There've been sightings of what we think are Praetorians on the outskirts of the camp. He told his female. His very being burned with the need to be alone with her. To take her in a fiery passion that needed to be expelled. But he needed to deal with the Praetorian sightings first; and no longer keep her in the dark to the possible danger. He hissed at the mere thought of those creatures and what they could possibly be doing.
They could be patrolling, but then why were they patrolling? Why not the drones? It was their purpose after all. It must be something to do with the humans getting closer to the Hive, maybe they were sent out to exterminate the humans. His humans. They could be looking for weaknesses in the humans defences to do just that, but why would she send so many? There'd been five in a row once, chasing and lunging at each other like butter wouldn't melt. They were as old as time and yet they acted like younglings playing tag. It was strange. But then again maybe they'd never been out of the Hive before, and they were excited? Hmm, he'd have to run it back and forth with Two later.
He knew there were those who were curious of the humans just as he was. Two was one of those he believed to have no interest in the humans other than breeding them for their Queen and eating them. Which he'd seen him do a few times and it was gross.
Six had only ever eaten the ones already dead from a chest burster and even then he found it repulsive. He was glad when he met Sam since she introduced him to some of the foods that the humans ate like 'beans' and 'pork'. He liked the pork especially. He detested the 'curry', how humans could eat something so hot, he'd never know. The chicken was nice too, but it had nothing on pork so chicken could stay Two's favourite.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. The Praetorians? A mystery in themselves, there was no way of telling what they were even bred for other than to protect the Queen. The stories were there and he'd been terrified as a youngling just in case he met one and it ate him because that was apparently what they did. He had no idea if that were true but he didn't want to find out, no matter how curios he was.
"Praetorians? What are they?" Sam asked as a sense of doom came over her making her blood run cold. "Six are they dangerous?" She asked.
She knew they were dangerous, Six was dangerous, but she meant in the sense of were they going to take the camp as super ninjas and tear the very foundation of their safe place to pieces and mail all the human asses to their respective families.
She could see her headstone now: Sam, alien fucker who walks into overhanging lights.
Yes, but we don't know what they're up to. We can assume all we want but the only way to know for certain is if we ask a seasoned soldier. We may be able to convince others to join our own ranks but-
"Or we can just ask Sentinel?" She said cutting him off before he went on a tangent.
Or we can do that. He said with a hiss, his version of a sigh.
Two sat there watching the pair in amusement.
He hissed at the two. I'll take my leave, keep me informed Six. And with that he slithered away on all fours, a distant yelp coming from the hallway and a clatter coming from the vent about them.
"Why does he keep using the vents?" She asked, "He does know he can walk around the compound right?" She tutted and placed her fists on her hips as she shook her head.
Have you thought more about Two joining us? He asked, carefully since he knew she was prone to mood swings when he questioned her about such things.
She turned with a dark look. "I'm still thinking alright, no need to pester me!" She turned around and gave a sheepish smile that Six hopefully didn't see through.
She'd already decided not to include Two in their little relationship but she needed to find a more suitable time and place to tell Six that. She'd also need to speak to Two himself about it since she would rather let him down herself. It did occur to her that maybe Two made a joke about joining them and Six took it literally which would be embarrassing but at least she'd know the Xenomorph wouldn't be hurt by her decision.
"Come on, let's get to Sentinel." She started towards the door. "Let's pray he knows something."
XXX
It turned out Sentinel was hard to find when he didn't want to be clearly. Maybe he'd left the compound? He did that sometimes, just randomly went about his business outside of the ring of safety. It was as if he thought he was invincible.
Six wished he was invincible. If he was he'd use his powers to save his humans from the threat that was the Praetorians and by extension their Queen. He'd kill the Queen if he had to, to keep Sam alive. She was precious to him, a pillar of good and justice. She was his 'wingman' or was it 'right-hand man' that's how Jodie puts it anyway, and he knew she was attractive by the way that other men and women looked at her. He was clearly lucky to have her and hopefully she felt the same way about him.
They looked in the washroom last and found him under a hot looking spray, a spray that would burn a humans skin clean off, okay maybe that was an exaggeration but it was so hot. Not to mention the alien bathing in it. The way the water cascaded from the shower head and bounced off of the body, and the way water clung to ever contour of the lean body before them was enticing.
She felt a flush rise in her cheeks and she could tell her arousal was profound because not only did Sentinel sniff the air and turn with what looked like KY Jelly frothing at the mouth but she heard Six give a hiss. Obviously he was annoyed; she would be too if he was ogling some woman. Bad Sam for ogling a perfect specimen of alien that was bathing right in front of her! Maybe she had an acquired taste. Meh, she wouldn't dwell on that for too long she decided.
She noticed the lack of humans in the wash racks and blinked, probably felt intimidated by the very tall xenomorph with claws and a barbed tail and a bulbous head. He was stunning in his own right and so was Six and Two. Sentinel was slightly too tall for Sam and he had more hard edges than Six who was stood right next to her so she could compare. Sentinel was more angular and bulky whereas Six was all lean muscle and angles in all the right places.
