Play dead
Be dead
There was no difference, honour-wise. It was disgraceful. There was no honour in it.
Aki didn't move, and the xenomorph, the serpent on top of him wasn't moving either, but he could feel its shallow breath.
It was for a long time they lay there. Aki could barely breathe past the alien's maw stuck in his throat.
Finally, the creature rolled off of him.
With an explosion of light, the emergency systems came online.
Pain pulsed through his hand, and in the dim glow of the emergency lighting, he stared at it.
Or what was left of it, more precise. The creature's acidic blood had eaten away two fingers, and the rest of the hand didn't look too well as well. The stinging pain made him flinch. The Alien was breathing shallow, and there were dried smears of yellowish blood on its side.
"Why did you do this?" he clicked questionably, rubbing his neck with his good hand.
The creature leaned its head, and opened his maw slightly. It started to click.
"You different. Me different." it hissed softly.
Aki groped around for his mask. It had been dropped in the fighting, and had skidded under a bench.
He attached it to his face, and looked around him.
There was a large burn hole in the ground, and each and every xenomorph pen was open, but no signs of anything else.
He whispered into the comm system "Captain?"
No reply
"Where are you? Anyone alive?"
The xenomorph pulled Aki's arm and clicked at him again "No."
Fuck.
He had to tend to his wound first. It was a burn wound, and he would bandage it. Then he would manage to kill the creature stalking this ship, and return home victorious.
He pulled out the first aid kit from his wrist storage, and worked on closing the wound.
The xenomorph had propped itself up on the side and was watching him. It brushed its head and clicked again it its funny accent.
"Go. We. Hide."
He wasn't going to go. He was a hunter. He had to fight this thing. He shook his head.
"I will kill it" he said defiantly.
"Can't." The xeno shook its long head. It pointed to the wound on his side. "Me hurt. Not move. Too powerful. Can't."
Aki didn't know what came over him as he crouched down, scanning the wound in the prey's side. He should kill it, right here right now.
No.
That would be dishonourable. It had wounded itself to save him from being torn to pieces by the serpents.
It had not acted like a yautja should. His kin fought to the last man, and Aki would have gladly showed the praetorians his steel.
Yet the creature had saved them both.
It had said they were different, and it was true. He did not love the company of his comrades. He preferred to work alone, in silence.
"I can help you" he simply said.
The creature nodded, and he pulled out a small instrument.
"I can close the wound and cauterize it, but it will hurt."
It tilted its head
"Pain. But it helps"
The alien nodded again, and Aki set to work.
Valiantly, the xenomorph did not betray its pain, even though it must hurt it quite a lot. It bared its teeth and hissed softly, as Aki was finished
"Come. Place to hide. Need."
It had gotten up on its feet, and was slowly padding along the corridor, with unsure, staggering steps. The yautja's cloaking device had been damaged as the mask had been kicked but the optical sensors worked agreeably well.
The xenomorph rested itself against the wall, ever so often. It was shaky and damaged.
They needed a hiding place.
"We go to my cabin. It's not that far."
Creeping silently into the cabin, Aki started to close the door and without making a sound, bolted it.
The serpent had collapsed on the bed and its breathing had slowed. It had shown remarkable courage, courage to a point of insanity. It had stabbed itself with his blades, so the others would leave them two alone, thinking they were dead.
But the xenomorphs were still on the ship, as was something else. Something else that had shut down the power. But what for? They did not carry any valuable cargo. Nothing but those xenomorphs. It had to be on board for the whole time since the start of their journey. It was on this ship, and apparently it had killed everything.
What for?
Aki couldn't make any sense of it, but he knew he had to kill it.
"Do you know what attacked us?" he clicked towards the creature.
Limply, it turned its head over to him, and stayed motionless.
"Blood Moon" it said.
"What is that?"
"Not know. Hate. Not good. You die." It shook its head. "Stay. You here. Stay."
Why was this monster interested in him like that? Aki stared down at it, the long, curved head resting on the bed, drool dripping from the fangs. The spindly body, the long tail it had curled around itself protectively, the dorsal tubes, one shorter than the others, and the all too evident wound in its side.
Even though he knew what these things could do, he'd seen them kill other hunters in a split second, without remorse, without mercy, without fear, he couldn't help but pity the thing lying on the bed. It seemed so helpless. So fragile.
So hurt.
Sighing, Aki'ru sat down on the bed, unclipping his mask, and putting it on the stand where it usually rested.
"Do you have a name?" he clicked.
The creature lifted its head upwards by a bit, and clicked at him. "Eran."
"I'm Aki'ru."
It was so strange to Aki. He was talking, having a conversation with a creature that was known to kill on sight. He couldn't understand why it spoke his language. Why it had such a profound understanding of everything.
"How come you can speak my language?"
"I learn. Different to others. I learn. Different." It shivered. He shivered. She shivered? Did xenomorphs have genders? Aki ever so slightly grinned at his absurd though. He would have to ask.
"I know this sounds stupid but are you male or female?"
Eran took a few seconds to answer. "I be like you." For some reason he, the creature was a he, had avoided his question. For some reason it caused it discomfort.
But it was his only ally in this hostile environment this ship, his home, had become.
