The impact hurled Aki from his seat, but like the seasoned hunter he was, he managed to land on his feet, steadying himself
Roaring, he extended his wrist blades, as the transport slowed with a loud screech, not ten metres away from him. It was a boxy affair, with large turbines at the rear, windows in its side, and a large sliding door.
He heard the strained engines, and the transport stopped, the door opening and three soldiers spilling out, weapons at the ready.
They were different than those they had encountered up on the table top mountain. Wearing state of the art armour, and armed with large pulse rifles, they levelled their weapons at the yautja
"HANDS ABOVE THE HEAD! GET DOWN!"
Aki reluctantly complied.
A feral hiss sounded from behind him, and the metallic sound of a yautjan spear being extended, and Eran, a ball of saliva and fury knocked Aki to the side, and crouched down low, spear in hand, in front of the soldiers, hissing furiously.
The men were momentarily taken aback, but focused their attention on the xenomorph, who was standing between them and Aki. What a fool he was, Aki though. They'd just gun him down.
Eran stood his ground, his tail whipping behind him, and the soldiers readied to shoot.
"STOP!" a voice cracked through the air. "DON'T SHOOT!" it sounded from the transport
"Sir! It's a xenomorph"
"I think this creature is no threat to us, as long as we do not threaten the Yautja." The voice, now calmer, went.
"Sir, stay inside the carriage!"
"I'm quite capable of deciding that for myself, thank you sergeant." The owner of the voice emerged from the darkened carriage out onto the dirt.
A nondescript man, wearing a brown overcoat and a scarf despite the temperature emerged. His temples were already greying, but he had an air of command about him. In his hand a large revolver rested.
"Sergeant, lower your weapons but keep them at the ready." The soldiers did as ordered "I've only once seen this behaviour in a xenomorph before… "He trailed off.
Aki picked himself up from where Eran had knocked himself "Stay still, Eran" he clicked "No sudden moves."
That counted for him as well. Slowly, he edged out from behind the xenomorph. The soldiers were tense, ready to shoot them both, but the fourth man was totally calm.
"Who are you?" the sergeant asked him.
"My name is Aki'ru." he said truthfully "I am on my way to the spaceport." He was racking his mind how to explain Eran's presence
"And the Xenomorph? Can we shoot him?"
"No! He is my pet!"
The fourth human chuckled "Bullshit. Xenos can't be turned into pets. Aki'ru, tell me its name."
Aki growled. This man seemed too calm. But he decided on collaboration as the best path. The soldiers had guns and they were almost unarmed, save for the shotgun pistol he carried in his belt. And besides, they could have just shot them if they were hostile.
"His name is Eran."
The human chuckled again "I suppose it's only fair that you get to know mine as well. My sergeant will complain, but I'm hardly going to hide it. Weyland is my name. Frederic Bishop Weyland. How do you do?" He stretched out his hand towards the yautja, the one that wasn't wielding a scary looking revolver. Aki remembered his manners and the way humans greeted each other and, slightly stiffly, shook it. "Do forgive my manners, but I am hardly going to shake his hand" he beckoned towards the xenomorph
The name Weyland didn't ring a bell for Aki.
"Sir, you should-"
"Shut up, sergeant."
Eran hissed, making the soldiers jump.
"This is interesting." Weyland stared at Eran's spear with fascination. "You see, I'd better explain why I actually just saved your lives"
"I'd be interested" Aki said gruffly.
"You see, I dealt with quite a number of xenomorphs a few years back. They are fascinating creatures, if a little ruthless. I have no doubt that you have done so too. Your race takes a fascination in those Aliens as well."
Aki nodded, and Eran hissed.
Weyland continued "But for a xenomorph to act selflessly, almost sacrificing itself for someone not even of its race, that is a rare occurrence." He smiled, a sudden coldness in his eyes "In fact, I only saw it once before, about six years back."
"Good for you"
Weyland laughed "Come to think of it, it was! Anyway, back then, there was a drug involved, and as far as I know it, all the stockpiles of it have been destroyed. You would save me considerable trouble and time, if you just told me where his intelligence comes from. Because if someone sent you two to kill me, or something else, I have no scruples to just have you gunned down right here right now." The man's voice had turned cold. Aki thought of the governor, the fire of madness burning in those eyes. This was different.
This was worse. This man was completely, absolutely devoid anything.
This man was the worst predator of all.
Aki answered, putting all the determination he had into his voice "I don't know. We have only been working together for the last week!"
"Working!" Weyland laughed "That's not what it looks. But suit yourself. Does he understand me?"
"I DO" Eran clicked furiously at Aki, who translated for Weyland's benefit
"Good! Can he communicate?"
Eran shook his head
"Well, that's unfortunate." He paused "Can you tell me where you got your intellect from?"
Eran shook his head again.
"Does the name Schultz mean anything to you?"
Another headshake
"Where is this leading" Aki growled
"Don't worry. I'm not planning to dissect your friend here. Just some questions. That should be fine, right?"
Eran nodded.
"Well, then let's continue. Does Sigma-44 mean anything to you? Nothing? No? A shame. The manacles would have fitted, though we did use chest restraints, and you are lacking marks from that. But you were with humans, possibly since you were born."
A tentative nod
"Valaraoin mean anything to you?"
