Brother (4)

Year: 2347

"Bpi'dui!" (Begin!) Mei-ek'li said before closing her eyes. She could hear Asundhe running through the brush as he looked for a place to hide. If Asundhe was to survive, one of the first things he would need to learn was how to hide.

Stealth was a yautja's greatest weapon, greater than any blade or plasma cannon they possessed. Although yautja relied on their cloaking devices much of the time during a hunt, most youngbloods learned how to stay hidden without the use of their camouflaging technology before they earned it. They couldn't rely on it all the time ,that would be foolish.

Once his time was up Mei-ek'li began looking for Asundhe. She started searching up in the trees, it was one of the first places he'd go. Mei-ek'li growled as she carefully scanned the branches. He wasn't there. She turned to the bushes, that was usually where he'd hide next. He wasn't there either. Mei-ek'li thought to herself for a moment before turning to the pool, she hadn't heard him go in, but he was probably there. It was muddy and needed to be cleaned out, so it would probably be the best place for him to be.

As she began looking through the murky pool she saw something that looked like his dreadlocks sticking out.

"Ell-osde' Tik-osde' reifa!" (I found you!) Mei-ek'li anounced making her voice sound angrier than it was. She wasn't impressed with Asundhe's lackluster preformance.

As she pulled him out of the water and threw him onto the bank, she quickly discovered it wasn't him. It was a tree branch. He must've placed it there to throw her off.

"Asundhe?" She called for the young pup curiously as she waded out of the pool.

Suddenly something slammed down on her back knocking her to the ground. Asundhe began to laugh at his mother when he saw how startled she'd been. He was covered head to toe in mud. He'd been up in the trees the whole time, the mud camouflaged him perfectly.

Although she didn't appreciate his disrespectful laughter, nor the fact that she'd been tricked, Mei-ek'li couldn't help but smile. Asundhe had not only managed to hide from her, but he'd even managed to misdirect her aswell.

"V'dai," (Well done,) Mei-ek'li told Asundhe proudly.

"Thank-you Mother," Asundhe replied.

A small wave of anger came over Mei-ek'li when he said that. She gave him a stirn glare as she spoke. "Ell-osde' m-di Tik-osde' mar-atu' ma-nu ooman tra'lu-ie," (You will not speak to me using the ooman's language again,)

The oomans had been teaching him their language, among other things. Although she objected to it at first, there was little she could do to stop them. Eventually she grew to tolerate it. If Asundhe was going to survive on a planet with these oomans, it would be beneficial for him to learn as much as he could about them. But whenever he was around her though she didn't want to hear any of it.

"Mei'si-dha, tek-osde' ja'lu-bpe," (I'm sorry ,Mother,) Asundhe apologized, "Tek-osde' hma'mi'da," (I was practicing,)

Mei-ek'li smiled as she pulled him close to her. "Tik-osde' fu-ale Ell-osde' mei'lou-dte," (I love you my child.) She forgave him as she nuzzled her mandibles gently on his forehead. Asundhe wrapped his arms around her in an affectionate hug.

Mei-ek'li then abruptly tossed Asundhe into the pool. She laughed as he watched him splash into the water. He hadn't seen it coming. It was time for him to get cleaned up anyway. Asundhe laughed as he resurfaced.

/

Hadrick watched with interest as the mother began training her son in self defense. The mother wasn't going easy on him. If anything it almost like she wanted to kill him.

The kid went to throw a jab but the mother easily avoided the strike before sending her fist into his gut. Momma-san then picked him up before slamming him against a tree. Hadrick winced as he watched it happen. And he thought boot camp was bad.

As the mother charged at her son, the kid tried swipping at her, but she effortlessly dodged all of his swings. The kid then tried kicking her, but his mother caught him by the foot before twisting it. He bellowed in pain before he was thrown away in a tumbling mess.

The mother growled in frustration as she watched him recover feebly. Hadrick wasn't very impressed with the display either.