He got up, and started to rig up his body armour. He would not be unprepared again.
The creature watched him intently, as he put on his armour, and put his weaponry close to hand.
"Whatever this Blood Moon is, I will hunt it. I must." He clicked at the xenomorph.
"Not hunt yet." It replied. "Too weak. No strength. Alone. You die."
"I must face it in battle. I am bound by the code of honour."
"No hunt. No "honour" in dying. Stay alive."
For all the savageness, this creature had understood the yautjan code of honour quite well. How could it be? These creatures were the sole survivors of a hive they had hunted weeks ago, in human territory. It happened from time to time that the humans asked the yautja to cleanse a hive. The queen had been killed during the fighting, but these creatures here should've been taken back.
How could Eran have learned their language and their ways so fast?
And then he realised. He had listened. The xenomorphs were fast learners, and Eran was even faster. He had mastered their language fast, and had listened to them talking.
"You understand that I must avenge my kin."
"No hunt yet. Hunt when ready."
"What do you understand? It didn't kill your comrades. It freed them. It freed you!"
"Blood Moon is death. We know. You not yet. Memories. Old memories I have. Blood Moon is death. Mine and yours."
"Well then I will be its death, as it will be mine."
"You not understand."
Aki grew impatient with the creature. It talked in riddles. "Tell me what you mean, and speak clearly."
"Old memories. Memories of days passed. The hive shares them."
"And what do these "old hive memories" say?"
"No, not hive. Mine. Old memories I have."
"Where are they from? What do they mean?"
"Don't know yet. Not understand enough." Eran slapped his own head. "Complicated!"
Aki sighed "What do you know?"
"Blood Moon is death. Blood Moon is death to us."
"Us? What do you mean?"
"We different. You and me. Different to others. Blood Moon hunt different things. It hates us."
"How am I different to my comrades?"
"You smell different. Think different. Are different."
"Anything else?"
"A name."
"A name of what?"
"Kin."
"Well?"
"Akkan. Akkan. Over and over again."
"That's not much use."
"Me never much use. Queen says so too."
"I didn't mean that…" the Yautja trailed off. As he picked up again, he stared at the ground. This never fell easy to him. "You were very brave. Thank you for saving my life."
"You and me are different. I say so before."
"What is different? What makes you say that? Give me some proof!"
"You look at the big one."
Ouch. The creature had actually watched him quite intently. Ka'nak, one of his comrades, was an asshole, but a good looking one. Aki didn't usually permit himself to have such thoughts. They were disgraceful.
But sometimes his gaze did slip, and apparently Eran had observed him quite well. He decided to stay silent.
"No matter now. Matter now we survive. We must become strong. Then we kill Blood Moon."
"We?"
"You and me. We kill Blood Moon."
"I don't need your help."
"No. I need yours."
That made Aki'ru stop, and fall silent to think. Maybe Eran was right. He was different, he knew that. He knew he could never change this disgraceful fact about himself.
But what did the creature mean they were similar? And why did it ask him for help? And why for god's sake was it so smart?
It would've made a good Yautja thought. And it did have a few good ideas. It knew how to survive.
"Eran?"
"Aki'ru?"
"Why do you want to kill that Blood Moon thing?"
"It kills us. It wants to destroy."
"But don't you want that too? Your species only kills."
"I never kill."
"What do you mean?"
"Me don't like to kill."
"You're a killer by nature. You have no choice."
The xenomorph on the bed growled, and hissed. "There is always a choice."
Eran turned around and fell silent again.
Aki was confused. This thing was a killer, nothing else. Nothing else was within its mind. And yet, he had said he'd never killed.
There was a story behind this, and Aki was dying to know it. In his way, he wanted to understand. His mentor had always quoted the Yautjan scriptures at him. Understand what you kill.
Eran was had his back turned to the Yautja and Aki studied it, lost in thought.
One of the dorsal tubes was shorter than the others, and he bent down slightly to get a better look. It wasn't all too evident in the darkness, but Aki'ru was a seasoned hunter, and quickly spotted the bite marks. The tube had been bitten off.
Small slashes and scars covered the alien's back.
Eran had a past he didn't know anything about. And he was the only Ally he had left on this ship.
If the Blood Moon thing had killed his comrades, his chances to hunt it successfully were very very very slim. Cleansing out a xenomorph hive was a walk in the park compared to this.
"Eran, I'm with you. We kill Blood Moon together."
The xenomorph turned around: "Good." It hissed.
Reluctantly, Aki reached into a storage compartment. His hand emerged with a spear. He offered it to the Alien.
"No." Eran clicked.
"We must swear an oath. An oath that binds us by honour to finish our task or die trying."
Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed the xeno's talon in his damaged one, and drew his knife. He felt Eran flinch, and with the tip of the knife he carefully nicked the Xenomorphs skin, being careful not to open it up too much due to the nature of his blood. He did the same to him, and pressed their hands together.
The alien blood burned his palm, but he barely noticed the pain.
"We will kill the Blood Moon."
Eran nodded. "Yes."
Aki let go, and offered the Alien the spear again.
"Take it. It was a gift, a gift of honour, given to me when I was young. I want you to have it now."
This time, Eran did not decline.