Another headshake
"Dr. Paul Cromwell? No?"
Aki growled "Just ask him what you want to know, and if he doesn't want to tell you, there's nothing you can do to force him"
"That's where you are wrong." Weyland waved to the soldiers, who readied their weapons "But, I suppose, I should be asking more concrete things. Where were you held?"
Eran clicked, and Aki translated "I don't know"
"Not even the planet?"
A headshake, but Aki held up his hand "It's highly likely that it was LX-783. It's where I met Eran"
"LX-783…" Weyland mumbled, and then turned to the sergeant: "I want you to call my ship. Tell them to prepare for take-off. And contact the central, tell them to pull all files they have on LX-783. Oh, and get them to set up Formula 221."
"Are we done now? We have to get going again" Aki said
Weyland chuckled. "So do I. Business never waits. Just a few last questions, if you permit."
Eran nodded.
"Did you escape, or were you let go?"
"Neither of the two." Aki broke in "There had been an accident, apparently, and the entire facility was overrun.
"Overrun?"
"All dead, no survivors. We checked."
"You were there?"
Aki nodded "It was a good hunt."
"Interesting… Well, before I go." He was interrupted by the sergeant re-emerging
"Sir, you forum-"
"Not now!"
"Yes sir!"
"Where was I? Ah, yeah, I was just leaving. Sorry about your bike." He swung himself through the door, the two soldiers walking backwards until they had re-entered the Transport, keeping their weapons at the ready. Eran and Aki stayed where they were.
Weyland disappeared into the softly lit interior.
"Oh, and one thing." He re-appeared. "Does 'Olde Wood Foundation' mean anything to you?"
The effect on Eran was remarkable. The xeno hissed angrily, slamming his tail into the ground, and baring the fangs on both his maws. He screeched so loud, that Aki had to press his hands against his ears.
A wave of anger rolled over Aki's mind.
"Bingo" Weyland said, and Aki felt a sting in his shoulder, the floor rushing towards him, then – darkness.
He was back in the dark. Dark forms were moving around him. He glimpsed scenes from his past, the Elder, bleeding at his feet, the xenomorph queen, a cut up and smoking heap.
So much death.
So much reckless hate.
A voice whispered his name, and he was drawn to it, pulled upwards, the shadows of his mind clinging to him like feelers of some deranged animal.
Suddenly, the voice grew louder, and he felt pain shooting through his face.
Aki came to on the floor of a white-tiled, harshly illuminated room. A xenomorph, no, it was Eran, was standing over him, its drool dripping on his chest, shouting his name.
"Imwake" he mumbled, trying to swat the xeno away, but his arms would not obey him.
The xeno grabbed his shoulders and shook him awake
"Stop!" he clicked.
"I thought I had lost you." the xeno whispered with a tight voice.
"Did you slap me?" Aki felt a stinging sensation on the left side of his face
Eran nodded timidly. "Sorry."
Aki tried to sit up, but his limbs still felt like they didn't belong to him. "What happened?"
"I think we were hit with a tranquilizer."
"Why? By whom?"
Eran sat down beside Aki, helping him prop himself up against the smooth tiled wall. "Weyland" he growled
"But-why?"
Eran shook his head "I don't know. My mind is muddled"
"Hell yeah. That stuff was bloody strong!" Aki chuckled, and put his arm around Eran's shoulder "Give me another five minutes, and we'll get out of here."
Eran leaned into Aki, snuggling up to the yautja.
Aki caressed the creature's smooth dome. Slowly, the feeling returned into his legs and arms. He flexed them.
His head still hurt, though. Something told him that he'd just been on the receiving end of a tranquilizer dart filled with their own substance, they used to subdue xenomorphs. He was pretty tough, but that stuff knocked him out, clean. He just hoped Eran didn't hurt that much.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"My head's a mess."
"In a bad way?"
Eran looked at Aki "Perhaps not" he clicked "I think I know where I belong now."
"Yeah?" Aki rubbed his head
"I belong to you." the xeno whispered. "I'm yours…"
Aki felt his face grow hot, and kept rubbing his forehead, to gain a few more seconds to reply. He didn't have the words to describe what he was feeling. Words weren't his strong point anyhow.
His limbs straining, he pushed the Xeno back on the floor, opened his mandibles, and brought their lips together.
Eran felt himself being knocked over, and then the yautja's soft lips on his. Not thinking, only feeling, he opened his maw slightly, carefully moving his inner maw close to Aki's tongue, and he felt the yautja play with it. He put his arms around Aki, caressing his strong, muscular back.
He felt the warm breath of the yautja, the warmth of his body pressed up to him, and those strong arms hugging him tightly, and he knew this was how it was meant to be. He tasted Aki's strong, wonderful scent, and moved his talons carefully through the beautiful dreadlocks that adorned Aki's head.
He felt Aki's soft hand stroke his back, moving along the dorsal tubes, every touch sending a tingle down the Xeno's nervous system. Ever so carefully, he stroked the tube that had almost been bitten off completely, making Eran shiver slightly. He didn't want to remember right now. Trying to force the bad memories back down his mind, he pressed his face into Aki's soft, warm shoulder.
And for once, it succeeded. The feeling of the yautja hugging him, tightly now, drowned all the bad things in the world, replacing them with the fuzzy warmth of finally belonging.