Chapter seventeen: I'd take One million bullets..

(Ghardeh's pov.)

My breath is shallow… I've been in this situation before.. My eyes crack open as i feel a presence in front of me.. Another bullet slams into my head.. The noise in my ears a mixture of blood rushing and ringing.. I held my breath.. If i receive one more bullet to the head.. I will die.. Another presence in front of me.. The barrel is prodded into my shoulder..

I am dead.. Don't fire..

I am hit by a burst from the weapon.. My blood rushing ever more in my head.. I can't take any more.. Please stop.. From that range i feel a shower of my warm blood splash my armour.

"If she's not dead earlier she is now tough bitch.. Lets move out.."

"What about the cloaked ship?"

"Not our responsibility.. Let's move Mr D will call it in.. Ready for extract.. Leave her to rot.. Fucking alien.."

Unknown time later..

(Danny)

"Ghardeh wake up.. What are you doing? You've been like that for hours."

(Danny)

"Can we keep her Pakkun? She is so badass!"

(Shane)

"You don't want to eat me i taste like dogshit!"

(Shane)

"Gardner? Ghardeh.. Right.."

(Shane)

"No don't come in! We've known each other for ten minutes!"

(Shane)

"I promise to keep her safe Tenjra.."

(Danny)

"Nina tell Ghardeh the concept of love"

(Shane)

"How do you perceive the world Ghardeh?"

(Danny)

"We are family now Skyfall.."

(Nina)

"Ours to protect.."

"Mine to protect.."

(Uzkielle)

"Tearss are for the weak… GeT up.."

(Shane)

"Ghardeh.. Please get up.."

My eyes crack open as the heavy rain pelts my skin.. I feel faint.. A large pool of my blood sits beneath me.. My heart pumps ever so slowly.. My whole body feels like shards of glass have been stabbed into me.. Pins and needles.. I have to get up.. Get up.. I slowly raise my right arm.. The very action causing me to growl.. bullet wounds mar my body.. How i am still alive is beyond me, on a knives edge. I hear the faint noise of the comms system beeping..

I don't have feeling in my legs..

I drag my mass towards the screen every action causing my heart to pound, taking what seems forever.. I stop.. I feel a sharp jolt to my heart.. No… Not now... Due to excessive blood loss my body begins to go into shock.. My eyes darken once again.. "M-di.. Shane the family.. Do not.."

The comms goes off again.

I try and inch forward.. I reach up for the connect button.. I hit it but my arm flops down with a loud thud..

"Ghardeh.. Ghardeh where are you?"

I give out a breathy gargle.. I can't talk.. I realise I have been shot in the neck..

"Ghardeh! Where are you?! respond!" Ninas voice quivers..

"Neens where is she? She answered!"

"Sky where are you?" i hear Avamar her velvety voice music to my ears.

I reach for my pistol and fire it behind me towards the opening. Nina slams onto the console "Ghardeh what's happened to you where is Shane?!"

Tears sting my eyes as i fire several times.. In a specific pattern.. Then drop the weapon with a metallic cathunk. I'm too weak to hold the weapon and deal with its recoil.

Uzkielle growls.

"Ghardeh is badly injured.. Shane must have been taken!"

"Those fucking animals! We are on the way keep the channel open.. We can triangulate your position.."

"Ghardeh… Please stay with us.." Danny says with a sadness in his voice..

I slowly blackout..

Unknown time later..

"Ghardeh please.. Say something.."

I hear Ninas distraught voice on the comms as well as Osh's purring. I feel a slight tingle in my toes.. I lift my calf slowly up to my chest.. Causing me to breathe a growless whisper.. It's night outside.. I look to see another puddle forming below me.. My view is blurred. My eyes close. I lose consciousness as i try and stand.

Unknown time passes..

"Skyfall… Do you hear my words?"

Avamar…

I nod.. Not that anyone can see me.

i feel a strong grip hold me up gently.. Then lifts me.

My view is darkened with blood loss.

My pulse on a teetering vibration..

I can't see who has hold of me..

"Mei'jadhi…"

Osh'ikeille…

I feel being placed on a cold metal bed..

Small fingers hold mine.. I see a blurred face.. Has to be danny..

I feel a machine over my body.. A whirring noise. Someone taking my armour off, being lifted and placed on another bed..

I feel tongs gently removing bullet heads from my head.. A metallic clatter.. Another.. Something entering my neck wounds. Another clatter.. I lose consciousness.. Maybe the brothers used a stimgun to put me under..

Sometime earlier..

(Shane's pov.)

Shane wakes up they are in a vtol.. Shane sees soldiers surround him with weapons aimed at him.

"How's the head? Whoa there.. I can see that.. 'yautja side' now Shane. What you fail to realise.. Is.. We're the good guys.. Your 'predators' heh.. Come here and hunt US. We had an incident a fair few years back.. A predalien escaped a yautja vessel in Gunnison Colorado.. A pred came to kill it but in the process.. Killed my men.. They called this pred.. Wolf.. I killed him with a free rocket to the face.

Shane laughs. "Well you are a shit shot, because he still lives. Dick head. Unlike you.. They ain't killing you D.. I am.. You don't fuck.. With the family asshole.."

"Nice speech.. But look around. 7 to 1 do you like those chances? Tell you what." He takes out his pistol and hands it to Shane.. "Do the honours.. Go on.. Shoot me.." Shane takes the pistol. He immediately aims the pistol and pulls the trigger with no hesitation.. It clicks and the slide pulls back.. "Empty.. Dipshit.. But fuck me are you pissed!" He punches Shane in the head and takes back his pistol loads one bullet and puts it to Shanes head.. "Go on pull the trigger.. Put me out of it already! Go on! You fucking piece of shit! Do it!"

