Disclaimer: Don't own anything and maybe it's for the best. Warnings are the same and what ever I said before still applies.
Notes: I'm not sure how quickly I will be able to update, because work and school is seriously cutting into my downtime.
Chapter 6: Gkei'moun in the Gates of Hell
The Ooman disappeared through the air supply conduit. It was clear she was set on avoiding the otherwise fated Kainde Amedha encounters. In truth she took her trophy and there was no need for stalling or unwanted exposure. She had no awu'asa, no cloak and weapons inadequate to a Kainde Amedha hunt. Even a Yautja would not be audacious as such. Certainly not with messengers of thei-de roaming the grounds with lethal intent.
Cunningly she used her small frame to her advantage. The hollow space of the air supply system allowed for unrestricted movement throughout the entire Ooman dwelling. Since the female removed herself from his sight he returned to the primary task he has accepted. The Ooman's undertakings were not his affair.
He checked the expanse of the facility. He move with stealth and precision from chamber to chamber searching for giveaways to his suspicions. He found nothing that would suggest the Oomans have experimented on the Kainde Amedhas and unintentionally allowed the beasts to turn lose. There were no holding cells, no experimenting bays, no signs of restraints or evidence of sampling. All testament that the Oomans had to be attacked from outside.
The arid, unwelcoming tracks of Nar'raka presented a harsh journey for any creature that would attempt such a task. The jagged soil soaked in hot rays of the twins suns and recalescent winds blowing coarse sand would strip most of will, even a resilient Kainde Amedha. It was unlikely they would attempt such a migration. Even more so since the knowledge of Oomaan's presence was unlikely to be known.
He moved from the innards of the complex to inspect the outer limits of the compound. The thick walls surrounding the Ooman residence were intact. They were difficult to climb and the Kainde Amedhas would have left claw marks if they came in that way. He also noticed there were no signs of forced entry into the facility. No structural damage beyond the naturally and inevitably occurring as a result of normal wear or age.
This entire colony seemed to exist for quite a few rotations. If they were attacked from outside as he suspected in his original assumption it would have been done sooner. The damage and the few bodies he's found were fresh, few days, maybe a week old. That left only a single remaining possibility. The Oomans intentionally, or most probably inadvertently brought a Kainde Amedha form outside.
They had to venture out of their territory and into the hive. The journey would be more favorable to the Oomans. They would not travel on foot. The hunter could wager his favorite dah'nagara that the hard meet got here with a z'skvy-de. The only unanswered question was where are the rest of the bodies? If the Kainde Amedha hatched here and none came from outside, then it would have just killed the population where they stood. Unless ... he thought, entering a small hive in the warm space in the underground area,... the buster was a queen.
A small hive near a large hive and the old queen did not challenge the new one nor has even detected another's presence.
Very interesting…
The Oomans experienced an ill-fated precedence. This will spike the elder's interest. He was looking at the young and still undersized queen this very moment. Clocked and hidden from her view. She appeared to be complaisant, almost gentle. Words he never associated with a Kainde Amedha and even further never with a queen. The large crest above her head draped low with her slightly swinging cranium as she stood unperturbed nursing her eggs. He became aware that it is not her cordial nature to display such behavior, but rather the fact she was exhausted.
He was in the center of the hive, and beyond the weary queen he has not been confronted by any of the Kainde Amedhas that should be standing her guard. He has been attacked advancing through the structure, and collected symbolic trophies, but now the lack of battle was unusual. The Kainde Amedha ferociously protected their queen at all cost.
It was evident the queen was unaware of the hunter's presents. Since the racket of Ooman noise spread throughout the facility it stifled his movements farther than he was capable of doing without it. He could maneuver in the absence of sound, but the Kainde Amedha's audible range and akin sense of vibration would alert the hunter's favorite pray regardless. The sound that spread through the facility was not only boisterous, but also trembled. The walls and floors would carry the awful vibration eliminating the hard meets advantage. He also hauled trophies from the Kainde Amedha he has killed. He did not clean those, and the smell of their brethren offered additional concealment of his position. If this was the location of the Chiva, the Ooman would have made it the easiest one he has ever seen. Only a really mindless Yautja would not survive and not acquire trophies in this setting.
The Kainde Amedhas used mostly telepathy as means of communication. The thunderous tones confused and stressed their abilities, adding difficulty to the already hard to navigate territory. He could not believe how once again he misjudged the Ooman creature. She did not plan to entice the hive to her for a final battle; she planned to hide her movements. When she observed the fenced Kainde Amedha she did not freeze in fear. She studied her opponent and it's weaknesses. She quickly detected its absence of eyes and deducted the successive findings that the deadly rival she faced tracked by using their superior sense of smell, and detected pray by keen perception of sound.
Kainde Amedha were exceptionally accurate when it came to their attacks because they could detect the most subtle vibrations in the air. They attacked in groups. They communicated on a level even the hunters could not fully grasp. Yet, unlike the Yautja using silence to their advantage the Ooman used clamor.
