Chapter VII
Disclaimer:
This story has been written purely for entertainment purposes, and in no way, shape, form, or fashion means to impede, or infringe upon any copyrighted material whatsoever. I do however retain credit and claim responsibility for the creation of names and character statistics of any and all characters within this publication. These characters are based on copyrighted ideas and or characters of the respective owners of said material within the entertainment industry. No money will be attributed to the author of the following publication in any form. Definitions and wording used to describe devices, and other such items are derived from other literary works involving these types of characters. This publication was created for the sole purpose of entertainment and the expansion of a concept formerly copyrighted by an individual or individuals as a group.
Special thanks to mau'indi; for you I have supplied the culture, Veriea Fornnan ,to you I give…banter, Spacefan, here is the chapter where Hulij-Thwei and Morgan meet for the first time, I hope I've done their characters justice.
Hello again, and much thanks to all of those who reviewed. The Yautja Elder bows to you, honored by your graciousness to examine his accomplishments. Don't know where I got that crap from, oh, wait maybe it's the fact that I'm in the mindset of writing an AVP story…yeah, that's it, I think. Anyway, the story is finally beginning to gain some substance, which will hopefully keep the interest going for most of you, as well as provide the setting for a bit more action without sacrificing the depth of the characters. In fact I am going to do my best to utilize the action scenes in a way to further build the characters, and provide for the changes that may occur in their personalities along the way. So, if something goes awry with any particular character you happen to like, that seems out of the ordinary for their persona, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will re-examine the situation closely. That being said, I hope you all enjoy, and remember…all those who review, will get reviewed.
Chapter VII"Hey, boss. We got a problem…" stated Specialist Butch Hastings.
"Yeah…what's that?" Asked Sergeant Major John Parsons.
"We've lost contact with HQ, and Team 2. No response from either, but my readouts show their equipment is still operational and sending out their proximity signals." Hastings hesitated for but a moment when he continued.
"They're simply not answering."
"What the…?" whispered Parsons to himself.
"Alright, listen up troops…"
His voice was heard by the other members of Team1 through the individual communication units each of them carried.
"…crank up your bio gear, be on the alert, and slowly head for the HQ. Go in staggered pairs…visual spread…stay low…and set your camo gear on shadow."
1st. Lt. Morgan Maddison was surprised that this scenario was becoming hostile, considering that they were supposed to be here merely for the purpose of mutual observation of training between both their culture and that of the Yautja.
"Sgt. Are you sure that's necessary, I thought our orders were to remain peaceful and allow them at least a small chance of detecting us, otherwise they might see our approach as an act of aggression."
"Look here lieutenant, we've got no indication that they aren't involved, and besides these creatures hunted our kind for years under the cover of their stealth technology, which we are now capable of ourselves. I think it'll be a good test now that we are on their home turf instead of ours."
"It could just be atmospheric interference you know." Howled Maddison.
"When did you stop bein' a medic, and start bein' an electronics expert huh?"
"About the time you changed our orders." Replied Maddison.
Parsons laughed slightly, and then turned to look at Maddison past a small shrub he was tucked in next to. She noticed the movement a few feet from her and positioned herself so she could communicate with him visually.
"You've always been stubborn Maddison, and I don't care if you outrank me, I'm still in command of the tactical situation, so quit givin' me a hard time, and follow orders."
"Yes sir, oh great leader." She threw a half sarcastic glance at him with a mock salute as she rolled to her left around the corner of the tree she was leaning against, after seeing that the rest of her team mates were already in position and waiting on both her and Sgt. Maj. Parsons.
It was only a few moments when the group had rounded the next segment of thick trees when Sgt. Maj. Garvin again spoke to Hulij-Thwei.
"So, how is it that a Yautja can appear to be so human?" He was hoping that by assuming this human thought of himself as a Yautja it would be more beneficial to address him like one. It was 'quite a delicate way of asking' thought Garvin, considering he wasn't accustomed to anything but verbally spilling out commands, and speaking his mind in what was typically a blunt fashion. He was almost proud of himself. If there ever was a time for him to start learning about diplomacy this was it.
Hulij-Thwei was silent for a moment while he considered the value of releasing this information to the human. After pondering the outcome, he decided to answer the human.
"Because I am human…by birth only."
Garvin wasn't stupid by any means, and knew by Hulij-Thwei's tone that any other questions would most likely irritate this human Yautja. Besides, he could almost see the clearing where HQ was located through the thick trees. There would be more time later for him to learn of this strange development, whereas for right now there wouldn't be time enough to go into any lengthy conversations.
