Chapter 24

Needle in a haystack

The next morning, the blizzard had fully lifted, having coated the train wreck with a few feet of snow. Adrien looked at it with distaste after opening the car door. Just like Minnesota nine months out of the year.

Alexei whined something to Petrov, and the man snapped back a scolding in return.

By now, Adrien was beginning to anticipate the kid's complaints. "Yes, it's deep," he said. "Too bad. Your ankle is good enough to walk on now. It's search and rescue time. And if I wasn't giving you the order, Petrov literally has the authority to, and there's nothing you can do about it. This ain't a Subway, and you aren't gonna 'Have It Your Way'."

Alexei muttered something, and Adrien looked to Petrov.

The Lieutenant rolled his eyes. "He says that slogan is for Burger King, and that Subway is 'Eat Fresh'. He also says he wishes he was at one of those places, because the food is better, and the company more polite." Considering this, he added, "I've never been to either, though they have them in Moscow. Is the food good?"

"Can't speak for the Russian counterpart, but in a manner of speaking. Whoppers are not important at the moment." Actually, he could crush several cheeseburgers right now; but that clearly wasn't happening any time soon. "Let's get moving." Adrien began to step out of the train car but paused. They needed to have direction, a starting point, or they'd just wander aimlessly back and forth.

"Petrov, you know her better than anyone else here. If she's alive, what would she do? Where would she go?"

Throwing his pack over his shoulder, Petrov appeared to ponder the question. "It depends on whether she saw the flare or not. If she did, she will try to find us. If she didn't… if she thinks we're dead, she'll try and finish her job."

"And at this point, what would that be?" Adrien asked.

Petrov hesitated. "This is only my guess, mind you, but… I think she'd either keep trying to report back to headquarters, or take out as many of the serpents as she can, before... before she couldn't anymore."

Adrien squinted. "So, she could be headed back east, heading home west, or going in circles looking for us. That about sum it up?"

"I believe so."

"Great." Adrien ran his tongue over his teeth. "Okay, Petrov, how are we starting the search?" After hearing about the man's crappy personal life, he had decided to encourage him to get some more confidence in his choices. At the very least, moving up the chain of command would mean a better salary for him. He was a good man and deserved better.

Petrov thought for a moment, then said, "One more sweep of the valley. Then, if we don't find any sign of her, we'll see if we can climb back up to the tracks, and search for footprints."

Nodding, Adrien said, "Sounds like a plan. How much ammo you got left, Skip?"

Petrov seemed perplexed by the title, but said, "Not much. Couple magazines for my rifle, including one I took from… Zaitsev. Three for my pistol. You?"

Looking through his remaining weaponry with disappointment, Adrien said, "Not much more than you. I guess I also have a couple grenade rounds remaining, but the flares are gone. Oh, and a chalk round."

Petrov looked at him with confusion. "A chalk round… Why?"

"A less-than-lethal round I packed to incapacitate aliens for capture. Lot of good that would've done. Maybe we can make Alexei use it to write his name a thousand times on the side of one of the train cars."

Adrien only received another puzzled look, reminding him again of how many cultural differences they had. "Or I could shoot him with it next time he annoys us, you know, since it is less-than-lethal," he added.

Alexei squawked and looked to Petrov to defend him, like he had on the radio tower. This time, the Lieutenant didn't. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be chewing on the idea.

"And on that note," Adrien said, down to business again, "We should be off."

Katja woke to total darkness. The fire was out, and with the boulder still blocking the cave mouth, she could see nothing but the luminous glow-in-the-dark screen of her watch.

A little after 0700 hours. How had she slept so late? And why was she on the wrong side of the cave?

Beneath her, her mattress was… breathing.

The hunter. "What the hell?" How had this happened? All she remembered was the hunter chasing her around the cave, then pulled that… that stupid… 'purring' trick, for lack of a better term, when she refused to comply, and then oblivion. Like, blackout drunk oblivion.

Katja reared up on him, rubbing her eyes as she struggled to make sense of it all.

Great, she had been roofied… again. By an alien, no less. What had that been, and how had it worked so well? She knew from some fun internet articles there were human health benefits to a cat's purr, such as decreased stress, lower blood pressure and reduced heart attack risk; as well as promoting bone healing, wound healing, and finally, lessening of pain and swelling. Amazing, really.