Hmm, she'd have to drag him to the bedroom once they were done.
She was about to open her mouth to speak when she heard raucous laughter coming from the changing rooms and an excited looking Jodie emerged with a bar of soap and a small flannel, buck naked mind you and she sauntered past with a haughty 'Hey!' in Sam's direction making her blink again.
"Gah, Jodie!" She exclaimed while she covered her eyes dramatically. "Give a girl some warning would you?" She asked as she uncovered her eyes and giggled.
Jodie waved her off with a flick of her wrist and a swift 'V' with her index and middle fingers.
"Yeah, yeah, love you too Sammy!" She knew she hated that nickname and used it to rile her up some more.
Sam puffed up her cheeks and her cheeks burned at the nickname.
"Aww, you look like a demented chipmunk by there Sammy, might want to stop ogling me or Six'll get jealous." Jodie laughed as someone cleared their throat.
"Sam, Six, Sentinel." said Chris as he walked past the two standing in the doorway with a towel around his body for modesty reasons.
"You're gonna be getting wet in a minute Hex. You might as well take it off before you come in, it's not as if anyone's gonna jump your sorry ass." Said a self-satisfied Jodie as she turned on her own shower head by a button and turned to Sam and everyone in all her naked glory and stood there with her arms spread out.
Chris gave a sigh, his resolve breaking.
"I think I'll pass on that one, but you carry on Jodie." He shook his head as he walked to a cubicle.
"Hmf, pussy.." Jodie muttered to herself and turned to wash her own body with the soap she brought in. "Shit, forgot my shampoo." She muttered and grumbled all the way back into the changing room.
A yelp was heard as a clatter sounded.
Sam moved to the changing room and saw Jodie on her front with an alien laying on top of her. She broke into a laugh.
"Oh my God, you guys!" She guffawed and smiled like it was no ones business. Her pearly whites, no longer white but stained with mild yellow showing as she beamed at the two. Speaking of two. "Two, jump off, you're gonna crush her." She said with a giggle.
She held her hand out to Two and pulled him up with all the strength she could muster, almost falling backwards when he got up quicker than she anticipated. But he was quick and grabbed her in a hold that reminded her of that old dance more from the Tango.
She was star struck for a moment as she just stared at the alien before her, her breathing seeming to stop as she looked at him.
A throat was cleared as a very human Jodie stood there tapping her foot.
"Apologise buttface!" She exclaimed clearly pissed that he fell through the vent. "And you're gonna have words with Jones for that. He's gonna kill you." She said.
It was one of the vents that were sealed by the soldiers of the compound to make it harder for any aliens to get in, well, except the ones that were already in the compound.
Sam broke away from then hold and gave Jodie a sheepish smile.
"I'm not gonna tell him, but someone will." Jodie said as she walked off into the shower room again, forgetting her shampoo for the second time that evening.
A resounding 'Damn it!' was heard as she came back in grumbling about falling aliens.
XXX
When Sam returned to the wash rack she saw Sentinel stood in front of Six, seeming to be sizing him up.
"Uh, Six, is everything alright?" She asked, her body moving reflexively in front of Six and between the two xenomorphs. "Look, I don't know what happened but you need to calm down. You know Jones is looking for any excuse to give you guys the high ho."
Both xenomorphs looked to her and then each other and hissed in question.
"I mean he's looking for a reason to get rid of you." Obviously she'd been hanging around Jodie too much, since she got the same reaction most of the time too when she talked to either of the xeno's.
She sighed and pushed at the two's chests gently, moving them back away from each other a little more.
"So what has your panties in a twist you two?" She asked; her hands on her hips.
A clawed hand grabbed hers and she was gently led away from the wash rack and into the corridor. She was then pulled along towards the cafeteria and gave a sigh.
"You're always thinking with your stomach." She said as she looked back to see Sentinel was right behind and Two was on the ceiling as he followed them in. "Well, this must be important."
She was let go as all three xeno's moved to the table with the plates on before they made their way to the buffet stand to get plates of everything they liked.
Sam followed their lead and picked up a plate, noting the ever present xeno's were garnering attention from the soldiers sat having their evening meal. It had been what, a few hours since they'd last seen them, but they were still enthralled with the very prospect of them living in peace with the three.
Pork and beans were piled on Six's plate to the hilt, practically dripping off the sides of the plate as he walked to a table in the back away from prying ears. Not that they could hear them anyway, she could speak telepathically now, maybe he'd forgotten?
'Aw well, time for some grub!" She thought as she moved behind the two other xeno's, she eyed up a plate of desserts and wondered if she could have that before dinner. Hmm.
Bah, she'd have dinner first and then her mini rolls. She looked to the hunters chicken and nodded, hoping Two didn't pick it all up before she could have one.
He must have seen her eyeing them up as he'd left just the one out and she had a feeling it was for her. She loved him right then in that moment.
She picked up the hunters chicken, some potatoes and veg and moved over to the table where the other three sat eating their meals. She noted that Sentinel had mostly veg on his plate with a piece of fish in batter. She never thought she'd see something like that with the xeno's which was a bit of a puff on her part since she knew they were individuals in their own right.