They were close now to HQ. It wouldn't be long before Parson's gave the order to his forward observers to begin their visual sweep of the area. Not that the group wasn't already reeling with nervousness as it was, but there would be an even higher sense of anxiety when he gave the order.
Specialist Peter Manning quietly scooted up on his belly to some low-lying brush in front of him as he activated the com device. Being the sniper of the unit sometimes gave him a unique view of the situation that even the forward observers didn't always have.
"Hey, boss…Spectre here…" He practically whispered into the headset.
"I have visual on the camp…there's several of these Yautja guys plastered all over the place. Hold for update…"
"Roger." Replied Parsons, as he quickly belted out some orders to his forward observers to move up and confirm their snipers initial findings. The senior of the two observers replied accordingly over the com.
"Boss, I've got one on top of the dropship, a second at the entry hatch and a third right outside the entrance to the command tent…now switching to thermal…hold for update."
"This is Hardcase…confirming Spectre's initial report, boss." Announced the senior Specialist in the two-man team designated as Hardcase.
"Spectre here. One Yautja signature, standing; one human signature sitting on the floor. Both inside the command tent.
"Roger, Spectre…Hardcase, this is Boss, can you confirm Spectre's assessment?"
"Hardcase here…assessment confirmed, we also got some real fuzzy proximity signals from inside the dropship, nothing clear enough to make out a good ID, but the one in the tent matches the colonels. Must be these guys are keeping everyone else inside."
"It's like they've commandeered our ship." Added Maddison, covering the microphone on her com unit, and speaking to Parsons directly.
"Yeah, strange huh? These guys don't normally take prisoners…at least not based on what we were told about them. I'd really like to know what's goin' on here." Commented Parsons shifting his head sideways, letting Maddison know that he was more or less acknowledging her recent statement.
He turned his head back toward the direction of the clearing and remained silent for a few moments to gather his thoughts and plan his next move. He contacted Hardcase again and requested the last known location of Team 2. It wasn't moments later when Specialist Hastings responded back to him with the information.
"Boss…Team 2's proximity signals are moving towards the camp, and it seems they have some company. Signals are mixed together, but steadily moving. No indication of hostile movement on either behalf." Reported Hardcase.
"This is Boss…send out a passive contact signal at them…see if they respond. Everyone else remain in hold pattern."
"Hardcase here…hold for update."
During the moments that it took for Hastings to send out the passive signal to Team 2, the rest of Team 1 held their positions as ordered. Maddison was leaning against a tree in a prepared but relaxed state, and before she knew it she was having some kind of daydream, the likes of which she had been having recently, and disturbingly more frequently.
It was strange how she would see visions of a human dressed like a Yautja. Crazier even than that there came a point where he was standing over her firing a weapon, as she sensed in her minds eye that she was on the ground. This wasn't the first time she'd had daydreams like this. In fact the visions were even more intense when she was fully asleep. They weren't happening too frequently, but enough to give her a slight concern over what they meant.
A few seconds went by when Hardcase again announced his findings over the com, startling Maddison out of her daze.
"Hardcase here Boss…I managed to get a signal response from Team 2, no audio, typed and scrambled message, I've confirmed Proteus command code. It says…war game in progress…Proteus en route…take camp after arrival…no live fire."
"Roger Hardcase." Responded Parsons over the com, before continuing to speak out loud more or less to himself but knowing that Maddison could hear him.
"Son of a bitch…these guys have been playin us, they decided to test us without even tellin' us first."
"What!?" exclaimed Maddison.
"Yeah, it's like I said, these guys obviously wanted to test us right of the bat, no introductions, no formalities, nothin'. That's how little they must think of us."
"Did I miss somethin' here? Or have you suddenly become delusional? Cuz I got pills right here on me that'll take care of that problem if you are."
"No, no. Hardcase just relayed a message from Proteus…wait a minute…weren't you listening to the com?"
"Uh…I….it was fuzzy…couldn't make it out."
"Bullshit. You were day dreaming again weren't you? And you had the nerve to call me delusional." Said Parsons with an accusatory expression, and humorous tone.
"Alright, alright…just keep it to yourself. We don't need all of Team 1 thinking their medic's gone off the deep end."
"Well?" Replied Parsons.
"Well what?" She said almost irritated in knowing where he was going with this.
"Are you goin' off the deep end?" The smirk he displayed was now fully present.
"No, but you ask me again, I'll make sure you wind up six feet deep in shit." Joked Maddison as she cocked the slider on her grenade launcher, all the while smiling sarcastically.
"Ooooh! Scary!" Replied Parsons, just before addressing everyone over the com with the latest info and how they were to proceed from here on out. A few minutes went by after he explained the situation to everyone and gave him or her each their individualized instructions.