Not in this situation, however.

She wasn't sure if there had been health benefits to his, but it did work even better than Valium at knocking her out. The real question she had was, what did he normally use this for… or on? And why? Given what little she knew of the species and their brutality as well as ferocity, it didn't add up. Adrien hadn't mentioned this either, and she wasn't sure she wanted to ask him when they reunited.

Asking the hunter himself was completely out of the question. At least, for now.

Coming from her internal musings, she looked down at him and found he was a lot warmer than she would've expected, given that Adrien had referred to them as 'lizards'. Were they mammalian, after all? Aliens didn't have to play by the rules of earth's animal kingdom, though, so maybe they were some sort of hybrid lizard/mammal mix. He sure seemed warm-blooded, anyway. Maybe he was more like an armadillo with that scaly skin. They were mammals too, after all.

Thinking of Adrien, the recollection of a fireball in the sky came flooding back. She'd seen his flare. He was alive! Alive, and he was looking for her.

Adrien!

Pushing off the hunter, she stood, only to gasp with pained surprise. Her leg hurt, even more than the previous night. If the hunter's purr did work like a cat's and reduced pain last night, she had been too drunk on the sound to notice.

Hobbling over to her helmet, Katja switched on its light and sat, examining her lower calf. It was difficult to tell with the angle of the beam, but the cut she'd gotten from the train chunk looked awfully red and puffy. Either it was becoming infected, or the snare wrapping tightly around it had badly aggravated it.

Frustrated, she made a fist and slammed her hand against the cave floor. How was she going to find Adrien when an injury was slowing her down? What if he needed her help?

"Hey." Struggling back over to the hunter, Katja leaned down and patted his arm. She didn't know if it would upset him or not; but she figured if he forced her to sleep, she was well within her right to force him to wake up. "I have to go find Adrien now. Can you move the boulder?"

Grunting, the hunter lifted his arm and gave her a push, then rolled over with his back to her.

Katja fell to her butt, even though he had probably put barely any force behind the push. Apparently, he didn't like being woken up any more than Petrov… had.

Thinking of her Lieutenant immediately brought an ache to her heart, and she felt a bit dizzy. Well, she wasn't losing Adrien too. "Listen," she said, bringing her feet underneath her. "I have to go. Every hour I lose is another hour that my guy is in danger. Can you please move the boulder?"

Taking a large risk, she rubbed his unarmored shoulder. Really, he carried her. This simple contact should not be offensive by comparison. And yes, his flesh felt as odd as it looked. Not unpleasant, just… different.

The hunter barked grumpily a few times, but at last he rose, stalking to the front of the cave. Lifting his arms, he pushed and rolled the large rock aside until there was enough space for them to get through.

"Thank you," Katja said, beginning to collect her belongings. But the hunter was shaking his head.

"What? What's wrong?" she demanded.

Moving to the cave wall, he picked up his rock and began to write, his big body blocking the words. She felt like she was back in school, looking at a chalkboard.

Soon, he was done, and he stepped back so she could read.

"Food first."

Katja jutted out her chin. "Fine, fine. I think I have an MRE left–"

Again, the hunter gave a negative head shake, and wrote some more. "Human stay. I hunt. Fresh meat. Helps heal." With this, he pointed to her leg.

Exasperated, Katja said, "I appreciate it, but I have some antibiotics in my pack. I'll get by."

"Slow," wrote the hunter.

Even though he was only pointing out the truth, Katja retorted crossly, "I won't slow you down. Okay? I have some painkillers in here too. If I take enough, I'll walk fine. And you don't need to worry, I'm not going back on my word; that isn't who I am. I'm still going to help with the serpents. I just need to find my friend first."

The hunter huffed.

"Look at it this way: Our saving him is one less serpent created, and one more gun to help us," Katja continued.

Emphatically, the hunter tapped at his written line about hunting and meat.

Tipping her head back, Katja groaned. It wasn't as if she could stop him. He had the power to literally force her asleep without Valium, after all. "All right, all right. Go hunt. I'll get a fire going. But then, I'm going to find Adrien."

The alien nodded and disappeared, cloaking himself. Katja was left with a big dilemma: Adrien.

It had been a stupid, emotional mistake to immediately give up her search back in the valley and assume that all her men were dead. Thinking back, she couldn't believe she'd done it; and she realized now, to her shame, that if she'd found anyone else's helmet but Petrov's it probably wouldn't have happened.

