They descended the ramp from the shuttle into a vast hangar, stretching away further than she could see. The Vortex must be another yautja warship like the Shadow or the Cutter, so huge, it defied human comprehension as a spacecraft.

'Spyrro said that she was a prisoner on a yautja ship that had females on board and that Scar blew up some stuff when he broke her out. She also said that Selim and Isaac destroyed some of their ships. That must be what the one called D'Jukai is talking about. No wonder their leader wants to get hold of him… but why the hell would she be interested in me?'

A group of hunters was waiting for them at the foot of the ramp. Lex had never seen female yautja before – and from what D'Jukai had said, she was expecting at least some of them to be female. She thought she could spot slight differences in body shape – a widening of the hips, a curving of the chest – and she was surprised to see they tended to be larger than the males.

'These yautja look like they might all be female, and D'Jukai said the leader is female. I wonder if the crew of the Vortex are all female? Scar said the two genders live separately, so that would make sense.'

A tall warrior stood at the head of the female squad, watching them closely.

"Stop." She held up a hand before they had reached the end of the ramp "You must turn the prisoners over to us. The rest of your party has no permission to disembark. You may be infected."

"Who are you?" D'Jukai demanded "And by what right do you challenge us?"

"I am Sek'Met and I am a lieutenant of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka."

D'Jukai's brows drew down and he spread his jaws "And I am here at the express order of Nar'Jat."

"I do not recognise Nar'Jat's authority." The tall female said, "It is the GhaRan-S'i-Ka who rules here and she has ordered that you give over the prisoners to me."

D'Jukai made an enraged chittering sound, "And my orders are to deliver the Witch and the Abomination myself, not hand them over to some adolescent underling!"

The female did not make a move to attack but there was a shifting of stances and movement of weaponry behind her, the noise of plasma cannons arming and swivelling. One of the warriors in her party, even taller than she was and broader than all of them, carried a large hammer-like weapon on her shoulder. She swung it so that the head rested on her palm, "Take care for your skulls, little ones." She snarled, "If you bring them too close, I may not be able to resist crushing them."

"Be sure to leave some for me, sister." Laughed the female next to her, raising a pair of long bladed dah'kte

The small party of male yautja raised their weapons and closed ranks, obviously seeing that they were both outnumbered and outgunned.

The one called Sek'Met raised her scaley brows at D'Jukai, "Insult me and see what happens when you speak foolishly… or do as I have instructed and give the prisoners over."

"How do I know you will honour our agreement?"

"The GhaRan-S'i-Ka always honours her word."

"GhaRan-S'i-Ka?" Lex whispered to Scar out of the side of her mouth, as the two of them descended the ramp.

"The Annihilator," He translated, "The creature who took our daughter."

"Ah, the Abomination." The tall female greeted him, "Returning to me so soon? I have been expecting you."

"Sek'Met." He said, between his teeth.

"I thought there was nothing here you wanted?" She purred, regarding him from beneath lowered lids, "Perhaps you… changed your mind?"

"Yes. I want my ship back," He curled a mandible at her, "Unless it was destroyed when I blew apart the hangar doors?"

The one called Sek'Met seemed to ignore this. Instead, her vivid eyes narrowed further as they came to rest on Lex, jaws pulling open to show her razor teeth. "And this is your little ooman slut. Is she really a spinner of hexes, as they say?"

Lex returned the female's stare with a confident gaze of her own. Rash as it might be to taunt her captors, she knew it would be even more unwise to appear intimidated in the face of such obvious hostility. "Why do you not free me and give me back my blades? I will show you some magic I can do to make your head disappear."

Behind her, Scar gave an involuntary snort of laughter but Lex did not take her eyes off Sek'Met. The female's eyes went wide, then glowed an outraged yellow.

"She chatters in our language like a trained beast! You shall see how I deal with insolent ooman bitches!" She made a grab for Lex's arm, but Scar interposed himself between them; head jutted forward, jaws spread. The lieutenant and Lex both stared, while the female with the long blades and the giant started towards him "You do not threaten the lieutenant of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka, renegade." Snarled the looming female "Step back or I gut you!"

"Try it." Scar grinned at her, "I wonder what your leader will do if you manage to kill me; the prisoner she has been so ardently seeking?"

"Jah'DiTou! {Pron: JZA-dee-too. Trans: Little Sister} N'Akou'te! {Pron: Nar-KUUT-eh. Trans: Fang/ Tooth} Do not touch him." Sek'Met jerked her head at them. The smaller warrior fell back but the large one did not.

"But he is a disgrace, an abomination – "

Abruptly, the lieutenant raised a hand and the big warrior relented, though her angry gaze stayed locked on Scar. He stared back, unblinking. Lex noticed that, although Sek'Met held in her hand the shocker switch that she had taken from D'Jukai, she did not use it to subdue him.

Finally, the lieutenant's mandibles folded back on themselves, "Bring them."