None of them had waited very long before the sniper in the group, Spectre to be exact, had first seen evidence of Garvin and the rest of Team 2. Hardcase followed up with a confirmation to Spectre's initial survey and when Parsons gave the order, each of them carried out their commands flawlessly.
Team 2 and their Yautja allies made their way towards the command tent on the other side of the clearing, adjacent to the dropship. Hulij-Thwei contacted his trainees ordering them to stand down, and that the test was now over.
The colonel was offered a hand up off the floor by the Yautja standing guard over him, as he heard the Yautja's voice for the first time.
"Get up. Testing over." Spoke the Yautja.
He denied the help, and to the Yautja's surprise as well. If there was one thing the colonel knew about these beings after watching all the video on them, and studying the codes of diplomacy supplied by the Yautja, via his superiors, was that they admired strength. Whether it was strength of character, strength of mind, but especially physical strength. Any sign of weakness and you would no longer have their respect, unless of course you could justify your actions in another way.
Once making it to his feet and straightening his uniform with pride he passed the Yautja without speaking a word.
The colonel's jaw nearly dropped when he saw what was apparently the leader of this Yautja assemblage coming towards him accompanied by one of his trusted sergeants. It was apparent that he held some kind of authority over them by the way the other Yautja acted every time this being had either glanced in their direction or got anywhere within his visual range.
Hulij-Thwei approached the colonel from the front of the pack of both his Unblooded trainees and the veteran soldiers of Garvin's team. He was proud of their accomplishments and himself, this being expressed by his mannerisms and nearly arrogant stance.
Of course the colonel quickly recovered his emotional state as he had been in the military a long time and over the years he had seen many a strange things. Stepping forward to meet the Yautja leader, and holding out his arm in a non-threatening position he proceeded to grip Hulij-Thwei's shoulder, as any respectable Yautja would do.
"I am Colonel Alan Cantwell."
"I am Hulij-Thwei, honored Leader in this clan." Spoke Hulij-Thwei as he reached for the Colonel's shoulder and gripped it in a welcoming manner, and continuing to speak.
"It is respectable that you honor Yautja customs while here." Spoke Hulij-Thwei.
"It was the right thing to do."
"I agree." Responded Hulij-Thwei.
"I would like to apologize up front for any future…problems regarding customs, considering I'm not a politician."
"None of us are…" Replied Hulij-Thwei as the commotion of Team 1's arrival and their apparent re-capturing of the base camp rudely interrupted him.
From out of the fringes of the clearing closest to the dropship came several members of Team 1. Slowly they slinked across the ground and around the unguarded side of the dropship towards the position of both Hulij-Thwei and the colonel. With their camo gear set to full shadow they were almost as invisible as what the Yautja were capable of. Of course, in this instance the Yautja had no idea that the humans were now proficient with this kind of technology.
To his surprise the humans had somehow penetrated the watchful eyes of the guards and slipped into the area, catching every being in the vicinity unaware.
It was Parsons idea to have both he and Maddison get the closest to the Colonel's position before revealing themselves. Everything was going as planned until Maddison realized that one of the Yautja standing behind Garvin seemed to be looking in her direction as if he knew she were there. With no time to waste she reacted and sprang forward towards the Yautja standing in front of the colonel in a defensively protective move on his behalf.
Hulij-Thwei was distracted by the wavy shimmering pattern of light being distorted close to his position, and upon turning quickly to his side in an attempt to confirm his suspicions he was shocked to feel a thump glance off the side of his hunting mask.
Out of sheer anger, an instinctive reaction doused every muscle in his body with an adrenaline rush allowing him to reach outward with his right hand and grip what he discovered to be the neck of a human soldier. It was then that he realized he was in sort of a stalemate position with this being. He could crush the windpipe of a puny human with ease, but whoever this was had managed to keep the barrel of some type of weapon pressed into his neck.
Maddison had moved too swiftly, she had severely misjudged her speed and the reaction of the targeted Yautja. As she moved towards him, he moved towards her with his arm outstretched. This ended up resulting in the barrel of her gun bouncing off this things facemask only to find that it had, by sheer luck, positioned at the beings neck, of course, her neck was in no less danger than was his, for it was now that she felt a large powerful hand wrapped tightly around her throat, and she was nearly choking.
Somehow during the incident she happened to have her vision enhancement gear knocked off. While it was obvious that his had come loose on one side from the impact, and caused his head to be turned the other way. Before he had completely turned to face her, his left hand had reached up and ripped away the rest of the hunting mask he wore.
Both of them saw each other for the first time mutually sensing a feeling of familiarity.