She was an idiot. She'd let her pain and rage take over.

She still missed him.

Stop.

No, Adrien was who she had to concentrate on. He was the one who was still alive, and Katja was going to find him if she had to burn down the whole forest.

Vai'dqouulth went out in search of wildlife, something large enough for him and his human companion, but was not having much fortune. Likely because the hard meats had decimated the wildlife in the region. At one point two small, furry creatures with powerful hind legs and very long ears bounded away from him, perhaps spotting the ripples of his cloak; but they would barely have been enough to sustain Katja, let alone both of them.

He needed something larger.

Another deer would have been preferable, but he could not spot any nor pick up any sign of them. And he didn't believe the impatient female would wait for him in the cave much longer, though he could appreciate her drive.

Admittedly, he was a little embarrassed about sleeping in again. Yautja required less sleep than humans, but in his defense, he had been running himself hard lately with no rest.

Not to mention the little ball of human warmth made getting up less than desirable.

He also wasn't exactly excited to go find one of her male companions, unless it was the runt – and that was purely for the possibility of the computer. But she had made some compelling arguments to find the veteran, so he'd join her – though his guess was the veteran was not going to be as open to his presence as she was.

Still, it wasn't as though he couldn't kill them (should they become a threat), and she would not be able to place blame on him for simply defending himself. Killing her was still a possibility as well, just not preferable at this point in time.

From his vantage in the treetops, he spotted a shadow in the less dense part of the forest, moving slowly.

Curious, he moved closer, bow at the ready; and soon got a clearer look.

A very large quadruped, much bigger than a deer, was ambling casually through the area. It seemed in no particular hurry, shaking its head and short horns every so often and lowing to itself. The white and black patched pattern camouflage was distinct, certainly.

Vai'dqouulth's bow was at full draw for an attack when he noticed the halter around its head.

It was… domesticated? He slowly relaxed his draw so as not to spook the animal.

The gods must be blessing him. Perhaps he could lead it to the cave so he could kill it there, and not have to waste energy as well as vital calories dragging the giant body the whole distance.

Dropping to the ground, he uncloaked himself. The animal squalled in fright and kicked its legs, preparing to turn and run, but he grabbed the halter and held firm.

It struggled, probably accustomed to its weaker human keepers, from whom it could easily break free if it so chose. But Vai'dqouulth was no human.

He held firm through its kicking and bucking, using its weight against it, and when it tired, he finally gave it a few pats to relax it. Eventually, it stopped fighting and blinked at him through its hairy lashes.

"Come, now, big beast," he chirped soothingly, tugging at the halter strap. "You shall be my meat, but I will not make you suffer."

When he got back, he'd have to make sure it was edible for his human. Vai'dqouulth shook his head and corrected himself. The human. But he was fairly confident she could consume it. It had many characteristics of the deer, and they could eat those. As a matter of fact, he wanted to ask Katja what animal this was. He had never seen or hunted one before.

Either way, this was the second earth creature he had been able to wrangle and relax into submission. He was getting very skilled at this.

Warming her hands over the fire, Katja looked at her ankle. With the natural light from outside the cave now trickling in, the gash looked even worse.

She had taken a huge dose of painkillers – probably too much – hoping it would tide her over until she found Adrien. So far, the effects hadn't kicked in. She hoped it would soon, or the hunter was probably going to try carrying her again.

A noisy bellow disrupted her thoughts, and Katja wobbled to her feet.

What on earth? Was something… mooing?

Tottering carefully from the cave, Katja braced herself against the boulder and looked outside.

There was the hunter, approaching with a… cow. An actual cow. Even though it explained the mooing, Katja still couldn't believe what she was seeing, even after the last few insane days.

"Watcha got there?" Katja asked.

The alien's big shoulders moved up and down in a good imitation of a shrug. Though it seemed surprising, given cattle were a common food-source throughout the entire world, perhaps he just hadn't been close enough to civilization to be near one before.

"I'm only joking. It's called a cow. It must've escaped from one of the homes in the area."

The hunter, still holding the animal's halter, pointed to Katja, and then the cow. After that, he pantomimed eating. It almost made her giggle, but she stopped before she showed her teeth. The charades game was just a bit ridiculous coming from a giant killing machine. "Yes, I can eat it. We keep them for their milk and meat. And if you can eat a deer whole, it should be okay for you, too."