Lex looked around as they were escorted through the vast ship. The surroundings were familiar to her, the layout almost identical to the Shadow and the Cutter. They were fast approaching the place where the Council Chamber must be. A number of the female hunters – she now thought they must all be females – were gathered in the set of anterooms and corridors that led to inner chamber.

Lex guessed this crowd had been drawn here by the news of their capture. Many of the faces looked angry and hostile, but there was also a certain amount of avid curiosity being directed their way too… and for once she was not its main focus. Lex had a lot of practice at decoding yautja facial expressions over the years and she could sense the excitement of some of the watching females.

'I suppose Scar is the only male here,' She thought 'But he's a notorious criminal! Maybe it's like those women who fall for convicts on death row…'

She remembered something he had said to her about yautja females; 'They do not care about a male's status within the clan. They are concerned chiefly with size, strength and ferocity… and that he be a proven hunter and killer.'

'And he certainly fits that profile. He's one of the few Rough Skull males I've seen who is a match for the biggest females here… and he does have charisma, or animal magnetism… or whatever you want to call it. It was strong enough to work on me and I'm a different species!'

She looked round at the crowd as Jah'DiTou shoved away another female who got too close, and felt the treacherous, scorpion-sting of jealousy, followed by irritation at herself, 'They can have him – I'm not taking him back!'

If Scar was at all conscious of the stir his presence was causing, he did not show it. He acted as if their audience wasn't there at all. Whenever Jah'DiTou or any of the other guards got too close, he gave a clicking growl and splayed his jaws at them, which raised a chorus of purrs from the crowd around them. Occasionally, he looked over at Lex, a frown darkening his features. Their audience, he did not acknowledge.

His eyes went wide as the entered the chamber, and she followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. Lex frowned. On the Cutter and the Shadow, this room seated a number of the senior members of the clan. Even though Nar'Jat was obviously in charge, others still had seats around the war table. This wasn't like that at all, the whole of room was laid out around a raised dais. In the middle of this was a single, ornate chair.

'This isn't a council chamber but a throne room,' Lex's sense of unease climbed higher, 'There's not even the pretence of democracy here. Just obedience to an absolute ruler.'

Seated in the chair was a huge figure, even sitting down you could tell how enormous she was. She rested her chin on one fist, elbow propped on the arm of the throne in an attitude suggesting superior boredom. She sat, utterly still, giving the appearance of a terrifying statue. Her armour was more intricately decorated than the senior males Lex had seen. Her face was craggy with age, her brows covered with heavy spines and her mane of braids longer and thicker, though age had rimed them with frost.

She did not move as they entered, but her eyes glowed like coals in the murk. At that moment, they were focused on a figure who stood before her, between two guards. To Lex it seemed as if there was some sort of trial taking place.

When the leader spoke, her voice was the sound of ancient stones grinding together, "Do you understand how you have failed me, Kyto?"

"Yes, Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka," The female stared straight ahead, but there was a tremor in her voice as she faced her commander.

"You were tasked with monitoring the hangar bay, and yet somehow an intruder was allowed to infiltrate your section, cause untold damage and then escape." The huge female lifted her brows, "Do you think this is… acceptable?"

"No, it is not, Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka."

"You should know that I do not tolerate laziness in my guards, Kyto."

"No, Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka."

"In addition to this, you have spoken of me disrespectfully. You were foolish to think I would not get to hear of it."

"Yes, Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka."

"However, as you have been loyal in the past, I shall be merciful."

The giant female rose to her feet, moving so slowly and deliberately that Lex almost expected to see dust fall from her. With a speed that was shocking from one so big, her arm shot out, the shriek of the dah'kte echoing through the room. There was a horrible, choking fleshy sound and vivid blood spattered onto the floor at the foot of the throne.

As the unfortunate female was dragged away, Lex glimpsed her face. The membranes at the corners of her mouth were raggedly sliced and ripped, trailing a mess of blood and torn skin. The Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka was seated again, seeming as if she had never moved at all. As her attention fell on the two of them, standing under guard by the chambers' entrance, she beckoned with one gnarled claw, indicating she wanted the prisoners brought forward. Her deep-set eyes burned as she watched them cross the floor of the chamber. Most of all, her gaze followed Scar. He had now covered all emotion beneath an impassive mask. He faced her, head high, returning her intense stare with absolute confidence.

"They call you the Abomination," She pronounced, in her grating, sepulchral voice, "This is the name you have taken for yourself, I am told."

Lex was expecting Scar to spit out some piece of defiance, but he remained quiet. He just dipped his head once in confirmation. The rest of the room was now totally silent. Clearly, nobody who valued their life spoke when the Gha'Ran-S'i-Ka was speaking.

"And you had the insolence to trespass on my ship, leaving a trail of wanton destruction, chaos and death in your wake." She waved a talon towards the pool of blood at her feet.

Scar nodded again, once, slowly. Lex wanted to shake him. He seemed to have no interest in denying anything or even defending himself, 'Why doesn't he say something – is he being respectful… or scared? Either way, he's picked a lousy time to get all tongue-tied!'

