"Sain'ja, do you understand the severeness of your actions? You might not have only gotten yourself killed by those insects that dare call themselves Yautja, but your friends as well," one of the Clan Leaders stated. Sain'ja, Makya, Adahy, and Fox kneeled before them. They had just been in the middle of explaining what happened in the Super Predator Clan territory when Nina had been led in and allowed to stand by the other cadets and listen, preparing for what would happen to them next. Kota and Halian were there as well, to explain what was going on to the cadets and human reasoning to the Yautja.
"I understand, my leaders," Sain'ja said with an unemotional tone in his voice.
"With all due respect, my leaders, Sain'ja did not wish for us to come and join in the rescue of the Ooman female, however we insisted. He tried to convince us otherwise, but we could not let him go alone. It was of our choosing that we went," Adahy added.
With a nod the leaders continued, "Tell us again, why did you choose to take on such a fool-hearty task?"
"The human is my responsibility to watch after, as stated in the Honor Code. To obey that rule, I was needed to disobey another."
Nina spoke up, holding her head high. She couldn't allow Sain'ja and the other Youngbloods to get into trouble for her. Even though they had done so much to her and her kind, she would never forget the risk they took to save her. "Sirs, if I may speak?"
The Clan leaders looked at her, as did the others in the chamber room, with surprised and off-guard expressions on their faces. This human was a bold one; there was no mistake about that. She stood there, needing to be looked after, no weapons to fight with, and still not fully healed, in a room full of men who could kill her in a moment's notice whenever it suited them, but she stood strong. What was she thinking now? "Yes, Ooman. Kneel before the council alongside the others." She complied without a word. Sain'ja glanced at her quickly, giving her a 'what the heck are you doing' look, however she kept her eyes down on the ground before her. "What is it you wish to say?"
"That I take full blame for Sain'ja's, Makya's, Fox's, and Adahy's actions. They were only doing so to help protect me and would never have gone there otherwise. It was me who left to begin with. I heard my friends had gone over and I left in search of them. I'm the one who should be punished," she then lied with a straight face, "They couldn't have even known I was gone until the morning they were supposed to leave for the hunt."
"How did you manage to get through the fence undetected by the watchmen?" one Clan Leader asked suspiciously.
"Using the same tactics the others and I used to hide ourselves in the beginning of the hunt; I covered myself with mud and gunk to camouflage myself and moved quietly," she lied again. "Before I left, I also…borrowed some of Sain'ja's old equipment I found lying around."
They looked at the Youngbloods, "Is this true?"
Nodding bashfully, Sain'ja answered, "Yes, my leaders."
"Very well then. Youngbloods, you may stand aside. Ooman, stay in place."
Nick whispered to Kota beside him, "What will they do to her?" Colton and Corin listened intently, wanting an answer as well.
"There's no telling. Normally with Youngbloods, punishment for something like this can range from being forced to stay in your home for a few weeks to banishment, depending on how bad it was. For a human, I have no clue."
The Elder got up from his throne and stepped right in front on Nina, who was still kneeling. "Ooman, do you swear on your honor that this was your wrong doing that led to the Youngblood's actions?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you alone take full responsibility for all of this?"
"I do, sir."
"Your words are accepted then. Stand up." She did.
The Elder activated one of his wristblades on his right hand. Grabbing a torch from a nearby wall, he began heating up the metal, allowing it to turn a bright, glowing red. There were other, less painful, methods of punishment he could give the girl before him, but if she was to leave this world soon to return to her own, he wanted her to always remember when she came here. Even if the memories brought her pain or anger towards them, they would make her that much stronger.
Slowly and carefully, as if carving a complicated design into a piece of artwork, he began branding the skin on her right upper arm. Nina- he still could not get over her name- stood solid, taking it like a warrior, even if she didn't understand its true intention. The design was elegantly simple; two horizontal, straight cuts that were close together and then a small curved arch above that and centered. It was a sign of bluntness, stubbornness, and more so, rebellion. It was one that could be seen as a mark of punishment, but also one a person could show with pride.