The hunter seemed, as always, excited to learn something new about Earth. For her part, the cow stomped her hoof with impatience a few times, and the hunter scratched behind her ears in a soothing manner until the beast became still. Then, after briefly bowing his head in thanks or regard, the hunter made a quick motion with his wrist, and killed the cow.

He had done it in a way that ensured the creature would not suffer whatsoever, yet Katja couldn't help but feel a bit disquieted. It was a very gruesome and visual reminder that no matter how friendly and gentle he was acting with her now, he would not hesitate to slaughter her the moment their alliance ended.

She just hoped he'd have the professional courtesy to be as quick about it as he was with the cow.

But now was not the time to worry about it. Adrien was out there, waiting for her, and they still had to eat breakfast.

"Can you help me open this crate, Pierce?" Petrov requested.

"I don't know, can I?" Adrien replied, unable to help himself. It's not that he wanted Petrov to think he was making fun of his English, but he'd had a teacher in second grade who'd done the same thing to him constantly and now it was ingrained in him to reply that way.

Hands on the lid of the crate, Petrov appeared annoyed. "Will you help?" he rephrased.

"Sure thing." Whatever Petrov had seen written on the crate; he must have decided it was worth a look.

They had finished searching the valley about forty minutes ago, and had since left and ascended to the railroad tracks. Petrov had advised heading east, back toward the FOB, deciding it was Katja's likely next move. Every few yards, they would find another part of the train or its contents.

Like the crate.

As they were digging through the supplies, Alexei began to complain.

"Then pack your canteen with clean snow, and tuck it under your arm," Petrov replied, not even lifting his head. "Your body heat will melt it."

Alexei walked in a small circle, voicing something that sounded like an argument, and Adrien finally spoke up.

"Do you see any drinking fountains around here? Do what the man says. Last thing you want is to get dehydrated in the wilderness. And I am not sharing my last water bottles with you. Either that, or drink your own piss."

Heaving a sigh, Alexei crouched and began scooping up snow.

"There," Petrov suddenly said, moving a flat box out of the way. "That's what I was looking for."

Underneath the item he'd moved was a pop-up tent, still packed in its carrying case. Below that were four thick, rolled-up sleeping bags.

"Figured we might be out here a while," Petrov explained. "So, when I saw the writing on the outside of the crate–"

"No, it's a good find. I'm glad we stopped," said Adrien, lifting the tent. It was heavy, as he'd expected it to be; though at least it had a sling so it could be carried over the back.

"I'll take it," offered Petrov, lifting it from Adrien's hands and throwing it over his back.

"Thanks." Digging out the first sleeping bag, Adrien looked for his target. Alexei was still on his knees, stuffing snow into his canteen.

Perfect.

Lifting the bag over his head, Adrien let the missile fly. It hit Alexei directly in the back of the head, and he went face-first into a mound of snow, a satisfying 'ugh' sound emitting from him before the snow muffled it.

Ha. Excellent. Even better than he'd planned.

"Carry that, dipshit. This one too," Adrien added, heaving another of the sleeping bags just as Alexei was getting back up. By chance, that one hit him too; and he was thrown to the ground again in the same exact spot. Adrien began to choke with laughter – until he noticed Petrov staring at him, trying to look stern.

"Hey, the second one was an accident," Adrien said innocently. "Honest."

"If we lose the kid, we lose any insight into the people he works for," Petrov said, struggling to keep a straight face. "I'd like to know what they want with my Captain."

Adrien made a noncommittal noise and took the remaining two sleeping bags, clipping them to his pack.

Noticing this, Alexei jabbered something, crossing his arms stubbornly. Petrov snarled a few words at him, and this sent Alexei scurrying to pick up both of his bags.

"Now what?" asked Adrien.

"He wanted to know why he had to carry two, since… one is for a dead woman," said Petrov tersely.

"One's gonna be for a dead scientist, if you don't shut your yap," Adrien told Alexei.

"Don't worry. I told him if he didn't want to get hit with sleeping bags again, I'd hit him with the tent instead," Petrov muttered, reaching over his shoulder to pat at the heavy tent case.

"Good. Let's keep following the train tracks."

Petrov nodded, but clearly Alexei had gotten to him.

