I'm on a roll now. Hopefully it will continue! School's out so I'll be writing more! Thanks to for the reviews!
Chapter 13: Changes
Tarn'se rubbed his head in agitation, trying to get rid of the terrible headache he had. He had gotten it three days after his meeting with Macre, though it had only been an extremely dull pain at the time. Now it had grown into a pounding, painful ache. Rarely did yautja get sick, their immune systems extremely volatile and powerful, but Tarn'se couldn't come up with any other reason for the pain. His body felt achy and he felt surprisingly lethargic, and he felt like he had been on a long, continuous hunt without any rest.
He sat in the dining hall of the ship with his fellow hunters. The long feast which lasted a few days after each hunt was a time to allow hunters to show off their trophies, share battle tales, and, of course, brag about their successes or sulk over their failures. The dining hall was one of the largest in the ship, second to the sparring room, and like most of the ship was quite Spartan in appearance with a huge metal table surrounded by simple, yet comfortable, chairs, Leader Macre's chair being slightly larger than the others. The occasional trophy decorated the walls adding some slight "class" to the room.
Luckily for Tarn'se, the feast wasn't as raucous as it normally was in the first few days. This was the last day of the feast, being that the week of staying in Earth's orbit was up and the other ship would be docking in a few hours.
Tarn'se had kept quite for most of the meal, only mentioning that his hunt had been as interesting and rewarding as could be. The others had seemed curious at first, but soon lost interest when it became apparent Tarn'se would say no more, turning to listen to others tales or telling their own.
Soon, a loud shout and bang as two warriors got into a miniature fight, startled Tarn'se and sent another jolt of pain through his skull. Unfortunately the fight increased the volume making Tarn'se wince. Macre hollered at the two warriors, telling them if they wanted to fight, they should, "Get their sorry asses the hell out of the dining hall," and take the fight elsewhere. The two settled down and Tarn'se glanced over to see who the shouting match as between. The one was a newly blooded, stocky warrior whose name Tarn'se couldn't think of at the moment and a lanky, loud mouthed warrior by the name of Ner'ma.
Ner'ma was a pain in the ass for lack of better words. His loud mouth was unmatched by anyone Tarn'se had ever knew but, unfortunately, Ner'ma had skills to back himself with. Ner'ma was known for his excellent abilities in hand to hand combat, though Tarn'se had beaten the twerp before leaving for Earth; that particular smudge on Ner'ma's ego would have to be repaid and Tarn'se considered himself lucky Ner'ma had yet to notice and pick a fight with him; he wasn't sure he could perform to the standard he would need to in order to defeat Ner'ma.
"Maybe a drink will help your head," Jaelre suggested, snapping Tarn'se out of his thoughts. Jaelre pushed a glass full of Tal'ishi towards him; the drink was a potent liquor-like beverage made of the blood of an H'imthe a few fermented fruit juices, and other random spices. The smell was a sweet, sugary one, verging on the edge of a sickening scent.
Tarn'se took the drink with a forced smile, "I hope this does better than the meal did." Jaelre grimaced in sympathy. Tarn'se had had to rush to the restroom where he proceeded to vomit the little he ate that day. Food didn't seem to be working well with him at all at the moment. The very thought of eating something turned his stomach and gave him the urge to rush back to the restroom.
Taking a small sip of the drink, Tarn'se paused to see whether or not his stomach would reject it. Surprisingly, the drink seemed to clear his head, calm his headache, and heal his achy body. Draining the cup in a gulp, Tarn'se set it on the table and smiled at the grinning Jaelre.
As the meal went on Tarn'se couldn't help but feel slightly restless. Giving an assuring nod to Jaelre to show he was not off to the restroom again, Tarn'se returned to his room, taking his spear and heading to the training room upon to ship. It was an extremely large room with slightly padded floors and walls which were scarred with various gouges and scratches that told of old, fierce battles. Tarn'se ran through numerous drills and moves, never getting tired or feeling that he had to slow his pace. If anything, he was getting more energy as he practiced.
"Not bad; a little more practice and you'd have the skills of a Youngblood," a taunting voice echoed from the doorway.
Tarn'se turned and glared at Ner'ma who was lounging in the doorway, a cocky smirk on his face and a venomous light in his eyes.
There was a small crowd behind him; most likely Ner'ma had made an announcement about a fight with him and the others felt it was a great opportunity for some quality entertainment.