Once he was finished, he retracted the wristblade and looked up to the Youngbloods and others. Making sure the other Clan Leaders couldn't see, he gave them a quick, knowing wink to signal he had a pretty good idea what really happened. Then he put back the torch and sat back down, "Ooman female, stay standing in place. Males, step forward beside her."
Colton, Corin, and Nick looked at Halian and Kota nervously. The pair gave the young boys a gentle nudge forward as a gesture for them to go ahead. The two smiled at each other and shook their heads devilishly.
"As all of you know, the Bad-Bloods have been a plague among us for many generations. They had killed proud members of this clan, treated them as sacrifices, and kill with no honor. Their actions make them no more than another quarry of prey. Adahy, how many Bad-Bloods perished at the hands of these four Oomans?"
Adahy bowed before speaking, "My Elder, the older males each killed at least one Bad-Blood each and the youngest killed one with assistance. This was witnessed by Makya, Fox, and I. When we arrived on the Super Predator Clan territory, it was revealed to us that Dto-Raija killed three. One body was found near the corpse of another Ooman male who was already deceased before the Bad-Blood's own death by a pair of small wristblades and he had a bullet in one eye. The other two corpses were still by the Bad-Blood camp when we found her captured."
Three? The Elder blinked. He had known the female excelled in battle, but not enough to cause that much damage to their enemies. The Clan Leaders mumbled to one another before he responded. "Then with accordance to our laws, since the four Oomans assisted fellow Yautja in battle and showed themselves worthy of equality among us, no harm shall come to them. They will no longer be seen as prey by us and are free to go home on the next ship to Earth." You could tell the males all breathed sighs of relief in unison, much to the amusement of the Yautja.
Once everything was settled, Nina was sent back to the medical facility to fully recover. The Elder came with her, not only to make sure the healers didn't clear away the burned in mark, but to speak with her as well. He had sent Sain'ja and the others away. The other human males were to stay with Halian and Kota until the ship would take them back to Earth in two weeks.
"I'm going to be honest with you. I prefer Sain'ja's name for you much better than your real one,"he said, trying to make a joke before getting serious, speaking in English.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" she asked, smirking.
He smiled back, "No, I'm serious. I think you should consider changing it."
"I'll think about it."
"Well, Nina, there's something I need to tell you. Although Sain'ja and the others would never admit it- neither would I at their age- you've become something to them, believe or not. You've become not just an equal fighter, but an ally in their eyes. They'd want you to stay."
She looked at him, not fully comprehending his words, or really even wanting to understand them to begin with. Stay here? Where she watched her friends die? With the same species that killed her father, his friends, and hers as well? The same people that saved her life had hunted her down with every purpose for her to die at their hands.
"I know what you're thinking. I know how confused you are," he placed a hand firmly on her shoulder, "but I promise that those days are past. You will be safe among us."
"Just as safe as I was when I first arrived?" she asked sarcastically, but her eyes filled with pain and her face hardened. "Just as safe as every other human being that is brought here for the same purpose as I was?"
She had him there. She was game before, as would all other beings be when they are hunted. "That is something out of my control. You're an exception due to the Honor Code," his grip tightened a little as if to shake some sense into her, "If you stay, we could teach you."
"Teach me?" She said, shrugging him off, "To do what? Kill my own in cold murder?"
"You wouldn't have to. We wouldn't force you to do something like that. Do you see Kota or Halian going around on a quest to harm you or your friends? No. They accepted you all before any of us. But just think of what you could be. From what I've seen, heard, and what you've told me, you're a born and trained warrior already. You could best others of your species if you stayed and trained as an Apprentice. Think of the honor you'd not only bring to yourself, but to your father."