"Hey, we're gonna find her. Alive, too. It'll be worth it when we prove 'big brain' over there wrong," Adrien assured.

"Sure," Petrov gave a tired response.

Vai'dqouulth tore open the 'cow' and began digging out chunks of meat, approximating in his mind how much Katja might eat, hoping he got the most premium pieces for her.

He moved towards her, offering the food; but she leaned back a bit from him, eyeing the meat wordlessly.

He took in her slight form, which was currently leaning against the boulder, and tried to decipher her facial expression. The thin, horizontal strips of hair above her eyes were furrowed, and her plump mouth parts were pinched together. He hadn't the faintest idea what any of that meant, but noted it regardless.

"Thanks for bringing me food, I do appreciate it," she began, "but I can't eat the skin… or those bone parts. Or whatever that organ is. And my knife is gone."

She began to speak again, but seemed to be struggling with her words. "It's just… too bad Petrov isn't here. He'd know how to butcher it."

Vai'dqouulth noticed a clear streak of fluid fall from her eye and track down her cheek. Crying.

Yautja could do that too, and he almost had during a plaiting ritual. It was not looked upon as an acceptable thing to do in his society, certainly. Unless one was still a suckling. The tears made him uncomfortable, and he wasn't sure why she was doing it, as she currently had nothing to fear. He wasn't about to kill her. A question for later, maybe.

Deciding to keep a distance but be polite, he took out his knife and went back to the carcass, this time carefully skinning a portion and removing it from the bone. Returning to her, he presented it with a flourish.

"That's perfect. I just need it cooked."

"Cooked?!" Vai'dqouulth rumbled wearily, bumping his mandibles against the walls of his mask as he tried to flare them. Demand after demand with this one! He'd met Yautja females less difficult to appease! Clan leaders' daughters for example, and they were bitches… at least he was thinking that was the right word for it on Earth, after hearing the veteran's use of it.

She seemed to interpret his small growl correctly. "Well, I'm sorry! Raw meat can make humans really sick. But it's okay. I made a fire while you were gone. I'll take it and heat it up. Thank you very, very much." With that, she accepted the slab of protein, and limped back into the cave.

Raw meat could sicken them? What kind of frail, absurd species were they? Cooked food was generally reserved for special occasions, such as celebrations or banquets. Otherwise, raw was the best way to get all the needed nutrients. Cooking burned much of that out.

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself they weren't the same. Yautja had developed robust immune and digestive systems. Humans were still a work in progress, and letting Katja die of poisoning wasn't going to advance them.

Humanity would need her warrior offspring for that advancement, after all.

He made for the fire to try and help. Or at least smooth things over as best he could with the language barrier.

It was a strange feeling, wanting to oblige her every whim; but that was probably just the ingrained societal Yautja ways in him. Female wants something of you? Better find a way to make it happen if you want to extend your bloodline.

A hilarious thought, many of his actions could be considered courting, were it not for the survival situation they were facing.

Looking back at the human hunched over the fire, he figured he could've picked much worse in this humorous 'courting'. She'd need a very impressive skull, however; Katja was a warrior – judging by her 'captain' status, possibly ranked highly even among her own humans – and would need solid proof of his worth.

He did take a sort of pride – even though he shouldn't – in the fact that she was thoroughly bathed in his pheromone scent, even if it was just from close proximity. That would normally help in keeping interested 'parties' at bay until it wore off.

Pulling out of this entertaining – yet ridiculous - line of thought, he remembered he had actual work to do, like destroying Weyland and the hard meats.

Better go join her.

Later, after the beefy breakfast, they began to travel.

Though the food had initially buoyed her, Katja was feeling worse and worse the farther they went. Not only was she injured; but more importantly, she was losing hope that she would find Adrien alive.

So she kept moving. If she kept moving, she could forget about the pain in her leg. She could forget the fact she was alone out here, aside from the hunter.

She could forget that maybe Adrien had been calling for help last night, and she hadn't gone to help.

Yes, it was better not to stop.

They followed the railroad tracks west in silence, towards where they'd seen the flare. Even if the hunter had been able to speak a human language, she wasn't in the mood for talking. In fact, she felt perpetually on the brink of weeping for her losses.

Petrov had been in her life in some way or another for more than a third of her life. They'd grown into adulthood together. It seemed impossible that she'd never see him again, never talk to him again, or hear his voice.