The mother helped her son to her feet before the two decided to take a short break. As she went over to the pool to clean her hair, the kid climbed up one of the trees and watched the marines outside. The kid seemed to have taken an interest in them, given how often he watched them.

After a couple of minutes the mother called for her son to come down and it was back to training. Just like before, the kid was getting his ass handed to him by his mother. But then he did something unexpected. Just when it looked like the mother was about to take his head off, he caught her by the arm before sweeping her leg with his foot and threw her over his shoulder, into one of the trees. Hadrick's eyes widened in surprise. It was a simple Judo movement he'd clearly copied from the marines. Hadrick whistled when he saw it.

As the mother got back up she bellowed angrily before charging at her kid. If she was holding back before, she certainly wasn't doing it now. She was pissed. Before he knew it the kid was on his hands and knees facing the ground submissively. He didn't dare take his eyes of the ground. The mother roared angrily when she saw it, but she stopped beating him.

She picked him up by the arm and began growling something at him. The kid responded to her while pointing towards the window where he'd been watching the marines. The mother roared at him even louder before smacking him. Hadrick couldn't understand the conversation, but it seemed to him that she was angry because he displayed an interest in the marines. If that was the case, she clearly didn't hold the same regard for them as her son did. As he continued to watch her discipline him, he thought about everything he'd seen thus far.

Hadrick had started watching them a couple months ago. He was just making a report to Major Anderson concerning one of their recent missions when he noticed they were teaching the kid some subjects. He was learning how to read, write, and do basic math. The kid wasn't doing half bad either. He would've thought they'd start that earlier. He was fifteen years old, but he then again he didn't look any older than eight. Guess they age differently than we do?

Hadrick wondered whether they'd just started doing this or if they'd been at it for a little while longer. He felt like asking, but at the same time he felt that it was none of his business. He didn't want Weyland to be on his ass for "interfering" with his scientist's work. Still he wasn't any less curious.

Before that Hadrick hadn't been interested in seeing them. They were Weyland's property, and what he did with them was none of his business, nor did he want it to be. After seeing what the kid was capable of however, he began having second thoughts.

His interest peaked after one paticular moment earlier that month.

The two had been playing what looked like an intense game of hide-and-seek. He'd seen the whole thing play out. The kid had taken a branch off one of the trees and stuck it in the dirty pool before covering himself in a thick coating of mud. He then hid up in one of the trees while his mother searched for him. He was almost perfectly camouflaged.

After a couple minutes of searching, the mother attacked the branch he'd stuck in the pool. The leaves made it look like his hair was sticking out of the water. Just when she realized she'd been played, the kid jumped her from behind.

As Hadrick thought back to that moment he also thought about the time he'd fought a Predator. When he did he felt a strange urge to talk to them, specifically the mother.

After a moment of thought, he began making his way to Weyland's office. He was going to ask for his permission to speak to them. He felt a little stupid as he went, but he still wanted to speak to her, and he was going to if he could.

/

Weyland chuckled after Hadrick gave his request.

"I take that as a 'no' then," Hadrick said.

"No, you can try if you'd like to Schaefer, but that doesn't mean you'll get anything out of her. My people have tried interacting with her, but so far they've gotten nowhere. The kid is fine, but the mom won't let anyone near her. I'm just surprised she lets us around her kid," Weyland explained.

"Thanks," Hadrick told him as he left the room.

"You're welcome," Weyland shrugged his shoulders.

/

Asundhe gave a low growl as his mother treated his wounds. They'd just finished another painful self defense lesson. Mei-ek'li was dissapointed by the fact that he wasn't following her teachings and was instead using those he learned from the ooman soldiers during their training. He could understand partly why she was angry. She was trying to teach him how to fight and it was important that he learned how to defend himself.

For the yautja, fighting was a way of life. They didn't just do it for fun, but they also did it for survival. It was necessary to know how to fight during the Hunt. It was only a matter of time until he had to fight the oomans, or worse, the kiande amedha, and he would need to learn all he could until that day came.