Mr D smiles. "Nah you ain't getting off that easy.. You owe me for a Predalien.. And millions of dollars in damages.."

He crouches beside Shane.. "Look i can see you are emotional.. You are conflicted. But that wasn't me that killed your darling yautja.. It was my men. What did she give you that we humans don't already have?"

"Compassion. Selflessness. You don't see yautja fuck each other for a percentage or the like.."

He frowns.. "Oh you mean like the compassion she showed those men at the base who had families? She didn't have to kill them but she did because she lost control.. And what about you? Incinerating those men at your first meeting?"

"Fuck you and fuck this company.."

"Oofff oh that hurt.. You better remember Ghardehs face Shane.. Because it's going to be the last moment of peace in your miserable fucking existence, you ain't seeing daylight ever again.. Once we take what we need from you.. This bullet is going in that twisted brain of yours and you're getting dumped in the motherfucking desert.. After we burn you of course.. Lights out.. Sweet dreams.."

A thud knocks Shane unconscious once more..

One day later..

(Ghardeh's pov.)

I wake up as i feel a breath on my chest.. I'm bare.. I look to see Nina laid across me sat on the stool she took from the observation lounge. "-Ina.."

My throat is still tender but my tears roll as i finally speak..

She shoots up wide eyed but sleepy.

"Ghardeh oh my fucking christ!"

She holds me tight around my shoulders.. My many gunshot wounds are healing.. Leaving small indentures in my skin like craters on a stricken planet.

"We almost lost you twice..you were hit in the heart.. Your major arteries in your throat.. You are one tough cookie sis.."

"Do i have..?" I motion to Uzkielle subconsciously…

She shakes her head.. "No that's the thing.. Once Uz removed the bullet heads it's like you were working overtime to heal.. Like you didn't want to see the death god just yet.. I guess being young has its perks babe. I'll get Danny.. He tried to stay up but kept falling asleep and falling off the stool.."

Some time later. Osh Uz Danny and two new arrivals came in to visit me..

"Ghardeh! Danny literally dives on me forgetting my wounds are repairing i let out a grizzled huff and he smiles.

"You are like.. So badass! Taking one million bullets! Like that song Neens!"

"Jesus Danny it wasn't THAT many bullets.." Nina says with a raised left brow.

I try to get up but Uzkielle moves over. "M-di resst.. Do not get up.." He lays a hand on my chest. "Can you at least get my armour Uz.. I feel rather.. Uncomfortable like this.." I know practically everyone at some point apart from Danny and the siblings has seen a naked female yautja.. But i wanted some modesty..

He nods and helps me put it on..

I hiss slightly as my whole body still stings like tiny pricks of glass shards.

Avamar approaches..

We have never met.. We would have done if Nina failed her mission with the world eater. But alas here they both are.. Nina smiles as Ry'kar looks from me to Nina.. "She's my sister Ry'kar.. She's wanted to meet you. Avamar is smiling holding my finger. I see a xenomorph tooth necklace around her neck.. And touch it.. "My.. Trophy.. Killed.. Kiande amedha… Blooded.." I smile and wrap a hand around her small hand her space blue skin tone like her Brother was a stark contrast to Uz and Osh's forest greens whites and blacks. They both had strikes of yellow across their bodies and heads. With avamar a gradient circle crest along her crown.. And Ry'kar had a stripe heading down but in between his small crevices in his forehead strikes started across as well as his lone vertical stripe.. Yautja slowly change color markings as they get older. Ry'kar slowly approaches to my right.. And i notice he fashioned a toothy bracelet on his right forearm.

Do.. You have trophies.. Ghardeh? He signs.. I nod.. "On my ship.." I say

Nina smiles "She doesn't wear trophies little bear. She is too badass to wear them.."

"Baadaass?" Avamar asks blinking at her mother.

"Too awesome.. Too.-"

"Mundane…" Uzkielle says with a rumbled laugh..

My stare even when I'm wounded caused Uzkielle to stop laughing..

"Joke.."

He looks at the Siblings.. "Ghardeh iss legendary.. Yautja.."

Their eyes shine.. "Like Ra'zele?"

Ry'kar asks.. "Sei-i.. They are.. Good friends.."

"How is that?" Avamar asks turning to me.

"Ra'zele.. Trained me many many years ago.. Before my first hunt to become.. Blooded."

"My father knew much later.. But it was too late.."

"How old is Ra'zele?" Ry'kar asks me.

"You stand before his two sons Ry'kar. They would know more than i.."

I lay my head back and Avamar puts her blue head to my chest..

"Hear.. Your heart.. Strong…" She says then lets go and nods slightly to me before walking with her older brother. Danny looks at Nina.. Who smiles.

"Wait until they see Shane.."

Danny gives Nina a toothy grin

"That's going to be the day!"

"Let's leave the legend to heal.. Then we bring Shane home.." Nina nods to me and takes everyone with her.

They all leave.

I close my eyes..

When i receive some semblance of hope..

Author note: Someone upstairs must really like Ghardeh.. Twice now.. Maybe it's luck? Either way she is one tough yautja. Holding out like that.. But you know what they say.. On the third strike of a match.. And what of Shane at the mercy of this.. Mr D? All bets are off as to who truly gets to kill him.. Bastard.. Thanks for all the views people.. Stay awesome. Yautja words as usual below.

Yautja words:

Mei'jadhi- Sister.

M-di- No.

Sei-i- Yes.

Skyfall- Is the name Danny gave Ghardeh when they first met. When she picked him up to rescue him he saw the sky falling as they headed for the trees.