Tarn'se retracted his spear and smirked back, "I noticed how successful your hunt was; I'm impressed. You must have been pretty skilled to get shot three times. Of course, you should know you're supposed to dodge the bullets the humans shoot at you, not jump in front of them."
Ner'ma flared him mandibles and hissed a challenge. Tarn'se tossed his compacted spear to one of the onlookers, and met Ner'ma's hiss with a growl of his own. As Ner'ma stalked into the room, the crowd flowed in, standing by the walls and far enough way from one another to have room to move out of the way should bodies start flying. Tarn'se caught Jaelre's gaze, and Jaelre gave him a look that stated, "Kick the idiot's ass."
Tarn'se turned to Ner'ma and glanced at Macre, who had arrived and was apparently going to announce the beginning of the fight. With a sharp bark form Macre, Tarn'se and Ner'ma circled sending insults back and forth, trying to goad the other into a reckless action. The crowd began to shout encouragement and jeers at the competitors while a few made bets on the outcome.
Finally, Ner'ma lunged, feinting a punch with his right arm and swinging his leg out to trip Tarn'se. Tarn'se knocked the arm down and jumped over the swinging foot. Tarn'se quickly countered with a sharp kick at Ner'ma's face. Ner'ma rolled out of the way and leapt to his feet charging and leaping into the air, leg extended for a very powerful kick at Tarn'se's head.
Tarn'se pulled back and to the side, bringing his arms up, catching Ner'ma's ankle. Spinning sharply, Tarn'se used Ner'ma's momentum to send him flying across the room into a wall. The crowd parted as Ner'ma hit the wall and gave a loud cheer at the impressive maneuver.
Ner'ma jumped to his feet, cursing and took a defensive stance waiting Tarn'se out. Tarn'se circled for a moment, and then dove towards Ner'ma, feinting a jab at his head, only to duck low and bring his left arm up for an uppercut under Ner'ma's jaw. Ner'ma leaned backward, barely dodging the punch but countered, bringing his leg up and landing a solid kick to Tarn'se stomach. Tarn'se stumbled backward as Ner'ma took advantage of Tarn'se's lowered guard, delivering a quick series of three combat kicks to Tarn'se's face, knocking him backward to the floor.
Tarn'se hit the floor and kicked up, placing both of his hands firmly on the ground and using his legs to shove the diving Ner'ma away. As he pushed Ner'ma away, Tarn'se flipped backward, landing in a crouch and bringing his arms up to ward off any hits. Keeping his eyes locked on Ner'ma, Tarn'se wiped his mouth which a small line of blood was dribbling out of. He glared at Ner'ma and lunged, swatting at Ner'ma's head with his left hand as a distraction while grabbing for the Ner'ma's arm, hoping to gain control of both of his opponent's arms to effectively pin him. He managed to clamp onto Ner'ma's right arm, but as he brought down his left hand to grasp the other Ner'ma pulled it away and swatted at him. Tarn'se blocked the swipe and punched Ner'ma in the face, hard.
Ner'ma's head snapped back and he gave a hard pull, wrenching his arm out of Tarn'se's grip. Three glowing scratches from Tarn'se's claws were left on Ner'ma's arm.
Suddenly, a soft, sweet aroma came into Tarn'se's head, enticing his senses and putting him off his guard. Tarn'se lost the scenes of his immediate world, confused and lulled by this strange feeling he had never experienced.
He was snapped back into reality when Ner'ma tackled him to the floor. Tarn'se gasped as he grappled with his adversary. If Ner'ma got him pinned he lost, and Ner'ma was already halfway to doing just that. Tarn'se felt a sharp pain in his chest as Ner'ma's claws raked across his upper chest, leaving bleeding scratches.
Tarn'se struggled desperately but could tell he was going to lose; his position simply dictated the inevitable outcome. That was, until his vision began to tunnel and everything burst into an amazingly sharp clarity. The heat vision Yautja lived by was not the best and was almost a handicap, but not now for Tarn'se. Everything was in sharp and perfect detail. A sudden wave of strength entered his system and with a roar, Tarn'se shoved Ner'ma off of him.
Ner'ma stumbled backward and gave Tarn'se an alarmed look. The spectators shouted loudly in surprise and excitement. Every warrior had thought Tarn'se had lost, but now the ground was even again.