He was, Katja was now understanding with regret, much more important to her than she'd ever realized; and his death was now devastating her in a very different way than the others had.

In the distance, she suddenly noticed movement, forcing her out of her sorrow.

At first fearful that it was serpents, Katja ducked down, but soon realized the forms were human. And familiar.

It was Adrien, Alexei, and Petrov.

She had to look again, and again, at the last man in the formation, wondering if her anguished brain was playing a cruel trick on her.

No. Maksim was alive, walking along without as much as an injury as he searched for something.

Overjoyed, she started to get their attention, but just as quickly stopped. She had a problem, and it was well over two meters tall.

Turning to the alien, she said, "We found my friends. Stay here, behind this ridge, okay? And turn invisible or whatever. Just for a minute. I don't want them to panic and attack you when they see you."

The hunter huffed a breath that somehow sounded indignant, but obeyed, crouching low and turned transparent.

Facing her companions again, she called out to them.

Alexei babbled something, and Adrien, who was leading their single-file line, turned his head slightly. He thought he had caught the name Jekaterina in there, but he wasn't sure.

"Petrov, he say anything relevant?"

"He thinks we should start shouting for her," Petrov replied shortly. "He said that maybe she can't move, and that's the only way we'd find her."

Well, at least Alexei was asking permission now before screaming. And offering a semi-intelligent idea. It was progress. Sort of. "I want to, Alexei; but if we call her, we might attract serpents or Weyland. That flare was risky enough."

Alexei said something else, but before Petrov could translate, Adrien heard someone yelling their names over the howl of the wind.

Their line halted and turned.

And there was Katja, standing on a crest of a small hill, waving at them excitedly.

A warm feeling filled Adrien's chest, and he felt a smile cross his face. She was alive, and he was happier about it than he'd realized he would be.

"Katja," Petrov whispered, barely loud enough for Adrien to hear.

A limp in her step, Katja slowly began down the hill towards them, her eyes locked on Petrov.

Petrov started forward then hesitated, glancing at Adrien warily. He was probably expecting another lewd comment or judgment.

"Oh, just go get your girl already, Lieutenant," Adrien sighed. It probably wasn't sound advice, as he couldn't see any story between those two ending well. Not under these circumstances.

Nevertheless, it wasn't up to Adrien to stop it.

Needing no more encouragement, Petrov rushed in Katja's direction.

Vai'dqouulth, keeping low, was nonetheless still able to see the female moving towards her male drones. She unlatched her helmet and removed it, letting it fall to the snow. Careless. He would have to make sure she retrieved it later.

One of the two taller ones, the male with the bizarre footwear, was now sprinting toward her.

When they met, the male threw his arms around her and pulled her against his body in one of the expressions of human bonding. A 'hug'.

She returned it, resting her head on his chest.

"Katja, my Katyusha, thank god you're alive," said the male shakily, slightly muffled as he spoke into her hair. "I thought the train had killed you."

"I couldn't find any of you," she replied, lifting her head to look at him. "I–I found your helmet. It was eaten away by acid. I thought for sure you were dead. I… Maksim…" She placed a hand on his cheek, then stretched on her toes and pulled him down to her face, pressing her fleshy human mouth against his.

What in all the hells?

It was a very odd and decidedly repulsive sight, in Vai'dqouulth's opinion; but even stranger was that her warrior seemed to welcome or even enjoy it, drawing her closer to himself to prolong it.

Was this human reproduction? Did one of them just implant offspring in the other, like the hard meats? He detected nothing with his various vision settings to suggest this, although both of their heart rates increased. Perhaps it was something only loosely related to reproduction? And it seemed the human sense of smell was too weak to detect his scent all over her. Maybe they just didn't care. Very riveting discovery, in any case.

Interestingly enough, the approaching veteran appeared equally disgusted by the scene, so at least Vai'dqouulth wasn't alone in his opinion.

The veteran... That was going to be a problem.

Katja pushed her male away very suddenly, seeming frightened or startled by her own behavior. How primitive. It would almost have been amusing, if it wasn't so ridiculous. "I… I'm so sorry. That was completely inappropriate of me," she said.

Her male, seeming somewhat off-balanced and nonplussed himself, reached for her and said, "Katja, no, wait–"

"I'm just… I'm just so glad you're okay, Petrov," she said, stepping back out of his reach and looking away from him.