At the same time though he couldn't understand why she was angry with him for learning the ooman soldiers techniques. They knew how to fight? They fought the kiande amedha just the same as his kind did? That and his mother had permitted him to learn from the oomans. He could learn their tongue and their virtues, why not their tactics?

As he asked himself that, he wondered why his mother only felt that way towards the ooman soldiers. "Marines" the scientists called them.

Asundhe would ask her about them often, but whenever he did all she would tell him was that one of them had beaten her. His mother had told him how she'd dishonored herself and their clan, yet at the same time it seemed like she blamed the one who'd beaten her just as much as she blamed herself.

Asundhe couldn't understand it. He thought about asking her again, but decided against it. She was already mad as it was, and he decided he'd been beaten hard enough.

He yipped as his mother smeared cold mud over a bruise on his arm. He looked up at her. She didn't meet his gaze or say anything in response. She just flared her mandibles in irritation. Her silence hurt worse than the beating she'd just given him.

"Tek-osde' ja'lu-bpe ,Mei'si-dha," (I'm sorry ,Mother,) He apologized.

She didn't reply.

Asundhe clicked his mandibles nervously before repeating, "Tek-osde' ja'lu-bpe ,Mei'si-dha."

Mei-ek'li huffed a patient growl before she asked, "Ell-osde' ki'sei Tik pe'qutin? Tik-osde' hma'mi'da Ell-osde' po'so?" (Do you understand what I train you for? Why I teach you?)

"Sei-i," (Yes,) He responded. "Ell-osde' pe'qutin Tek nau'gkon nrak'te Tek'osde, pe'qutin po'so kv'var." (You teach me how to fight to defend myself, and to prepare me for the Hunt,)

"Ketiki," (Correct,) Mei-ek'li said as she treated a cut on his leg using medicine the oomans had provided. "Tek-osde' h'ko sl've deta cki'sa Ell-osde' ,Asundhe. Ell-osde asu-did k'wi-duu nrak'te Ell-osde'." (I will not always be here to protect you ,Asundhe. So you must learn how to defend yourself.)

"Sei-i ,Mei'si-dha," (Yes ,Mother,) Asundhe replied with a disheartened growl.

He didn't like disappointing her. She'd done so much for him when she wasn't even suppose to. He understood that he was an abomination, and that it would have been honorable for her to kill him, yet she didn't. She loved him. She believed that the gods had blessed him, and that he would be able to restore their honor. He couldn't understand his mother's optimism, but he was grateful for what she'd done for him. It was more than he deserved.

Mei-ek'li ,noticing her son's discourage, raised his chin up and gave him a soft smile. "Tik-osde' fu-ale Ell-osde' Tik lei-li Asundhe," (I love you my little miracle from the gods,) She said as she wrapped him in a warm hug. "Tik-osde' kin'fe Ell-osde' sl've ou'dati kv'var-de sou-j'aun, Tik mei'lou-dte," (I know you will become a great hunter someday, my suckling,)

Asundhe clicked his mandibles in a happy smile as he returned his mother's affection.

"Lik-eh. S'vite wim'beh Ell-osde'," (Come. Let us clean you,) Mei-ek'li said as she moved him over to the pool.

As they did so, Asundhe caught something standing in front of their enclosure out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was. It was the marine who liked to watch them. Perhaps the same one who'd bested Mei-ek'li. He was wearing a strangely decorated uniform, and carrying a bag with him. The scars on his face made Asundhe shiver. There were also two scientists and a couple of androids standing beside him. Asundhe told his mother as soon as he noticed them.

"B-eh, Tek-osde' sl've wei't ki-lie Ell-osde'," (Go, I'll be with you soon,) Mei-ek'li said with trepidation as she approched the oomans.

/

The kid went over to the pool while his mom focused on Hadrick. She didn't look to happy to see him. Hadrick sighed to himself as she approached.