The Ooman outsmarted an animal build to root fear and inflict pain, near impossible to avoid if found in the territory. The female was clever and proved that the Pyode Amedhas, or rather the right to hunt them, classified as more than an award to the privileged. That not only their sentience was what made the hunt exclusive. Yes, Pyode Amedhas were sensible and as such could not be hunted as other prey, but they were also a prey of advantage and masters at deception. Oomans were not a hunt to be had for the inexperienced. Hunting was not a skill of theory.
Moving out from the depths of the Ooman facility did not render much threat either. The Kainde Amedha attacks were random and solitary. In a hunt he would have been furious by the lack of challenge, but since this was a scouting mission it made the task gkei'moun, all too easy and effective.
His mind wondered to the Ooman female. He ought to leave as his mission was complete. Yet, there was an internal curiosity that dawned on him. He wanted to know if the Pyode Amedha still drew breath. The Chiva should be brought to a close and the now Blooded Yautja should be returning with their first trophy to the ship. This was a time for his return. Yet, he yearned to go in a different direction. The thought of provoking the Ooman to a life-and-death contest and claiming her th'syra excited him. The thought of the Ooman being a setg'in, strong female was mixed with regret.
In the center hive he has seen fresh bodies, with thwei that has not yet stilled. He has seen a few more while moving throughout the base. Inspecting the facility he has also noticed an ooman transport. It was a motionless yet still warm. He deducted the female came on that transport and would head its way. All Oomans on that transport and around it met with thei-de. He has not seen any other live Pyode Amedhas. With certainty, if he was to leave the female on Nar'raka she would not withstand either. Since her thei-de was inevitable, he should incite a battle and take his rightful trophy. However, there was a small chance she'd survive and wait out her kind when they send reinforcements. Oomans would without doubt take time and time was against anyone in a place as this. He turned toward the Ooman ship bay. There he would settle his double bind. There was no need to plan now. For all he knew she could be already dead.
Joanna has been crawling through the vents for what seemed like almost forever, like some pipe mole. She lost her way making a wrong turn at one of the T junctions. Finding a way back and taking the right turn has cost her lots of precious time. However, the mission impossible plan has worked well enough because none of the hellish harpies made an appearance and she was nearing the hangar now.
Joanna took a peek through the vent grill. She checked the perimeter and positioned herself to slither her way out of the vents.
"Graceful Jo Jo" ... "Ass first, no wonder everyone's surprised you're still alive" she mumbled hanging from the side of the opening.
"Now just let go" but dammed did it look high from up here. She took a few glances assessing the distance to the floor and decided that maybe she should crawl back in and find a different way down. The hours of crawling on her hands and knees made her week, and when she tried pulling up, her palms gave and she went crashing down like a sack of potatoes, landing on her backside and the gun strapped to her back.
"Ohhh …Aww that hurt" She complained and gasped like a fish out of the water.
At first she did not have the courage to move. She was tired, dirty, smelly and in pain. Who ever said that you cannot have multiple pains at the same time was wrong. Everything hurt. Her head was pounding from the goat music. Her ass and back hurt from the fall. Her hands and knees ached from crawling in the vents. Her torso pained from the Beelzebub incarnates' tail that hit her square in the chest. Her eyes still burned a little from the pepper spray. She splayed her palms over her face and ran them down to her neck. Nothing was broken in her body and she would not let her spirit go down either. Not yet at least. Joanna made it to the hanger and she could practically see the space carrier. She pushed off with her right foot and rolled to her knees to the left side. She took a few deep breaths, got up and slowly dragging her feet she headed toward the vehicle.
Joanna did not get far when she noticed blood spilled over the floor. She followed it to the body of one of the transport workers. Nothing hit home more than this. Until now the threat and dread seemed almost imaginary. There was anxiety. There was tension and alarm. But now she felt hopeless and petrified. The body was mangled ...badly. Some of the bones were obviously broken as if something has thrown this person like a rag doll. Deep slashes ripped through the clothing and skin exposing the meaty flesh. In all this, the cause of death, an obvious hole in the head was not the worst. She knew this woman. Gene Gray wasn't her friend. But she was a nice decent person. Just a young girl working to support her family. Average Jo Shmo like Joanna.
Military wasn't Joanna's forte. No military ties in the family, no deep desire to protect and serve or to be a part of the proud and greatest. Enlisting seemed like a good idea at the time, with the limited option she had. Since she joined she took mostly easy, boring jobs. Those that should not get you killed. Sure she was a soldier and a great shot, but she was also undisciplined and often unfocused. Not to mention, most of the hardy, over-sized males she served with referred to her type as petite. She was by no means Thumbelina, but she was an average female and among the robust men and often masculine women she was in fact small. Her talent for sensing danger kept her out of harm's way. She volunteered for simple rescue missions or transport security. Nothing high profile. There was always risk, but by Marvel's calculation the risk she took was somewhere between a plumber and an electrician. And so this, by Marvel's calculation, was to be a trouble-free go in, drop some crap kind of job. The colony was far. So most of the mission would have included some cryo sleep, which always kept her refreshed and well rested. Joanna also enjoyed the Snow White fantasy. Any travel that included over a month in space journey would include cryo. Losing so much time was a squander. Not that the company cared if you came back a bit older losing valuable days of your life. It was cheaper to keep occupants of the shuttle in cryo rather than having them idle, using up resources in day to day activities. Cryo was also a good way to rest an overworked body.