Ner'ma was furious he lost his advantage and charged at Tarn'se with an angry shriek. Tarn'se ducked around Ner'ma, wrapped his hands around Ner'ma's neck, pulled him off his feet, and slammed Ner'ma down on the floor. Ner'ma's breath came out in a gasp as Tarn'se grabbed Ner'ma as he attempted to stand, heaved him into the air, and threw him across the room, where Ner'ma landed roughly, quickly getting to his feet. The crowd shouted excitedly, wanting to see more of Tarn'se's surprising moves.
Ner'ma ran at Tarn'se stopping and ducking a punch thrown by him, and brought his foot up for a roundhouse kick to the head, a powerful enough move to knock Tarn'se to the floor again. Ner'ma could see it was too late for Tarn'se to duck and he anticipated the feel of his foot making contact with his opponent's head. However, Tarn'se, in a blinding move, spun and brought his hands up, and caught Ner'ma's leg, stopping it in mid-kick. Ner'ma's eyes widened for a moment as he stared in shock at Tarn'se's strength. Tarn'se lifted Ner'ma's leg upwards and twisted it quickly, causing the warrior to be launched into the air, spinning horizontally, only to land in a heap on the ground.
Ner'ma pushed himself to his feet, blocking Tarn'se's flying punches and strikes. Ner'ma couldn't believe how well Tarn'se was fighting. Instead of having his speed and skill wind down with the battle, Tarn'se was getting faster and better by the second. He moved were almost in a blur. He was moving fast; almost too fast.
Tarn'se's mind cut out all of the cheering of the crowd and focused only on his fight with Ner'ma. It was as if Ner'ma was moving in slow motion and his own speed had doubled. His pulse pounded in his head and he could feel the excitement of the hunt and kill building in his system.
As he fought, he sensed something was wrong but he couldn't place it. In the back of his mind he knew he should be a little tired or at least sore, but he felt even better than went he started. He could see sense fear emanating from Ner'ma but he didn't pause to consider why any Yautja warrior would be scared during a fight against one of its' own species. Death was common in fights with weapons, and even in hind-to-hand combat, but rarely was a warrior scared during a fight.
Tarn'se could now see numerous openings in Ner'ma's defense and took each one, beating the hell out of him. One particular stood out as Ner'ma began to slow more: a heat shot. Tarn'se focused on the opening and took it. Pulling his arm back, he delivered a powerful strike with a closed fist, hitting Ner'ma square in the side of the head.
However, something shocking and unexpected happened. He had expected Ner'ma at most to be knocked to ground, most likely unconscious. Instead, a sickeningly loud crack of bone and the wet tear of flesh, muscle and sinew accompanied the strike and were heard above the shouts of the spectators as Tarn'se's blow decapitated his opponent.
Jaelre shouted along with the crowds as Tarn'se shoved Ner'ma off of him. He was impressed at his friend's prowess in this fight. He doubted he himself would have been able to pull off such a move.
As he watched the fight, an inexplicable sense of dread entered his mind. Something bad was going to happen; soon.
Jaelre glanced around the spectators, thinking someone was going to interfere and severely injury Tarn'se. Seeing no threats, Jaelre turned back to the fight and watched Tarn'se. The warrior's moves were becoming very fast and each blow he landed seemed more powerful than the last. Ner'ma wasn't doing well. Blood dripped from his mouth and a small haze seemed to echo from his mouth as if his lungs were damaged and bleeding; but no one yautja was powerful enough to cause that much damage in a hand-to-hand battle in so short a time.
As he watched, Tarn'se's moves became a literal blur and a quick glace around the room showed that a few others had noticed as well and the shouts seemed to die down somewhat.
Ner'ma seemed to be ready to fall over in defeat when Tarn'se lashed out one final time with a backhand to Ner'ma's head. The loud crack and tear of Ner'ma's neck breaking, his head bring torn off, and his body tumbling to the floor silenced the room.
Jaelre looked in shock between Tarn'se and the newly dead Ner'ma. Tarn'se had punched the warrior, not grabbed his head and ripped it off! The punch at the most could have knocked Ner'ma out, maybe break his neck, but certainly not decapitate him! A yautja's natural build insured that only an extreme amount of force could snap their neck, let alone take their head off. Tarn'se had only hit him!
Tarn'se too seemed shocked and confused. He stared blankly at the headless corpse and the large neon green pool growing around it, obviously bowled over that he had killed Ner'ma in such a way. Jaelre watched as a spark of realization and horror entered Tarn'se, as if he realized something terrible.
Without a word, Tarn'se turned and dashed through the exit of the training room.
Hope you all liked it. There will be more soon! Please review!