"Mind if we talk?" He said through the room's speaker system. The Predator didn't respond. She just tilted her head a little to the side and snarling. He'd thought she could understand him, perhaps she'd have picked up on something but that didn't look to be the case. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

One of the scientists standing beside him was about to open the door, when the mother roared at him, causing him to jump back. She turned to Hadrick and screeched in his face, but he remained still. She did it again, right before she began pounding on the door. Hadrick wasn't intimidated. He knew she couldn't break through.

"Done having a temper tantrum?" He asked.

The female hissed in frustration before she went back to her son.

"Can we talk?" Hadrick asked again. He hoped she could understand what he was saying, or that her son knew enough to translate for him.

"Te-osde' rki-ta lik-eh mo'kil," the kid said something to her, but she ignored it.

"I just want to talk with you," He said again.

"Te-osde' zera ta'lu Ell-osde'," The kid said.

The mother growled as she turned around and gave him the middle finger. Hadrick scoffed a little when she did that. Apparently she had picked up on a few things during her time here in the lab.

Realizing he couldn't get through to her, Hadrick brought brought out one of the hunter's disk weapons from his travel bag. The same one he'd taken from the Predator years prior. The aliens looked surprised when they saw it.

"Where did you get that?" One of the scientists asked.

"Don't worry it isn't one of yours," He told them. "A friend of mine gave it to me."

The kid cocked his head to the side curiously, as his mother approached to examine the weapon. Her eyes and mandibles widened when she saw it. There was a small symbol etched onto one of the sides of the disk. The female probably recognized it from somewhere.

"Ar-glo," Hadrick heard her whisper. She wonder what she meant by that.

"Ch'kou-ta Ell-osde' tec'ubre?" She snarled angrily. Hadrick and the scientists just stood there and looked at each other stupidly. They couldn't understand what she was saying. When they didn't answer she began pounding on the door. "Ch'kou-ta Ell-osde' tec'ubre?!"

"Mei'si-dha!" The kid screeched, grabbing her attention. "Ooman eru la'ki fir-rira rec'ude chakt-ra." She stopped once he said that.

"I just want to talk," Hadrick said holding his hands up.

"Ooman zera ta'lu Ell-osde'," The kid said to her before looking at Hadrick. He was translating for them.

"You can understand me, can't you?" Hadrick asked him.

"Yes, I can," The kid replied. Hadrick was taken a little aback by that. He knew the kid was learning English, but he didn't know how well his dialect had developed. Even his accent sounded normal.

"What are you guys saying?" Hadrick asked.

"Mother wants to know where you got... disk from. She says it belonged to someone she knew. I told her you just want to talk, but she doesn't trust you," The kid answered.

"Here... Erm..." Hadrick mumbled for a few seconds before continuing. "Listen, kid. What're your names?"

"My mother's name is Mei-ek'li. I am Asundhe."

"Nice names," Hadrick complimented before introducing himself. "I'm Sergeant Hadrick Schaefer... Listen, all I want to do is talk with you. May you please tell your mother that I can tell her where how I got this if she'll give me a chance to speak?"

Asundhe nodded before turning to his mom. "Ooman-de ke-lire Hadrick Schaefer. Te-osde' zera ta'lu. Te-osde' la'ki h'kou tec'ubre chakt-ra."

Mei-ek'li traded glances between Hadrick and her son, before nodding to them. The scientists quickly and cautiously opened the door before backing away. The androids pointed their guns at the mother and her kid just in case they tried anything. Once the door was open Hadrick was immediately hit with a wave of hot air.

"Crap," He said before taking his uniform and the shirt underneath off. "Here hold these for me. It's hot as hell in there," He said as he handed his clothes to the scientists before stepping in. Once he was inside, they closed the door behind him.

Hadrick stood there for a moment as he looked up at the female Predator. He didn't know what to say or how to start.

"I guess we'll just have a seat and I'll begin," Hadrick said. Once they were comfortable he began.

