The Hish was uncomfortable, muscles tense as he came across Noni's yard and up the stairs. There was only a twinge of relaxation at the sight of J'agannath.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then-

"I was sent over here…?" The Hish prompted.

"We have a situation involving a Hish implant."

Predators shifted. A lone young male sitting in a chair, sweating as he watched the Hish. Nearby, three more humans stood.

The Hish froze.

"An ooman! What is this?"

"The boy has a bugworm in his neck T'al't." Jagannath's words did little to reassure the Hish medic.

"No." T'al't backed away. "I'm not touching an ooman."

"C'mon."

"I said no."

"T'al't, you're the only one with medicinal micro-technic knowledge."

"-Whose still alive." T'al't snipped.

"If the bug-worm comes out, the oomans can go home."

"That's why they are here?" T'al't crept closer, eyes on the boy whose resolve was quickly disappearing.

A body stepped between them.

"You can stay where you are." P'sy warned. "And know a few of us will be in the room during the procedure to ensure he stays in one piece."

T'al't hissed.

"What are you insinuating?"

P'sy gaze only flickered J'agannath's way for a second.

"We have files on all of you. I believe you once stated in a psych eval, human taste like chicken."

"I wish I knew what they were saying." Jessie whispered.

Kelly studied the scene.

"P'sy doesn't trust this yautja. That's why he blocked him from Ricky." She chewed her lip. How safe was it to have this predator remove the bugworm?

Kelly wished she could ask, but none of the yautja had their biomasks on.

"He's probably our only hope."

….

Ricky was relieved when P'sy blocked the Hish from him.

P'sy was one scary dude. And yet, predator had done so much for them, beyond expectations.

Ricky had a healthy amount of respect for the Elder.

Just don't piss him off.

Ricky loosened the grip he had on his chair slightly. There was a tickle in his head, behind his left eye.

He tried to ignore it.

"What's wrong?"

Dallas was hyper-vigilant apparently.

"I itch." Ricky stuck a finger in his ear. Maybe it was his ear canal or something.

Garbled.

Fading.

Distortion.

That damn itching.

"We have files on all of you. I believe you once stated in a psych eval, human taste like chicken."

Ricky froze.

Slowly, he straightened in his seat, staring at the large scar on P'sy's back, courtesy of that predalien on earth.

"I was fucking with your medic, they were pissing me off." T'al't growled back.

"Sure, you were." P'sy stepped into the Hish's space. "If he comes back any different than he went in aside from the absence of that shit technology embedded in him, you're the first one I'm coming for."

"Why, he a pet of yours?" T'al't sidestepped P'sy, taking Ricky by the chin before he was ready.

Holy shit. What was going the fuck on?

Ricky couldn't move as the Hish tilted his face at different angles.

"You know where it is?"

"Aren't you the expert?"

"P'sy."

Across the room, Noni shot him a look.

A claw raked Ricky's skin as the Hish pulled his shirt back to see the healed incision.

"Just because the incision is right here, doesn't mean the bug-worm is beneath the scar."

T'al't's hand clamped on Ricky's neck, touch scales scratching as the Hish pressed down on bone, bruising.

"Ow."

Apparently Ow was in the universal language.

"Fucking pussy, just like all the rest of them."

There was movement. A'luet was there. A head toss P'sy's way didn't need words to translate. T'al't's insult was heard.

"I'm not a pussy you fucker." Ricky said without thinking.

"What?"

Fuck.

"Nothing." Ricky grumbled.

"I can get it out."

"Took long enough to establish that." P'sy muttered.

T'al't ignored the elder.

"When do you want it removed?"

"As soon as possible."

T'al't hummed.

"Mmm, so next month?"

Noni gave a start. "Next month?"

NEXT MONTH?

"Yes." T'al't's response was clipped. "We have many of our people still suffering the effects of that godforsaken shithole called a Hish ship. Next month is the earliest and that's if there isn't any mishaps between now and then."

