Somewhere out there, chaos.
XXX
Coming 'home' from deployment was like being suspended in time and space. At least for Lance.
(Before the Black Ops, before becoming a Sleeper).
A stark contrast between two realities completely apart. God willing, their troops would be able to prevent civilians from experiencing anything remotely close to what they lived on in trenches of so many different planets.
Aside from 'reality shift', the trip was also a challenge of sorts.
Cryochambers were programmed to allow passagens to dream - it was actually highly encouraged by all specialists. It helped to keep the mind structures around individuality intact, helped to diminish psychosomatic side effects (which were rare back then, almost nonexistent nowadays due to new technologies); in a nutshell, healthy.
Unless the passenger was prone to nightmares. Being stuck in a bad dream for months time (or even years) could leave a person in shambles, mentally.
(There were even documented and respectable studies that proved being caught in a cryo nightmare could result in PTSD and induce sleep disorders).
Suffice to say, cryosleep has been a challenge for the military from day one.
How would the army preserve the mind of their soldiers? Stasis was crucial for deployment and other military actions.
The government had no choice but to seriously invest resources and time on finding options and solutions. One of those was to drive new mental health programs and protocols.
One of which was a new form of support group dynamics. In which new (as in fresh out of basic training new) individuals would take part in those groups in a secondary role. To learn and observe. To be desensitized. To understand what awaited them.
On other words, the military started to adress and prepared troops for future trauma. Because it would happen. Being a space-soldier had zero glamour; only the horrors of the vast universe awaited them. And all sorts of hardship.
And when your loved ones, your support system was far away - light years away - there was only one place to turn to. Your brothers and sisters in arms. And in turn, you would be there for them too.
In her time, Lance held in her hands so many soldiers as they died. Fighting for their lives with all she had. All she knew.
The Girl would arrive at the support groups drowning in shame; how many lives lost? How much of the pain for those departed in the battle field was not resting in her back? Help them was her responsibility, after all.
Combat-medic support groups were the worse. She would go only because she could not bear to let them down. Not when she could actually do something, when it was 'so easy not to fail them'.
Of course medics had their own particular groups. How would it be different? How many times a soldier didn't direct their hurt towards the guys responsible for caring for their injuries. Lose a friend, and you would just look at the medic responsible for not fixing the person right. For ducking them up. And the worst part? Deep down, most Medics would think they were right.
It was their fault. Their responsibility. And they failed.
Lance didn't know how to care for trauma. She had no idea how to heal it. Bodies? Yes, that's her job. But minds?
The Girl had learned a thing or two, after years in support groups. No, she could not heal trauma. And truth to be told, she was not sure if even the therapists or psychiatrists really knew how. People would get better yes, but there was no "going back to how I used to be". You overcome trauma, but it's impossible to erase it.
People would call trauma emotional scars, and for a Medic that made an awful sense. After a major injury people would get better, make full recoveries even, but bodies would carry those marks as silent witnesses of past events.
One thing the Girl now knew was how to identify signs of a breakdown (which was quite useful at times). Unfortunately, she had seen so many. And most importantly, she learned that the only thing she could do, as in really do, was to be there - holding their hands through the whole process.
(If there was one thing her heart knew well was how to be loyal).
Her psyche-evals pointed to a series of issues, which was, frankly, expected. However they also revealed a certain resilience. She had the type of mind who would march to hell and back before crumbling into tiny pieces.
The type of mind that, even traumatized, would be able to dream.
XXX
There was a heavy weight pressing down on Ah'kaedh's chest. The first straightforward, uncomplicated, clear thing he was able to grasp.
Frustration.
(The reason for it? Unclear. One cannot have everything).
There were other things crushing him, but those were a mess, mixed together and nuanced; in his current state, far too difficult to determine when a feeling began and the other ended. Try to spent a life being stoic, running on cold and calculated anger, and see how fucking impossible untangling mashed up feelings will become. Especially when positive and negative takes of those damn emotions were included in the mix - and everything seemed to have shades of both.
The Enforcer pushed that mess aside, trying to ignore the chaos, focusing on whatever was palpable around him. Something 'real'. The most obvious place to start was his own physical body. Where was he? And most important, in what state?
His chest rumbling; he was purring. His body laying; he was curled, resting on a soft surface, embracing a warm body (not all of it, just part).
And it clicked (somewhat painfully). The reason for his frustration. He had a raging boner, his mouth salivating, and there was a hint of Lance's exquisite flavor all over his tongue.