Twenty years ago Hadrick was stationed at Facility #45 in Kalswed Canyon. It wasn't going to be very long, a couple months, maybe a year at most. He'd been doing regular grunt work for four years then, and he wanted an opportunity to advance in the Corps, and it was looking good too. The site had high priority projects going on, and was storing a healthy number of capital resources for the company. All he had to do was keep everything safe and make sure nothing stupid happened.

Unfortunately something stupid did happen. One of the muscle heads over in the lab hadn't checked the containment unit properly and a security risk went undetected during testing. One thing lead to another, and Hadrick found himself creeping through the halls cautiously, pulse rifle in hand. He'd been part of the first responding teams that had attempted to contain the outbreak, but their efforts had been futile. He was the only one that managed to make it out of the fight alive.

As he was wandering through the wrecked facility he accidently stumbled into a swarm of xenomorphs. Hadrick fought back as hard as he could, but he was eventually overwhelmed by there numbers. Just when he thought it was over, a Predator came out of nowhere and slaughtered the rest of them.

Once it was finished with them the hunter turned its attention to Hadrick. The two fought until, another swarm of bugs found them. Hadrick was about to make a run for it, while the hunter was distracted, but at the last moment he went to help it. He figured his chances of survival were better if they worked together.

Over the next couple of days the two worked together, fighting the xenos while trying to find a way to escape the canyon. Eventually they managed to fix a destroyed dropship, but just as they were about to escape a swarm ambushed them. As they fought back, the Predator made a mistake that cost him his life. Before he died he gave Hadrick his smart disc and activated his wrist computer's self-destruct sequence.

In his dying act he'd saved Hadrick's life, while also preventing the xenos from escaping the canyon. Since then he felt he owed something to the hunter who'd saved him. He felt that he should let another hunter know that he died honorably. It was the best he could do for him.

/

Mei-ek'li clicked her mandibles thoughtfully once Hadrick finished. Her clan had lost contact with her brother ,Ar-glo, and the rest of the hunting party that was with him. They tried searching for him but they weren't able to find anything. Nobody could tell her if he'd died with honor or not. It had haunted her for years, but now she finally knew. Her brother was not a failure, and he died just as any honorable yautja should have.

She exhaled a contentful growl as she turned to Hadrick. "Ki-sen'di po'so la'ki-te sun-da Tik mei'hswei, Schaefer."

"Mother says thank-you for telling her what happened to her brother," Asundhe translated.

Hadrick's eyes widened a little in surprise. He didn't know he was speaking to the hunter's sister. Small world, He thought to himself before reaching for the disk. "Here take it. don't think I'm going to be using it much," He offered it back to her.

Mei-ek'li shook her head as she pushed it back to him. "Mei'hswei rec'ude chakt-ra. Ell-osde' nense Te. Tik-osde' m'di ekis toc'ar Ell-osde' nense,"

"Mother can not take it. She says her brother gave it to you because he respected you as a warrior, and it would be disrespectful of her to take it from you," Asundhe told him. "Besides the scientists may take it from us. They may think we'll use it to escape." He added. Kid wasn't dumb.

"Alright, I'll hold onto it for now," Hadrick said.

Just then the facility's security alarm system went off. Attention all marines. Report to Hangar Bay 3-A. Class Three xenomorph outbreak at Site #33. This is not a drill.

"Shit," Hadrick cussed as he got up. "That's my cue to leave. Be seeing you," He said just as the scientists let him out.

Mei-ek'li growled softly as she watched him leave. She and Asindhe stood there for a moment to think about what had happened.

"Kod-osde' s-di hma'mi'da ma-nu set-jin mei'si-dha?" (Are we going to train any more today mother?) Asundhe asked.

"H'ko. Ge'kis ki'cte mak-tu," (No. That's enough for now,) She answered still thinking about Hadrick.

In all the time she'd spent locked away here, none of the other oomans had managed to do what he did today. He'd earned her trust. The more she thought about it the more she liked him. Perhaps these oomans were not as bad as she thought they were... Not all of them anyway.