Were they a mated pair, then? Given her sudden turnabout, Vai'dqouulth wasn't sure.

Following that line of thought, did humans mate for life? Yautja could, but generally didn't. Spreading themselves was a duty, since so many of them perished in Chivas alone. It just happened to be one of the few duties that was actually enjoyable. Lifemates usually occurred later in a Yautja's life, if it happened at all.

He probably should know the reproductive habits of his prey better. Like any other creature he hunted, it could be used against them as a form of bait. He'd have to figure out when they went into season, though, like his kind did.

This 'Petrov' was a warrior of Katja's own clan, so if she'd chosen him, it did make sense – even if he should have been unattractive to her. After all, he had done nothing to prove himself to her, from what Vai'dqouulth had seen. Not by Yautja standards, anyway.

Petrov rubbed the back of his neck. "Not all of us are. Zaitsev was killed in the crash. I'm sorry." He handed her a pair of those 'dogtags'.

Katja absorbed this in silence, then nodded with what seemed like great difficulty. "Then it's just us, the American, Alexei, and–" she cut herself off before revealing Vai'dqouulth's presence.

"And what?" Arriving at their side, the veteran prompted the other humans with what Vai'dqouulth assumed was a confused look.

Katja just ignored him, and he let it go.

Answering her question and ignoring the veteran, Petrov said, "Yes, it's down to just us, unfortunately. What happened to your leg, sweetheart?" He crouched to inspect it, carefully moving the fabric covering her leg. "That doesn't look very good," he said with concern. "How did you get this far on your own with your leg like that?"

"Yeah, see… about that. There's something I need to tell you all. But, first, umm…"

She looked over at the veteran with a smile, and lifted her arms as if wanting to embrace him; but seemed to think better of it and ended up uncomfortably clapping his shoulder a few times. "Hi, Adrien. Glad to see you made it."

"Are you, though?" replied the male lightly. "I see I don't get that special Russian army hello."

By this point, Vai'dqouulth was lost on the nuances of their behavior. All he knew was that Katja seemed slightly aggravated, glancing at Petrov with… shame? Human expressions were so difficult.

Before she could say anything, the small weakling jumped forward and hugged her as well. Maybe they were polygamous after all. Though the runt should have no breeding rights, in his opinion.

He really should've taken the speech classes and researched prey better. At this point, though, he suspected he now possessed much more knowledge of them than the great majority of his people.

Wait, the runt was alive! Vai'dqouulth had to physically restrain himself from going after the computer. Assuming the human still had it intact. He calmed down and remembered that he needed patience. They were all together now, and not going anywhere. He had faith that if he just asked for it, Katja would get it for him.

"Jekaterina, you are not dead! I'm glad. You're the only one here I like," exclaimed the pup, his arms squeezing her.

"Yes, hello to you too, Alexei," she responded, awkwardly patting his back a couple of times.

'Adrien's' eyes shifted, then suddenly settled on the spot where Vai'dqouulth was hidden. As glorious as it would have been to finish their earlier battle, he tried not to move, as Katja had instructed – suggested. Dammit.

Of course, he wasn't taking her orders, he was just… humoring her for the moment. To destroy the hard meat infestation. Common interest. Yes, that was it.

As still as he remained, though, Adrien must have seen the cloak's distortion. "Shit! Get down, hostile on your six!" he screamed at Katja, and raised his weapon.

Growling, Vai'dqouulth rose and dropped his cloak, raising his wrist blades.

The weakling shrieked in terror.

"No, Adrien, stop! Hold on," Katja cried, throwing herself between the two of them. "Blue, he's blue! Okay? A friendly! Blue."

"Like hell." Still, Vai'dqouulth noted that Adrien listened to her, holding his fire. For the moment, at least. She really did have command of even what he would classify as an alpha male. He was pretty sure that wasn't a part of human hierarchy, though.

"Katja, you know I respect your judgment," said the one called Petrov, now holding his own weapon ready. "But are you sure about this?"

Painfully limping her way to Vai'dqouulth's side, Katja reached out and placed a tiny hand on his relatively massive arm, lowering the limb and with it, his blades. It would have taken little to no effort to resist her, but he allowed it. If he needed to provide the humans with assurance that he was a temporary ally, so be it.