"Fine." P'sy snapped. "Next month. But earlier if possible."

NEXT FUCKING MONTH?

The Hish let go of Ricky's neck.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"Yeah, fuck you too." P'sy hissed down the stairs after the predator. "Next goddamn month?"

"It's better than nothing." Noni shook her head, still perturbed by the revelation.

P'sy pressed his monitor screen.

"They can take it out."

"Oh good." Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. "When?"

NEXT FUCKING MONTH.

P'sy paused.

"Not as soon as we would like. Next month."

Silence.

"Next month." Kelly glanced at Dallas.

"Next month…" Dallas echoed. "As in not-this month…" He glanced down at his brother. "Ricky?"

The teenager was staring straight ahead.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay with that?"

Yup."

Dallas leaned to look at Ricky better.

"You sure?"

Ricky nodded his head.

"I mean we can't argue with it."

"No." P'sy agreed. "You can't."

"Ricky."

A'luet stepped forward.

"Let's go for a walk."

"Remember the last time we took a walk?"

A'luet snorted.

"There aren't any commandos running around this time."

…..

Prime was hot, hotter than any climate Ricky had ever experienced, but the forests were cool. Ahead, a river gushed.

"It's called U'sl-kwe, Final Death."

"It's really blue, like Colorado rivers. Not polluted."

Ricky stuffed his hands in his pockets, closing the distance between himself and the predator. His friendly smile faltered when he saw A'luet's mask wasn't on.

The young predator was studying him with an intensity Ricky didn't like.

"You understand us, without our translator." A'luet said. "Don't you? Humans can't speak our language, you physically lack the ability to. But you understood everything in that room."

Ricky opened his mouth to argue, but that would only prove A'luet's assumption.

He clamped his lips shut.

A'luet wasn't stupid.

"You can't hide it from me. You replied to T'al't's insult. He called you a pussy and you refuted it."

"What's the point then? You still can't understand me without your biomask. What's the point? And how?"

"It's probably the bug-worm. It's Hish technology. As for what point, I don't know."

"Am I going to turn into one of you?"

A'luet shot him a look.

"I think you're safe from turning into one of us."

"Are you going to tell them, your elders?"

A'luet's mandibles twitched.

"I need to, yes."

"Why?"

"Safety to my people. I know you're trustworthy, but many of the elders don't know you and only grudgingly agreed to T-sey-s's decision to let you stay. If they find out you're standing in the room and they think you're ignorant when you aren't, that's security to this planet." A'luet sighed. "And I'm loyal to my people first, I'm sorry."

Ricky took a breath. "Don't apologize. It'd be the same if it were me. I just don't want them to lock me up or something."

"They won't. You're under Noni's protection and no one crosses her."

"Can you wait, least a day? Please?"

A'luet was quiet, uneasy.

"I shouldn't." The predator sighed. "But, I'll wait. But they know tomorrow. I'll tell Noni. She'll know how to address it."

"Kay." Ricky itched his head, a sure sign of anxiety his mother always teased him about. "Thanks."

A'luet jerked a nod.

"You know, all the harsh shit I said on Earth… I'm sorry about that. I mean, Christ, without you and P'sy we'd be…" Ricky trailed off. "For what it's worth, I'm glad we met you."

The young predator watched the U'sl-kwe rush.

Then he faced the human.

"Me too."

….

Walking home, a familiar musk lingered in a straight line towards the family bungalow. A'luet took a deep breath.

Climbing the stairs and entering the home, the pheromones were undeniable.

"Paya."

A'luet saw his cousin first. Behind Paya, Strangya, An'nu's older brother.

"So, heard you've been busy."

"Yeah." A'luet managed. "I thought you weren't coming back for another week."

"Finished early." Strangya answered shortly.

"Got a call from the ancients more like it." J'mper corrected.

There was a tension in the air A'luet wasn't used to feeling. J'mper wasn't usually so on edge.

"I see." A'luet said. "You got your Elite title back…so they sent you."