That was a kick in the gut that Ah'kaedh was not expecting. Have I forced…
The Enforcer banished the thought, before it could be formed completely. No he would not do that, never do that. But a small part of his brain was screaming at him; You are a menace, Ah'kaedh!
And there was no way to deny it. Not when he could not control his rages.
And he needed to know what had just happened. The Enforcer crushed all his feelings down (even if part of them had been, somewhat, somehow, contentment) He could not afford not having control of himself around his Girl. Again.
Ah'kaedh's head was resting on Lance's àbdomen, his arms around her, and Paya guard him, her scent revealed how deliciously aroused she was.
(At once he knew how to fix his sexual frustration. But hey, it was kinda not the time for it…).
Caressing his crest, cheek and mandibles with the back of her hand and finger, wisely avoiding his tressers.
She is ok, was his next thought. And yes, Lance was ok. Contently holding him, even.
She is here, she is not tense, she… she was stroking his head, for fucks sake. And yet, the fear for his Girl's safety (that he could, somehow, hurt her) was very real.
For a moment, Ah'kaedh pondered simply staying there. Blessedly unaware of how the fuck he ended up tangled on her, ignore this episode until tomorrow. They could discuss whatever happened tomorrow, but…
The Enforcer abhorred cowardice.
"Lance", he called, slurred voice and all.
"Uhn?", her mind had been somewhere else.
"What happened?"
Ah'kaedh had blacked out. His last reliable memory was holding his Girl's arm.
What for? Why was I holding her like that…
He tried to get up, worried. His mind was still muddled, and that was not a good sign. Couldn't be a good sign.
"We fought", she said, still caressing him, moving both her legs just a tad.
Ice went up and down Ah'kaedh's spine.
"Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine", a pause. "Ah'kaedh, your temper…is that why you avoided me earlier?"
"What?", His anger, which still lurked in the outskirts of his mind, just reared its head. Again. How could she even ask that? After all his dedication? It felt insulting.
"I would never!", he snapped, moving his body to sit up.
And that effort was frustrated by Lance's leg embrace. He could not escape her, not without throwing her away from him, or physically pushing her away.
"Like now?", she was quick to point.
"Are you trying my patience? I just want to sit!"
"Fine. So how about earlier when you said you would get food and took forever to go check on me?"
"I was tending to my duties, I'm not here to serve you".
Lance narrowed her eyes. Now everybody felt insulted.
"I don't thin I heard you right. Care to repeat that".
"Are you insane?", his voice was grave, snarling like an aggravated animal.
"No. Repeat it. 'I'm not here to serve you'", she challenged.
Ah'kaedh tried to get her off him, but she held firm. Now standing, he had a ooman clutching at his dorso like a baby possum.
A very irritated baby possum.
"Come on, Ah'kaedh! You leave me here telling me to stay and rest because I need to eat. So I wait. Until it's clear you are not returning so soon. And then you scold me upon finding me", Lance whisper-screamed, while hiking up, trying to find a better grip with her legs.
"You were just laying on my lap and now you want me gone", the Girl completed.
He was angry, yes. But what he felt was not his bestial rage. Only his battered pride, hurting after being freshly whipped.
"I'm sending you back with Setg'n'kah tomorrow", he growled, dryly.
And Lance felt all that red blood boil, her temper simmering.
"Why not send me back to Thedus, then?", she spat back.
Ah'kaedh blinked. He didn't dare name whatever he felt. But oh boy, it was not good.
"You want to go back to the oomans' planet?"
Hasn't she said she would be executed? What is she playing at?
"I want you to tell me what the fuck is going on. I'm not your toy, so you can reject me or fuck me whenever it appeases you", Lance torn between outrage and a inexperienced lovesick heart.
"Is that what you think you are?"
Lance took a deep, deep, deep breath. And counted to ten. No, she knew she was not a toy for him. Lance you are a fucking idiot… why can't I keep my fucking mouth shut?
Better yet, why hearing the hurt in his voice felt worse than his threats of grounding her like a child?
Oh right, because Ah'kaedh just had a freaking breakdown, and she should be the reasonable one…
When he grabbed her arm, the Enforcer had reacted so instinctively, that she knew something was not right. Not quite like last night, but… like last nigh, Ah'kaedh tried to find refuge in sex. And after a day of avoiding her Hunter, all she wanted was to have him inside her, enjoy his touch, indulge in the intimacy they had.
But that would have been very wrong of her. And it would also be wrong of her to simply throw it at his face.