"See? He's fine," said Katja.

Adrien seemed to be in either disbelief or shock. "Did you just– How– What–"

" 'It was beauty killed the beast'," piped up the weakling.

Katja shook her head. "Hardly. He wants to team up to take out Weyland, and the Queen. That's where we were going before we spotted the flare."

He watched her walk over and press the barrel of Adrien's weapon downward, much like she had to him. More interestingly, he allowed her to do it. The human males seemed to ponder her statement in the meantime.

Finally, Katja spoke again. "Look, I don't expect any of you to come with me. I'm not even asking. But that train was our last ticket out of here, at least until the second train comes in a little over a week. Or until my commanders arrive with fresh units. Or whatever they plan on doing here." She took a loud breath. "And I– if I die, I want to at least be doing something to stop this."

Petrov gave a nod. "I'm with you, Katja. It was kind of my idea to begin with, after all. So it's my responsibility. Besides, I'm not leaving you to take this on by yourself, either."

"What about your parents, Maksim?" she asked, sounding unsure. "They need you."

"What they need is for these things to not spread to Moscow. I've had arrangements in place for years in case… In case something was to happen to me. They will be cared for."

"But I don't…" She switched to her native Russian language. "You know, just five minutes ago, I thought you were dead."

He responded with a foolish grin, full of teeth. Vai'dqouulth had to remind himself it wasn't a challenge, either to her or him. "Yes, well, if I knew I'd get that kind of response when you thought I was dead, I'd have started pretending a long time ago."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not funny. My point is, I don't want to see it happen for real. Take Adrien and the kid and go to Moscow."

"Sorry, but thinking you were dead wasn't exactly a treat for me, either. So, I am coming along with you, whether you approve or not."

Katja began to argue with Petrov, and Vai'dqouulth turned it into background noise. He cared little about the drones' presence. Either they would join the mission, or they wouldn't; but time was wasted while they decided.

He suddenly noticed the veteran staring at him, coldly. The human's grip remained tight on his weapon, finger alongside the firing mechanism. He still wished to battle.

Vai'dqouulth had to restrain the clicks trying to emit from him. It felt very odd, almost unnatural, to be uncloaked and not engaging in a fight with this human. Not at all like being with the female.

Humans, it seemed, could have radically different personalities.

The runt broke into Vai'dqouulth's thoughts, and he spoke Russian as well. "Excuse me, but I'm out. You people are all crazy, not to mention suicidal."

Vai'dqouulth growled at the cowardice, but Katja nodded at him.

"That's understandable, Alexei. This isn't your job. I am afraid I can't escort you home, though. Try to head back to the apartment, or depot, and wait for the second train to arrive. It's your best chance. Or better yet, try to talk some sense into Petrov, and get him to come with you."

Alexei sputtered, as if shocked. "But… I can't be alone out here! I'll die!"

Hesitantly, and with what sounded like sympathy, Katja said, "There are so many more people than just us who could die if I don't do this, Alexei. I'm sorry. You've survived this long. You might just make it if you wait for the next train."

The childish human slumped, mulling over his options. "I guess I'd rather die with you seeing it, Katja. That way you have to feel bad about it," he muttered. "Don't blame me if I'm on your conscience."

"Excuse me," Adrien snapped in his own language, "Feeling a bit left out, here."

Katja apologized, and explained, "I'm trying to convince Petrov to take you and Alexei back to Moscow, while the hunter and I return to the nest. It's not going well," she finished with a glare at Petrov.

The veteran didn't speak or understand Russian, apparently. Interesting. He wondered if Katja knew he could understand it with his mask's assistance.

"Know what I think? I think you don't care what I think."

That would make two of them, then. Vai'dqouulth didn't care what he thought, either.

"What?" Katja asked, seeming taken aback.

"Look, enough with your martyr complex. There's no way the two of you can take out the nest by yourself. Guess Petrov and I are tagging along."

Vai'dqouulth inwardly rumbled. The veteran would certainly be difficult to work with, of that he was sure.

Though Katja appeared frustrated, she seemed to know she was outnumbered. "Fine. Anyone need to pee before we get moving?"

"No," chorused her men. Vai'dqouulth joined by shaking his head, now knowing what 'pee' was after a quick word check.

"Then is anybody hungry? We've got cow."

Having looked up the menu for Russian Burger King, I wanna try it