Near white orbs, an unusual iris color for yautja, rolled. Strangya sighed.

"Was told to come back here and assess a most dire situation."

"What dire situation?" A'luet glanced at An'nu.

"The dire situation numbered four over at Noni's place."

"There's only four of them." An'nu said. "Not like it's a full scale invasion."

"J'afhix wants to be sure of that."

"J'afhix hasn't stepped down on Prime land in over a hundred years. What fucks does he really give?" Issa snapped.

"They're primitive compared to us." A'luet pulled his spear off his back. "What threat do the ancients think they pose?"

"I didn't ask." Strangya narrowed his eyes. "Why you on the defensive?"

"I'm not." A'luet grumbled. "Not that I don't want to see you guys, it's just when an Elite suddenly appears during a situation like this, you have to wonder what they want."

"The ancients, they're not going to be flying in here on their brooms, are they?" Issa hadn't lost her sarcasm.

"No." Strangya huffed. "I am the broom."

"Well, you're in luck." A'luet said. "They're stuck here for a month. So you have at least 30 days to get all the tidbits J'afhix desires."

"Why a month?" An'nu demanded.

"The Hish have a backlog of medical problems apparently."

"Why aren't they being sent back?" Strangya interrupted.

"The teenage boy has a bug-worm in him. Humans did it on Earth."

"And I fail to see a problem."

"And the woman's mate apparently was pivotal in us even sending P'sy to Earth in the first place." Issa growled. "The vessel was shot down purposely. The government knew they were there."

"The woman's mate." Strangya repeated. "She's mated to the one who works for Continental United? Are we even sure she's not putting on a show?"

"She wasn't." Issa murmured. "How do you know about the Ooman's occupation?"

"You sure about that?" Strangya ignored the question.

Issa fixed her brother a cold stare. "You didn't see her face when T'sey-s told her. The woman was not acting."

"I don't know about that Issa. Oomans have interesting occupations including acting for sheer entertainment of others."

Issa scowled.

"Spoken like a true Elite under the thumb of J'afhix."

Strangya shot his sister a glare.

…

The evening air was cool once the suns disappeared but Kelly didn't care. Above, different moons and planets at all different sizes and color were appearing as night settled.

A cable knit sweater appeared in her line of sight.

The familiarness of it was jarring.

A sweater….on Yautja Prime.

"Our people are as diverse as yours." Noni held it out. "We have collectors too, lucky for you, none of you will be stuck wearing the same clothes for the next 30 days."

"Thank you."

Kelly slipped her arms through the sleeves.

Noni settled nearby, her biomask in her hands. The connection between mask and gauntlet keeping language and understanding easy.

"I'm sorry you found out the way you did, about your mate."

Kelly inhaled.

"So am I." Kelly sighed. "But apparently, I didn't know him that well. My own fault really."

Noni considered her.

"Why? Because you are a human warrior?"

Kelly nodded.

"I had the chance to not sign up and I didn't take it."

"Any significant other who expects their mate to not be who they are, does not deserve that mate."

Kelly smiled, quickly fading. "I should have known when I caught him on my first visit home, he was going through my bag. Claimed it was to help me unpack because of my exhaustion. I took that explanation."

"Often you don't want to believe what's right in front of you. I was betrayed once."

"What happened?"

"I had a mate long ago. He went on a hunt and never returned. I could only assume he died, like so many of us who go on journeys and don't return. Turns out he became what we call Bad Blood, a yautja who ignores our code and indulges in egregious behavior."

A chitter.

Aud appeared in the doorway, and happily jumped into his mistress's lap.

"Did you ever see him again?"

The yautja female glanced over.

"Yes, I did. He wanted me to join him, but he had already made his bed."

"What did you do?"

A faint light within the elder's home shone her eyes, a deep gold.

"He had aided in genocide of oomans, he killed a Blooded and he almost killed P'sy." Noni paused for the briefest of moments. "I ended him."