Abomination (3)
Weyland sighed in frustration as he sat in front of his desk and waited for Martin to reply to his voicemail. Over the past week Bogs and his team in the Chimera project division had been working on modyfing the newborn hunters into bioweapons, however all their attempts up to this point had failed. Five of the six newborns had died. Weyland hadn't heard anything yet about the sixth, but given their progress thus far, he wasn't feeling optimistic about its chances.
Finally there was a chime on his messaging system.
"It's me ,sir." Bogs spoke.
"What do you have to report ,Martin?" Weyland asked as he tapped his fingers slowly on his office desk.
"Good news ,sir. Specimen #147 made it," Bogs replied.
"I'll be damned. The little guy actually pulled through." Weyland sighed in relief.
"What do we do now ,sir?" Bogs asked.
"Reintroduce the runt to its mother. We'll let her take it from here."
/
Mei-ek'li growled despairingly as she sat down inside the small, cold, dark cell and thought about her shame. It was all she could think about.
The others had remotely activated her wrist-bracer from the ship after they'd escaped. She could've let it go off. She could have saved herself from this humiliation, but she chose to deactivate it instead. She thought she could escape the blast in time, and go far enough away not to be captured by the oomans. Someplace she could bear her sucklings in safety, but she was wrong. Because of her, not only had she dishonored herself and her clan by falling victim to her prey, but she'd also endangered her pups. That was the worst part about it, the fact that she'd allowed the oomans to take her children.
Mei-ek'li had tried escaping several times to rescue them, but no matter what she did nothing worked. She'd tried breaking through the walls, but all she broke were her hands. There was a small corridor outside her cell that sectioned it off from the rest of the building. She'd tried to escape through that the first time they gave her food. She almost managed to get away, but one of the ooman machines shot her with darts that put her to sleep. Mei-ek'li tried again a second time, but the oomans had stationed their machines outside the cell. She didn't bother trying again after that.
As she thought about her children, she knelt down and began to pray her gods ,Pakuni, the Spirit of Light, and Centanu, the Black Warrior. She prayed that they would keep her pups alive and safe, and that they'd deliver them from the oomans. There was no reason why they should've heard her cries. What god would have given her their regard after her disgraceful defeat. Regardless, she still called out to them for their help. It was all she could do for her pups.
Finally after much pleading, the gods had given her their answer.
There was a scrapping at the other end of the hallway outside her cell. The oomans. Probably come to bring her food, she thought as the cell door began to open. Instead it was one of her sucklings wrapped in a wragged cloth. She gave out a shrill hiss as she threw herself at her pup. Carefully she picked it up and craddled it in her arms.
She searched around for the others but they weren't with it. Then it dawned on her. The rest of her children were dead. Mei-ek'li felt her heart sink and her arms drop slowly to the floor as she realized that. She gently rested her child back on the floor before giving out a loud roar, one of anger and sadness. She became even more distressed after she realized what the oomans had done to her surviving son. She could see gills on his neck. They'd genetically altered him. The oomans had killed her pups and the only one to survive their torturous experiments had been turned into a dishonorable abomination.
Mei-ek'li stood up and began aggressively pounding and swiping at the walls as hard as she could before clawing at herself out of disgrace. Once she was finished, Mei-ek'li weakly fell to the floor and sobbed. For as angry as she was at the oomans for doing this to her sucklings, she was even more angry with herself because she let it happen. She should've let her children parish with her, it would've been more honorable.
"Ell'osde seti'sa ir'rata teki mei'lou-dte!?" (Why have you cursed my child like this!?) She screamed, both to the oomans and to the gods. Had it not been enough to them that she'd suffered? Why didn't they spare her children?What had they done to earn the gods' wrath?
As Mei-ek'li continued to cry she looked at her son intently. She knew she had to destroy him to regain what little honor she could for herself and for her clan. It had to be done.
Mei-ek'li weakly rose to her feet and picked up her child and gently wrapped her hand around his throat. She took a moment to think about what it was she was about to do before she did it. She was about to kill her only surviving child. A flury of thoughts ran through her mind as she slowy began tightening her grip on his neck.
She'd longed for the day she'd give birth to her children. The thought of seeing them alive and in her arms had excited her more than anything else. She dreamt of them growing up and becoming great hunters. It was all she'd ever wanted. But this was all she had instead, a litter of dead pups and a worthless blight to her honor.
Desptie that, Mei-ek'li didn't want to kill her son. He was all she had left, but she knew he had to die. Still she hesitated. She looked down at the small sleeping face lying in her arms. She loved her child. What mother wouldn't love their offspring. But she wasn't suppose to love it. It was an abomination.
Mei-ek'li closed her eyes tightly. She tried to put away the thought and be done with it.
Suddenly her son began to scream as it struggled for air. In that moment when she heard his voice she let her grip go. She couldn't do it. As much as she wanted to restore what little honor she could, she was to weak to kill her only child.
"Tek-osde' ja'lu-bpe!" (I'm sorry!) Mei-ek'li apologized regretfully, both to her gods and to her son. For everything she'd done she knew they would never forgive her for this. As for her son... what would they want with an abomination like him...
As she wept, her son began to pull at her tresses. Sorrowfully Mei-ek'li looked down at him. He was reaching up to touch her face.
A warmth began to swell inside her chest as she saw the loving hopeful look in his eyes. Mei-ek'li was taken aback by it. It made her love for him grow as she continued to stare back at him. She'd never felt such a strong feeling before in her life.
A smile began to creep across her face as her cries of sorrow turned to sobs of joy. In that moment she'd realized that she had been blessed. The gods had taken her children from her, but they allowed one to stay. Although he was an abomination there was probably a reason for it. Perhaps he would be the one to restore her honor. Whatever the case, Mei-ek'li was happy, and she embraced her baby in a loving motherly hug. She laughed as he began to play with her mandibles curiously.