So yeah, Lance's recourse was to tap on that part of her that could be all business like, military Girl.
"I apologize, I spoke out in anger. I think we should…"
"Don't evade my questions. Do you want to go back to the oomans?"
"Alright", she kept control over her breath, as a means to also keep her temper in check. And got off him.
"Alright what?", Ah'kaedh felt immediately unhappy upon her touching the ground. But he wanted her off him, didn't he? What the fuck was going on…
"No, I do not want to go back to Thedus. I said that because I was angry", Lance sighed.
"My garments should be dry by now, Ah'kaedh. I will be back shortly. I promise".
XXX
The hunters followed Setg'n'kah back to Kivar's ship before dawn. Lance among them.
XXX
Lance avoided the commanding deck at Kivar's ship, keeping to herself at the med-bay.
The last thing she needed was to have another fight (made worse by the fact that it would be over message, with a dozen Predators around), so she tried her best to avoid any opportunity to communicate with the wreckage site.
(Especially when Lance felt that Ah'kaedh was pursuing those conflicts).
Dealing with xenophobic hunters was easy. Difficult was to accept Ah'kaedh diistancing himself, pushing her away.
(But hard, truly deeply hard, Ah'kaedh's new reality: that he could be a danger to his Girl).
XXX
Setg'n'kah observed the Girl for a whole day. Following her from a distance with the perfect excuse to be around the ooman; he was now responsible for it.
It was especially interesting to observe her around Kivar, who really needed her help. The ooman took all the shit he threw at her like a champion; no complaints, no come backs, no retribution disguised as (painful) treatment of his injuries.
Thinking about it, the thing seemed rather patient. But more than that, the ooman didn't take anything personally. Some hunters tried to bait it to no avail, Kivar the worst of them all.
"Sir, may I retire for the night?", it was late when Lance asked, some of the Hunter were already resting back in their quarters.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes".
"I have some questions for you. Then you can bathe and go to bed".
Lance simply nodded. Focused. Alert. Unaffected.
"According to you, you released Ho'kan and discovered possible leads to whom might be holding the Young-Blood Nax".
"Yes, sir".
"Do you think you can find possible locations for his whereabouts?"
"If you give me time, I can find the most likely location, and determine the best way to rescue him".
"How much time you need?"
"A couple of months. Remote investigations are not my expertise".
"Is that all you need? Time?"
"I might need to go to Thedus surface to check on leads. All the activity related to trading alien species is illegal. And I have few resources to work from here".
Unlike most Hunter on that ship, Setg'n'kah had few issues on recognizing skilled oomans.
The species were a favorite prey of his, and he obviously looked for smart, cunning, strong specimens. Skulls worthy of his trophy wall.
"If I send you back now, how many time will you need to have those leads?"
"Now?", she gestured, as if asking for him to wait. Thinking hard about the question.
"If you give me guns? A week. No guns? Might take a month."
"Why?"
"I will need time to gather resources. I need to be careful to not blow my cover".
"And you just need guns?", he sounded suspicious.
"I have the rest", her voice still had the same matter-of-factly tone to it.
"You do?", still suspicious.
"Yes. I blew through my ammo and guns, if you remember my telling of the days before being… captured by Ah'kaedh", she said. The right term would be rescued, but oh well, she had been technically abducted, and Lance didn't need Setg'n'kah sniffing around her personal history with her Dragon.
"if you don't mind me asking, sir, is time crucial in this matter?"
Since, you know, they had chosen to go after the Bad Bloods first and look for Nax later.
"We were on our way to Yautja Prime when we received the request for support. The sooner we can be back home, the better", he offered.he needed her collaboration. Setg'n'kah was responsible for her, not her master.
But yeah, the mating season was his reason. She didn't need to know exactly that, but Lance seemed satisfied with the short version of the truth.
"I'm responsible for you, so if you agree to work on this, I will send you back there. Tagged. Armed. But be warned… if you drop this tag, I promise you, I will hunt you down for the rest of your days", and Setg'n'kah sounded deadly serious.
"Might not be something I can avoid. If I go".
"Explain yourself".
"I might lose the tag. Or it might be detected and I will need to drop it. My superiors have already tried something like this, have people on the field with trackers to control them, and it always ends in disaster. So, what we can do is establish a communication workflow. With emergency channels".
Setg'n'kah cocked his head. What an interesting, interesting girl.
XXX
Ho'kan went looking for Lace the next day, and found her caring for the surviving Bad Blood, who was dreading the moment the 3 enforcers would come together and walk him into his personal hell.
