans that covered the moon.
"You will find that the environmental conditions on the moon are similar to that of the Earth," the Prince said.
"I want to see it," she said.
"And you shall," he permitted.
Lex looked over the instruments and realized that while similarities did exist there were also some crucial differences. The atmosphere held 18% carbon dioxide and lesser concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen than Earth. There were also traces of hydrogen sulfide that would be poisonous. She realized with some sadness that the atmosphere would be poisonous to humans.
"The atmosphere's carbon dioxide is poisonous to us, so we will have to use our masks," the Prince said.
"You have been here before?" Lex asked.
"Many times. This moon has one of the greatest hunting grounds," the Prince said.
"What do you hunt?" Lex wondered.
"You will see," the Prince said amused.
The Yautja ship descended into the Earth like atmosphere. The sky was blue and clouds were white just like on Earth. As they flew through the atmosphere, Lex could see floating pieces of rock. "How is that possible?" she asked.
"It is the same concept as a magnetic train. The charge on the rock formations is the same charge as that of the ground. The two forces repel each other allowing for the rock formations to remain in the air. The magnetic field on the moon is strong in order to repel the radiation coming from the planet. We can use this to our advantage by modifying our flight equipment to repel the metal from the ground. We can fly through the air without having to use fuel," the Prince explained.
As the ship slowed down Yautja could see giant trees surpassing the Redwood trees she had known on Earth. "The gravity on the moon is less than on Earth because it is smaller and less dense. This allows the plant life and animal life to evolve bigger frames, but it comes at a cost. Less gravity can cause muscular and skeletal deterioration. It is for this reason that we enjoy this hunt the most aside from humans. Our prey is nine feet tall, humanoid shaped, and have overcome the lesser gravity by developing strong bone fibers," the Prince continued.
Lex looked out the window and saw a flock of dragon looking creatures. Each one was the size of a car and they were an assortment of different colors. "We captured one of these creatures, and let it loose on the Earth one time. Eventually we hunted it down and killed it, but it spawned your dragon myths," the Prince said.
"Amazing," Lex said as she saw them.
The ship descended into a valley; the landing gear steadied the ship once it had reached the surface. "It is time for the briefing," the Prince said.
The Prince entered the mess hall to address his fellow warriors. "We have arrived," he told them.
The Yautja warriors pounded the tables in excitement. "Many of you have heard this warning, but for the benefit of our new warriors I shall give it again. Our prey is physically formidable in strength and they have the advantage of being taller, flexible, and have a longer arm reach than us. They have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell. They are particularly skilled with the bow and arrow, which they dip into a nerve toxin. If you are hit with one of these arrows you will have a short time to use your antidote before you have a seizure and die. Remember that our prey are often in hunting groups, so where there is one there is likely to be others close by. They know the land well and that is their advantage. They can communicate telepathically with the trees to spread information across the entire moon. In addition, there are a number of species on this moon that will be hostile towards us. The air is poisonous to us, so if you have a malfunction in your mask you are to report back to the ship," the Prince said.
"In addition, the target is able to interact with other species in its environment using a sophisticated network of tendons and nerve fibers. This allows them to communicate primitive directives to the creature as well as increased sensory perception. However, their weakness is that if their creature is injured they will also experience the same pain," the Prince continued.
"How will we draw their attention?" a warrior asked.
"The creatures have a religious connection to the animal and plant life. If we kill enough of these creatures they will attempt to hunt us. We will also be using the ship's infrared scanners to find their communities," the Prince answered.
The group then broke up and started putting on their equipment. The Prince then turned to Lex and showed her a datapad. "You will be hunting this," he said to her.
Lex looked over the hologram of the creature. "It looks like a monkey," she said.
"They are very fast, agile in the trees, and they can overwhelm in large groups. Bring back a skull and I will promote your hunt," the Prince said.
"Very well," Lex agreed.
The Yautja ship then landed on the planet and quickly the Yautja warriors exited the ship. The ship then went back into the air and disappeared using its cloaking device. The Yautja warriors including Lex activated their cloaking device, and then walked through the forest on their own. Lex scanned the area with her infrared and found nothing, so she switched to other visual spectrums. As she sampled the jungle plant life, Lex wished she had her human eyes. All around her were enormous trees and plant life she had never seen before. She decided to climb the tree with her blades. The forest was so thick that even if she fell she would land on a large leaf or branch from another tree. Once she reached a high enough spot, she looked around scanning the forest for any creatures.
She activated her hologram map and looked for an interesting location. Since she did not know where these syaksyuk were anywhere would be a good place to go. She went from branch to branch going through the trees until she found herself a waterfall. Knowing water would ruin her cloak, she stayed a distance away from it. She then scanned the area at the bottom of the waterfall and found some heat signatures. They were small and there were a dozen of them. She increased her magnification and determined the shape to be what she was looking for. She moved slowly and cautiously towards her target.
The Prince was not involved in the hunting party as he was in charge of the ship. Beyond hunting there were commercial reasons for why they were there. A hologram map indicated where the mineral ore he was looking for. It was a magnetic metal that was very useful in ship production. Upon finding a vein of the ore, the ship's lasers sliced into the moon's crust. When they had made a deep enough hole a missile was fired into the hole. The ship moved out of the way as the explosion blasted a crater size hole in the ground. The ore was then exposed for mining.