"Payas ki-sendi," Mei-ek'li thanked the gods as she raised her child into the air.
She lowered him down to her chest and let him suckle her.
"Asundhe," Mei-ek'li said confidently as she looked down at her beautiful little pup. "Ell-osde' sl've 'Asundhe' ke-lire, teki lei-li asundhe," (Your name will be 'Asundhe', my little miracle from the gods.)
Asundhe let out a small burp before yawning tiredly. Mei-ek'li chuckled when she heard it. As she went back into the cell, the door closed behind them, startling Asundhe. His mother vibrated her mandibles in a soft purr calming the pup.
Mei-ek'li kept her arms wrapped around her son tightly as she laid down with him. She continued to purr to him until he was finally asleep. As she laid there with him she thought about him. She would have to teach him the meaning of the yautja's code of honor, and how to defend himself. Mei-ek'li knew life would be hard for little Asundhe. She also knew her kind wouldn't accept him for it, but perhaps if she taught him there ways then maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for him.
"M'kwe v'dai ,Asundhe," (Rest well ,Asundhe.) Mei-ek'li said before she fell asleep beside him.
/
Mei-ek'li growled as she fidgeted with her restraints. The oomans and their machines were guiding her somewhere. Mei-ek'li didn't know where they were taking them, but she didn't really care. Perhaps they were taking them to a new enclosure.
As they continued forward, Mei-ek'li looked at the lab curiously. The architecture of the building was very sophisticated, and she was suprised by the level of advancement the oomans had undergone with their technology. It wasn't as advanced as her homeworld was, but it was more than what she'd thought, especially for a seemingly inferior species.
As she marvelled at the labs inner workings, she hadn't realized she'd stopped.
"Keep moving," One of the machines said coldly as it smacked her on the shoulder with the butt of its rifle.
Mei-ek'li growled at it angrily. She couldn't understand what it was saying but she got the basic idea of what it wanted. Her restraints pinched at her hands, arms, and ankles as she moved, irritating her even more but she did her best to ignore the pain. At least the oomans hadn't restrained Asundhe.
One of the oomans was carrying him as they walked through the building. She didn't like that, but strangely she knew it wouldn't hurt him though. She still didn't trust it though. So long as she did as they wanted, she and Asundhe would be fine.
Eventually they stopped in front of a long hallway with a large glass window that seperated what she thought was the jungle outside. Upon closer inspection however she realized that it was just another room and the window was a wall. This was their new cell.
The glass wall spanned the length of the entire corridor, and was just a little less than 3 noks in width. Inside the room were four large trees, and a floor covered in low hanging grass and bushes. They would be perfect for teaching Asundhe how to climb and hide. On the far wall there was a segmented narrow window that spanned the length of half the room. The ceiling was made of glass just like the front wall, and Mei-ek'li guessed it was just as thick as it too.
Mei-ek'li growled softly when she looked at it. Although it was still a cage, it was a hell of a lot larger than the one she and Asundhe had spent the past month sitting in.
When the oomans opened the door Mei-ek'li felt a warm gust of air hit her. She shivered when she felt it. The other cell had been kept at a cool temperature, probably kept it that way to make her less active. It felt refreshing feeling the heat again.
As she took in the warmth, the oomans removed her restraints. Mei-ek'li rubbed her wrists, thankful that they were finally off. Before she stepped inside the oomans handed Asundhe back to her. She hissed at it, startling it before stepping inside.
As she did so one of the oomans spoke. "You sure they won't be able to escape?"
"Don't worry," Another ooman said. "This glass is polycarbonate, it's three feet thick. So is the ceiling, and those concrete walls are steel reinforced. Rest assured. She and that little ugly brat of hers won't be making it out any time soon, if ever."
Mei-ek'li growled as she watched them leave.
After gently setting Asundhe down, Mei-ek'li began exploring the new enclosure. On the back wall of the room there was a small pool of water that was being pumped into the room through a faucet pipe. The pool was large enough for her to bathe in. Mei-ek'li began washing herself. The water was cool, but it still felt refreshing to her.
As she was washing herself, Mei-ek'li heard noises coming from outside. She looked up and saw that one of the segments in the window had been left open. Curiously she climbed one of the trees to look outside. Outside was a staging base for the ooman soldiers. They were training, exercising, and taking stock of their equipment, making sure it was ready for their next mission. She was curious about the ooman soldiers. She wondered if they were going to fight the kiande amedha or some other threat. She also wondered if the ooman soldier she'd fought was with them.
After she was finished exploring, she returned to Asundhe who had crawled around on the ground. He was very curious. She'd need to teach him when he became older to be more careful of his surroundings, and to never let his guard down. Observance often saved many yautja during their hunts, and if he was to survive he would also need to be alert.
As night fell on the facility, Mei-ek'li told little Asundhe a story about the great Leader Dachande. She was recounting the tale of how he'd slain a kiande amedha with only his bare hands. He was the only yautja to have accomplished such a feat.
Although his stories weren't old enough to be considered ancient, they were the stuff of legends, and many yautja looked upon them with a great deal of interest. There was much wisdom to be gleened from stories like those of Dachande's. Wise hunters looked back on the hunts of their elders for experience and guidance during their hunts.
Although she told the story purly to entertain Asundhe, Mei-ek'li hoped that as he grew he'd learn to understand the meaning of the stories she'd tell him. She wouldn't always be there to protect him, but the lessons she'd give would always be their to guide him. She just hoped that he'd take interest and pay attention when he needed to.
Asundhe laughed as she told the story to him. Mei-ek'li had a feeling that he'd do just fine.