"How can you stomach it?"
"I had to stomach worse", she smiled at the Kid, making a short pause.
Her patient was gagged and sedated, two limbs short, but she checked all restraints the Yautjas were employing.
"Hey, you are great, kiddo", Lance patted his shoulder. "Get out of here, you don't need to watch me fix that motherfucker. But I appreciate the gesture, uhn?".
"Are you sure?"
Actually, she could really use his company. Lance was not aware of everything that happened with Ho'kan, but being close to a Bad Blood involved in his time in captivity was sure eating at the Kid.
"Of course. Don't like the guy, but I need to be sure he can endure his interrogation. I know, by personal experience, that those enforcers will go hard on him".
Once Ho'kan left, Lance went back to work.
Under the watchful eye of Setg'n'kah.
XXX
That night, the Girl found Ho'kan skinning their next day's meal.
The Kid looked cheerful. So different from the Hunter on edge she had observed in the Bad Blood's ship.
When Setg'n'kah found them, Ho'kan was happily telling her about his Chiva and his hunting brother, the small pack thatched just been formed.
He listened, as the Girl made questions. About their days, about their hunts, about each of his pack brothers.
Sorrow and loving were now mixing with the joy he had felt those days. Remembering them with fondness seemed like a good sign - that Ho'kan's young hearts were healing.
XXX
"You are behaving like a caged beast", Lar'jar observed. "Restless, walking in circles".
"She hadn't requested to speak to me in days".
Lar'jar shook his head. Ridiculous male…
"Your ooman should be in the med-bay. Send a communication, and put an end to this nonsense already".
Silence. Lots of it. Lar'jar remained quiet, even if everything in him begged to snark his younger brother into the next dimension.
"If she wished to talk…", Ah'kaedh didn't finish. Not 48 hours later and he regretted not taking the place of Setg'n'kah. Worse yet, having told Lance he would "send her", when in truth it was decided she should go, due to her own competence.
Distance dampened his fear of being a Danger to her (when was the last time he actually hurt her? Decades ago?), but also heightened the shame he felt for his treatment of her.
And shame was quite the obstacle for Ah'kaedh's pride.
"You mean I will be enduring your sour mood because you are unsure if she will take your communication request?", Lar'jar grinning face made it clear that by enduring he meant 'having fun at your expense'.
XXX
The Kid greeted Lar'jar with a nod.
"How are things going around here?", the Medic asked.
"Normal. Went on a hunt four days ago, and we arrived just some hours ago. I have some new stuff for my collection", he announced, proud of himself.
Lar'jar smiled under the mask, indulged. He kinda missed that easy excitement so common to Young-Bloods.
"That's why it's just me and Velk'n here to greet you", Ho'kan completed. The hunters came back tired, most were already sleeping.
"Let's finish up fast here, so we can all catch some sleep", Lar'jar said, gesturing on Velk'n and Ah'kaedh's direction.
"I started to believe you two were not coming back", the Kid joked.
"I must confess that two nights ago I had the same feeling", the Medic grinned.
They took an entire extra week. Not 30 Hours after the Setg'n'kah departed with the Hunter, they suffered a drawback at the Bad Bloods' vessel. The heavy rain, so common during the monsoon season, caused a natural mudslide, strong enough to dislodge the vessel. The ship slides less than 40 feet down the hill where it had landed - but the disturbance was enough to make some structures, which were already frail due to the explosion, to collapse.
The unlucky incident affected part of the cargo compartment, so the whole work to bypass the safety measures and retrieve an intact cryochamber were for nothing. They tried for another 3 days before Lar'jar decided to prepare the med-bay at the wreckage for the autopsy. And realize the procedure on site.
Lar'jar had been so deeply affected by the situation around the stillborn, that he had to work making pauses. It would be better to take time and do it well, than rush through the whole process just to get it done.
In the end, he prepared the tiny corpse to be taken back to Yautja Prime. A home that child would never see.
XXX
It was quite late when they arrived, most of the crew was already retired for the night - Setg'n'kah and Kivar included.
Ah'kaedh's body felt hollow, like a carapace lacking a soul. He had hoped Lance would come meet him, but she should be sleeping by now.
Sleeping. And not there to welcome him. Sleeping.
After their fight, he found himself unable to initiate any communications out of shame. What would he tell her anyway? That he could not remember to court her, to delve his tongue on her sex (but the taste sure lingered) that day, and now he understood that yes, she was mostly right? He had been avoiding her.