"Set up a perimeter and begin mining operations," the Prince ordered.
The other Yautja warriors felt a tremor from the blast the ship had caused. They all knew that this would surely awake the natives. Three Yautja warriors fired plasma bursts on a herd of angtsiks. The herd became enraged and used their hammerhead looking heads to bash the trees as they ran away. The Yautja continued to fire on the poor beasts killing them without difficulty. Another team of three went after a pack of nantang. The wolf looking creatures were quick in the forest giving the Yautja a challenge. Another team of three cut them off and sliced them through with spears and captured some of them with nets. Other Yautja chased down a herd of pa'li and shot down the horse looking animal with plasma blasts.
After they had killed a significant amount of animal life, the Yautja fired on the plant life creating fires wherever they went. The destruction would no doubt entice the natives to come out and attack, which was exactly what the Yautja wanted.
Lex sneaked up on the syaksyuk as they ate fruit from the trees. They resembled apes but were blue and yellow in color and had four arms. In between their first set of arms and their legs along their sides were webs that helped them to glide through the air. They had big eyes that helped them to see in the dark. The animal appeared hairless but was not a reptile. Lex watched as the creatures moved through the trees completely oblivious to her presence. She worked to get closer to one of them and then fired her net gun. The other syaksyuk scattered from the sound of the net gun. Lex drew her spear and then sliced into the net injuring the creature. Thinking it was dead she put the netted game over her shoulder. It suddenly started to struggle and screech. Lex fought with the creature as it tried to escape. Despite a few punches the creature seemed resilient and noisy. Finally, Lex swung the netted creature into a tree silencing it.
She then felt like she was being watched. An arrow went by her head and hit a tree. Lex looked around for the shooter and found the source of it. As the reports indicated it looked humanoid in appearance like a human but taller. Lex sent a message to the rest of the warriors with her wrist band, and then fired on the alien warrior. The alien moved quickly to avoid the plasma bursts as they blasted the trees around it. Lex watched as the alien escaped into the forest. She took the dead syaksyuk with her and went back towards the ship.
When she got back there was already one fatality. The Yautja had been hit with several poisonous arrows. The Prince performed a funeral rite outside the ship, and Lex was obliged to be present. The body was then cremated. When the funeral was done the Prince turned to Lex.
"I caught my monkey," she said lamely.
"Good. You will be joining a party to thin out a tribe in the area. They have become too large for our liking," the Prince ordered.
"Not very romantic," Lex critiqued.
"There is no shame in being a child bearer," the Prince told her.
"I'll pass," Lex told him.
"After you come back I will compensate you," the Prince promised.
Lex felt herself tense up as she knew what the Prince was implying. Since her transformation she had been like a child seeing the Yautja as scary monsters. Now, after everything that had occurred she was like a teenager becoming interested in the opposite sex for the first time. She tried to keep Kachina's warning in mind as she was surrounded by male hunters. She knew the only reason they weren't flirting with her was because of the hunt and death by the Prince.
Two male Yautja then came forth next to the Prince. "The three of you will be assigned together," the Prince told them.
The Yautja males seemed skeptical of Lex, so the Prince took them aside. "My wife has killed Xenomorphs, armed humans, and Black Yautja. She is a killer," the Prince assured them.
"We do not doubt her Prince," one of them said.
"Also, she is just as likely to kill you as the prey. Do not harm her until she has made the first move against you," the Prince instructed.
"This could be interesting," the other said.
The Prince pounded his chest at Lex and then went back into the ship. "When shall we go?" Lex asked her two comrades.
"We leave now," they said.
As the three went through the forest in cloak, Lex wasn't the leader but she was the VIP of the group. Lex referred to the real leader as Captain and the other one as Hawkeye, because he would often use his mechanical bird to look around. As the mechanical bird scanned the forest for targets, the three sat down in the trees and chatted. Normally they would be a distance apart, but the other two couldn't allow anything to happen to Lex.
"What tribe are you from?" Captain asked conversationally.
"The…Woods tribe,"Lex said. Only the elite Yautja knew of her real heritage and it was a classified secret within the hierarchy. Her companions were not made aware of her past.
"Never heard of it," Hawkeye said.
"It was a clan on Earth, but it is now gone," Lex lied.
The two bought the explanation as they ate their lunches. "How did you meet His Highness?" Captain asked.
"We happened to be hunting in the same human city, and we saw each other," Lex continued.
"This Prince is really frugal when it comes to wives. He must have seen a special talent in you," Captain remarked.
"So, how many wives do you have?" Lex asked.
"I have four," the Captain said.
"Just two for me," Hawkeye said.
Lex wondered if being the wife of a Prince was really better than being the wife of a commoner. As a commoner's wife she would have had more attention, but these two brutes seemed less civilized than the royalty. If it came down to being the hundredth wife of a Prince she would have settled for a commoner instead.
The mechanical bird came back and reattached itself to Hawkeye's shoulder armor. The Yautja started watching the video from the bird, and acquired a decent target. "There is a team of prey hunting a close distance from here. They have bows and arrows," Hawkeye said.
"I will take the first kill. Then you and then the princess," Captain ordered.