She sat down and looked to the other three, seeing them being so engrossed in their food had alarm bells ringing in her mind.
"So, what's the deal then?" She asked. She turned to Sentinel and asked him directly: "What do you know?"
She sat there waiting, blinking in confusion when he didn't answer. She looked to Six who was holding his head in his hand. Oh, he couldn't talk to her like Six could… Right.
"Um…" She stuttered.
Or could he?
"Say Sentinel, can you communicate through telepathy too? Well, of course you can. But I'm asking if you'd be willing to?" She asked, uncertain.
Then she felt it, a slight pull at her mind.
I most certainly can. He answered.
His telepathy seemed stronger, more prominent than how Six's had felt the first time they'd joined minds. She wondered if it had something to do with their difference in age. A mystery to be solved at another time.
"Thank you." She said before turning to Six. "Is this alright?" She asked, uncertain of how he'd react.
He gave a slow nod which made her feel uncomfortable. It reminded her of a time when aliens were seen as terrifying creatures, which they were, even after being with Six for so long she found herself fearing him in some ways.
"Alright, so what do you know?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
The xenomorph seemed to hesitate before she heard that baritone voice.
There's been sightings of Praetorians on the perimeter, they don't seem to be hostile, but we best proceed with caution. I suggest telling your human counterparts so that they don't shoot on sight. I don't want any of my friends to be shot at the very sight of them, they're not in the Hive which makes me think that they've been let go by the Queen herself. He explained.
She felt her throat close up. A Praetorian? What the hell was a Praetorian? Six couldn't explain much about them.
"Uh, what are they?" She asked feeling a little silly as she'd asked that very question not too long ago.
Of course, you wouldn't know. He acknowledged. They're the Queen's royal guard. We may be her guards and gatherers, but we are miniscule compared to the Praetorians. They stand at least 10ft tall and have a crown on their heads much like the Queens. If you'd ever made it to the Hive, then that's where you'd see them usually. It's rare for them to be outside the Hive, which makes me think that maybe the Queen has let them go. Maybe they're looking for us and wish to bring us in for treason, we just don't know.
I don't think that's what's happening. The Queen actually sent a warning not to hurt anyone that happened to be with me. I remember it quite vividly. Didn't you get the memo? Six asked, his tail flicking behind him.
Sam looked at the two with confusion in her eyes.
"She warned people off of us? Why would she do that?" She asked, her hands rubbing together in a nervous tick.
She must have seen how infatuated Six is with you. It may be that she warned them off, but that doesn't mean some wouldn't go against the Queen's wishes. In fact, I believe there's an underground operation threatening to kill us all. Sentinel chipped in.
Six hissed in frustration.
Well, what do we do about the heretics? We can't let them get into the compound. Maybe we should start looking for this 'underground operation'? Six asked, his tail coming around to curl about Sam's waist.
Sam stroked the appendage.
"Don't you think that would just anger them further and I'm sure your Queen won't appreciate that surely?" Sam asked.
Maybe not, but we need to do something about them. We're practically sitting ducks here. Six said, his head lowering.
Sentinel chipped in:
We can enlist the help of more of the Hive, there's bound to be others that can join our cause.
And just what is our 'cause'? We're hardly following anyone's rule at this point and the only real communication we have is through Sam and that's a little on the ignorant side. The humans are going to wonder why we can't communicate through to them directly. Six argued.
Sentinel nodded. But who says we can't? We have a Hive mind, we can communicate through to many others as we've been doing for our entire lives. The humans could benefit from our input! It could be a way to solidify our alliance with the humans.
Alliance? You're talking about an alliance with the humans? I doubt they'd agree to that, Lieutenant Jones seems to be too much of an arrogant piece of shit to see the bigger picture. In his mind we're just vermin. Six said.
Can't we kill him off? On the sly I mean? Just a little? Two joked.
Sam giggled at the xeno's joke and then put on a questioning face.
"Getting him out of the way's not a bad idea actually. Maybe Hex can take over? He is next in line I think." She said with a thoughtful expression.
Six nodded. Maybe our appearance could work to our advantage. He could be stripped of his rank by attacking one of us, leaving Hex to lead us on.
Sam nodded.
"But we have to be careful, this stays between us alright?" She said, her eyes showing her determination.
She was slightly apprehensive, how were they going to go about it? One of them could get seriously hurt, and if they roped Two into the idea as well then it could spell catastrophe for all of them. Especially if the plan was to go horribly wrong. All three xeno's being in on one plan surely wouldn't end well, but she'd have to sit back and see won't she? Hopefully she'd be proven wrong.
XXX
I am SO SORRY guys! I've been getting a kicking with life lately and haven't had the motivation to keep going but I'm slowly building it up and creating something for you guys. No matter how slow my updates are there WILL be updates. I refuse to let this story die .
The plot's getting thicker huehuehue : 3
I hope you enjoyed and continue to keep reading!
~Fork-Tongued-Nemesis