That was definitely not the right thing to say. "My father's dead because one of your men killed him!" Nina clenched her fits tightly to her sides before she really lost it. This was all wrong; she was talking to the exact same people who killed Mike, Jarred, Don, Poncho, Dillon, Mac, Blain, Hawkins, and her father, along with so many others that she knew had died before her time, but sadly she could not name. Remorse, anguish, and confusion soon began to attempt to bring tears to her eyes, which she rapidly fought back.
Seeing her eyes begin to shine and her face flush a little, the Elder decided to change his approach. He knew how sentimental these humans could be, especially their females. They were just born social animals and they couldn't change that. Plus the bounds between parent and offspring were strong ones, no matter what the memory. Lowering his voice, he asked, "What happened to you after it all, if your mother was dead before that?" Receiving no answer at first and only a quick glare, he lifted her chin and pressed on, "Please, tell me."
She might as well tell him. There was no use hiding it anymore. No point in locking up her emotions that would only later remerge to haunt her waking hours, torturing her. "It was Dutch, the only survivor from my father's team, who came back and took me in as his own. He raised me, and we tried to get back to a normal life. Then we saw reports similar to what happened to him and his friends. In order to protect me in case a time like this did occur, he taught me very young to fight back and how to hide.
Three years ago, he vanished, and I was sent to train at a military school. Because I'm a girl, I was treated differently, but I eventually earned my place at top of the classes. The price for everything was that I didn't let many people into my life. Not after losing so many already…"
There was a short silence as Nina released a few tears and looked down in defeat. "My father… He promised me he'd come back," she said softly, her voice cracking a little. The Elder brushed her hair aside and out of her face in order to help console her. He was not prepared for what happened next.
She quickly hugged him; tears pouring down her cheeks, her eyes squeezed shut. She only came up to his chest. For a moment, the Elder was stunned, but he wrapped his arms around Nina and rubbed her head and back gently, trying to get her to calm back down and glad that no one else was around to see.
Eventually, her body went limp. She had cried herself to sleep again. He picked her up and carried her back to the medical facility, setting her on a bed and giving a few instructions and a brief explanation on her state to the healers.
"Sleep on my question, little one. You've got two weeks," he said to her before leaving.
The Elder walked out, rubbing his head. Her father's death had hit her hard, and at so young an age. For Sain'ja to know this, it must also hurt him as well. That's another reason why he would care so much about her. Guilt, honor, and unanswered questions of his own father's death must fill his thoughts when he saw this female. Fate, why do you play such cruel tricks on those so young and innocent? the Elder thought to himself.
There was also the matter of him himself owing the girl a debt after she saved him in the Temple of the Fallen. He admitted to himself that he didn't want her to leave either; she deserved to be among them and to hold the rank of Apprentice, but this was her choice, not something anyone could push.
Time to retire for the evening. He would think about what to do later.
Once Sain'ja saw the Elder leave, he walked inside the medical facility, cloaked and silent. He moved through the building without getting caught. He hoped the females didn't catch his musky scent, but thankfully they seemed to be in another area of the facility, at least for a short time. He had to act fast.
He saw Nina curled up under a blanket on a bed, fast asleep and sniffling some. He hated to wake her, but he had to. He shook her shoulder gently and her eyes flew open and she popped up, reaching out to her side for a weapon that wasn't there; a natural response she had inherited over many years. Sain'ja uncloaked, then dug something out from a pouch and held it out to her; her father's dog tag.
Her eyes widened as she took it, not believing it was real, "Where did you find this? The Bad-Blood's took it with everything else."
"I got it while you were out cold, before bringing you here," he recloaked and started walking out.
"…Sain'ja?" He turned around to look at her again. She smiled shyly, the dog tag already hooked around her neck once more. "Thank you, for everything."
He nodded, "You're welcome…Nina," then headed back outside and to his home.
Nina watched him leave, seeing his translucent figure disappear out the door. She then soon fell asleep again, feeling safer than she had felt in what seemed like forever, holding the dog tag in one hand on her chest.