Oh, and that after so many days not communicating, he didn't know how to approach her, thus not initiating any constant at all?
Ah'kaedh could not fault her for not talking to him. For not staying awake and welcome him. Setg'n'kah probably kept her occupied (and probably had been unwilling to open a private channel just for her. And maybe, just maybe, he had not informed Lance about their arrival (the communication was sent just some hours ago).
The Enforcer's tension left him feeling both dread and excitement.
Paya, will it be always like this?
Not that Ah'kaedh ever planned to stay away from her again. No. But sometimes being apart would be unavoidable. His duties as an Enforcer, conclaves, the mating season…
"Ah'kaedh. Setg'n'kah asked me to inform that he and Kivar scheduled Bad Blood's interrogation for tomorrow. Right before dawn", Velk'n advised.
Ah'kaedh sighed, frustrated. He couldn't say a word against those plans. He had been in charge of the wreckage, while the other two enforcers were responsible for other matters. But what awful timing…
XXX
"I spoke with her earlier this morning. She is fine, but very busy, Ah'kaedh. But you should congratulate her", Setg'n'kah serious face betrayed nothing.
Her? When did that happen? Ah'kaedh frowned. "Congratulate her for what?"
"A job well done. The Bad Blood scum is in great shape for the interrogation. The female is, indeed, quite competent", and that was all they discussed about Lance before starting the gruesome ordeal of interrogating the Bad Blood.
And boy, oh boy, after the stillborn discovery, that disgraced vermin would rue the day even his own mother was born.
XXX
Setg'n'kah put forth his best effort to give the ooman all the time he could, so she would be able to complete her task before Ah'kaedh found out about her whereabouts.
At first, he had been uncertain if Lance was up for the task, but now he could see no reason why not use such an advantage; that Girl was surely a excellent resource to conduct investigations among the human society without revealing the Yautjas' presence. Finalizing successfully that damn assignment was the enforcer's only concern.
But Setg'n'kah had seen how unreasonably protective Ah'kaedh behaved around that ooman. Was she recovering? Yes. But Lance seemed competent enough for it to pose significant risk.
Ah'kaedh's ooman had successfully checked in according to their agreement and plans, relaying precious information, tracing cohesive plans for her next steps.
That the dark Yautjas would be pissed by his actions, there was no doubts. But Setg'n'kah was confident that they would be able to see how his choices would benefit them all.
XXX
Lance was still getting used to the wrist gauntlet she had been given. It was an awesome piece of technology she didn't know how to use well. Which was why Setg'n'kah had added a feedback program to it, the same one used to teach sucklings how to use the damn thing (simpler, non lethal versions).
And Lance would hear the instructions using her earpiece.
The Girl sent a communication request to Setg'n'kah, and recorded a message (messaging and basic remote control over the auxiliary ship were the only features the enforcer bothered to teach her personally).
"Setg'n'kah, I have both good and bad news…"
XXX
A hologram with the Ooman face appeared for Setg'n'kah once he decided to verify what the extraordinary message from the ooman was about.
(They had just agreed to take a break from the interrogatory, after six hours questioning him nonstop.
Setg'n'kah, I have both good and bad news. I have located the likely location of two specimens that are most likely Predators. I cannot tell for sure, but I'm 90% positive that's the case.
The place is outside Cardinalis tradepoint, meaning I can go there and try to gather more information. I will update tomorrow.
I'm unharmed after yesterday's activities.
Be advised that I will be finally visiting Cardinalis in person tomorrow, to check on some leads.
Now for the bad news… as I related, the local news was talking a lot about a possible criminal or gang responsible for a surge in rape-murder cases of young women.
I broke into the police morgue last night. There is no exam of fluids left in the body that can confirm my suspicions, but some lesions fit interspecies mating.
If that's the case, they are alive; the last body was dropped two days ago.
Based on the location, I still can't determine their hiding spot. But judging by the pattern of where the bodies are being discarded, they might have more than one.
Also, fair warning, I will need to clean up a mess related to my work, so I might not be able to send the morning check in message.
I'm sending you footage and other documents attached to this message. I've included police reports and autopsies, in which some recognize non human fluids and genitalia tearings. All documents are in my native language, but I believe Ah'kaedh should have a global translator feature in the Mainframe of his vessel. In any case, the autopsies have footage and high resolution images.
Lance out.
XXX
Math could be such a cruel tool. Only truths, cold truths. It's hard to argue with numbers. And when you have reliable data, there is hardly room for doubts, if at all.