Now she was far from refreshed and rested. The situation assaulted her senses and when the smell of early decomposition reached her nostrils the bile gathered in her throat and she gagged. She has not eaten for hours so her empty stomach refused to follow suit. Joanna took a deep shaky breath and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. Tears gathered in her eyes, but did not fall. She hit her temple with the hard part of her palm trying to jump start her thinking process. She could not just stand here frozen and disheartened like an abandoned child.
Slowly she reached to the back and pulled the heavy rifle from her backside. Her tired arms trembled. She opened the holster on the right thigh that held her smaller firearm. Just a precaution if somehow the rifle was too much to handle. She powered up the motion detector, infrared holo on the small split screen. She quickly checked the bullet supply and removed all safeties. She took a knee rested the rifle on her shoulder and quickly scanned her immediate area. After discovering nothing, but another cooling body of the other ship worker, she hulled her ass up and started toward the transport. She doubted anyone was alive inside, but she needed to check
After slow and thorough inspection of the hangar, and then ship she realized more bad news. Most notable was the death of the pilot. After discovering the body still cushioned in his pilot seat, she also realized that now problem she originally noticed just moved up the priority list. If the pilot was alive they could have just taken off and waved from orbit, but since the pilot was dead she was officially grounded. She did not know how to fly this piece of scrap metal, she didn't even know how to turn the damned thing on. All she knew how to do was basic. She knew how to launch an emergency capsule, which was not very useful while already dirtside, and she knew how to send a mayday signal and sit tight. Easier said than done with the setback she originally discovered. Whatever killed everyone inside was still here. She got inside through the vents and all doors were closed. That meant she wasn't as meticulous as she thought, in her search. Either that or this thing was following her every move avoiding being discovered. Both options sucked.
If Weyland Co.send an evac., and that was if anyone intercepted a distress signal from nowhere in the middle of nowhere, they would not get here any time soon. They will probably take time to discuss it and then might even decide to count LH 742 as dead weight and scratch it as waste of resources. She was royally fucked, and felt as dead woman walking.
As if her shitty situation couldn't possibly get worse Joanna heard a banging somewhere from the outside of the craft she was currently sauntering through. She needed to get out before whom ever wanted to get in ...would. She needed to get to the vents and figure out her next move. Find food water and place to lay low for now. She quickly made her way to the sleeping quarters, grabbed her backpack that had some necessities that would come in useful. She then moved to exit the transport. The plan seemed reasonable, but as soon as she exited the craft and stepped into the vast hanger space the door that was apparently being assaulted flew open.
Joanna aimed her gun, but the thing that stepped through was not what she expected. It was not one of the devil's cockroaches. The body was ghostly. It was something solid yet transparent. There was an outline, but she could see right through it. Then, blue lights flickered and what she saw was... just ...plain...uncanny. It was big and judging by the opening that was on fire, the shoulder mini cannon that was still smoldering and the long blades on its arm, this thing was definitely armed. Actually, to think of it, it was a one man army. The expressionless mask starred her down and Joanna returned the favor. It was humanoid in built. Greenish, khaki in color and clawed.
Maybe this place is some kind of a portal to ... um...hell, she thought. Maybe she really lost her mind and got some crazed space disease and she was trapped in some kind of an unreal world her twisted mind created or maybe the shuttle crashed, she was dead and this actually was hell. If she took a quick stroll down memory lain called her life she might have deserved it too. Joanna's potty mouth would have definitely got her a one way ticket with a VIP pass to hell. Maybe this thing was the Grim Reaper and the onyx creatures the hell hounds. Her mind ran with possibilities she did not have long to consider before this ... whatever it was ... gave a bellowing battle roar and spread its arms ready to attack.
Some people told Joanna that she was a bit nutty and she always thought that if she ever went full crazy it would start with squirrels looking at her a bit funny and there would be more joggling monkeys and voices with some inexplicitly bad ideas. In no way did she ever expect this.
She took aim and yelled "This is the worst day ever" just before she felt the ground shake a bit, and then she flew in the air, and after an uncontrolled landing everything went dark.
Translations:
Ooman, Kainde Amedha, Pyode Amedha – I'm done translating those
dah'Nagara - shortsword
z'skvy-de - chestbuster
syra'yte – head
setg'in – deadly
thwei - blood
th'syra – skull
Thei-de - death
yin'tekai – honor
mei'hswei – brother
dtai'kai'-dte - battle