Before, he had taken no notice of any of the other yautja around them. Now, he stared at the huge female on the throne as if he and she were the only two beings alive in the room. She stared back, all her attention focused on him.

"You have not changed." She said, "You have ever been an undisciplined trouble-maker, have you not S'Kia?"

Scar looked at her a long time before answering, "I am surprised you remember," He said, finally, "It has been a long time since I saw you last… Mei'Varsi."

Selim leapt up from the co-pilot's seat, hurling himself towards the weapons lockers as the two Rough Skulls sprang into the cockpit. Snatching up a long bladed sword, he slashed at the leader, who quickly unsheathed his dah'kte to parry the attack.

Isaac dived towards the lockers on the opposite side of the cockpit, knowing the plasma sidearms were concealed there.

Selim did not have the strength to cut through his enemy's defence but he drew back swiftly and then sprang and struck at their other attacker, the sword ringing loudly against the dah'kte as the yautja was forced to block him.

The first adult male, the one who had opened the doors, growled and motioned for the second to stay back as he and Selim sized each other up.

"I gave you the chance to surrender, spawn of the Abomination." He clicked "Do so now, before I am forced to kill you."

Selim's lips curled back over his vampiric teeth, "You surrender!"

"Stay back!" The leader's head jerked towards the other side of the cockpit where Isaac stood, aiming the plasma gun at him "Get away from my brother," He said, in English, "Or I'll turn your brains into a fucking wall painting!"

The two yautja looked at him uncomprehendingly.

Selim grinned at them, "Back off and put up your weapons, or he will shoot you." He translated.

The two Rough Skulls looked at each other and back at the two boys. They began to laugh, clicking their mandibles rapidly together. Then, both Rough Skulls leapt, the leader towards Selim, the second hurling a throwing blade at Isaac, striking the gun from his grasp. Before Isaac could move, his attacker was on him, curling a huge arm around his throat like a steel band – choking him.

At the same moment the leader knocked up the blade of Selim's sword with his dah'kte. Selim spun to one side, desperately trying to evade those shining blades and long arms, 'I cannot let him get a grip on me!'

The adult male seemed confused, one moment Selim was in front of him and the next he was coming at him from a different direction.

With a frustrated growl, he lunged again right into Selim's desperate sword swing, catching the blade in one armoured fist. Yanking Selim towards him, he dealt him a world-shattering blow in the forehead with the other.

Selim staggered and went down, vision fading red and black as he hit the deck.

Lex blinked, she had to keep her mouth from falling open: 'This is his mother? The mother he named Spyrro after? He said she was fierce, but she's worse than I ever imagined!'

"Mei'Varsi?" The senior female regarded Scar, her mandibles curled in on themselves, "You gave up the right to call me by that name when you chose to bring shame and disgrace on yourself and on me."

"What should I call you, then?" Scar's jaws twisted, "The Annihilator? When did you start using that title? And when did you climb to such exalted status?"

"I have spent my whole life protecting and guiding the females of this clan. I became their leader because I know where my duty lies. I am not corrupted and decadent, unlike my feckless offspring."

Scar snorted, "You mean it pleases you to punish and control? Then, it seems you have not changed any more than I."

Spyrro the elder did not answer him, but moved over towards Lex, looking down at her face. "And this, Nar'Jat tells me, is the ooman witch who is complicit in your crimes. The one who pretends to be blooded."

"I am blooded." Lex's eyes narrowed. "I am Sain'Ja. Nar'Jat acknowledged it – "

"Nar'Jat's rule does not run here, only my will." The Matriarch's eyes flared "I decide who is Sain'Ja and I do not propose to dilute the title by handing it out to abominable ooman females – "

"Are the rules of the chiva disregarded here too, then?" Scar snarled, "She has killed a hard meat Queen – more than one. Does that count for nothing?"

The matriarch ignored him and studied Lex's face, "She is no sorceress."

Lex returned her gaze steadily. It was strange, once you knew they were related, you could see how Scar and this tyrant resembled each other.

"I am Sain'Ja, not a sorceress." She said, "And I have never claimed to be one. It is others who name me so."

"Yes, superstitious fools!" The GhaRan-S'i-Ka sneered, "The only sorcery you have is the power any female can have over lust-driven idiots, like my youngest son."

She turned to Scar again. "Your father had the same weakness – always chasing down any female that crossed his path – but at least he restricted his depredations to his own species! He never sired any half-blood mongrels, as you are accused of doing. Nar'Jat has told me all."

"Is that why you wanted me brought here?" Scar said, with a sneer, "To whine and complain about my father? To accuse me of things that are no crime? To do Nar'Jat's dirty work?"

"You deny fathering profane offspring on this creature, then? You deny deserting the clan like a coward on the eve of battle?"

Before either of them could answer, there was another voice from the doorway of the Chamber, "GhaRan-S'i-Ka, a second ship has arrived from Nar'Jat."

Lex turned to see Spyrro standing between two guards. The girl looked around the room in panic until her eyes came to rest on the two of them. Her black eyes went round with horror when she saw them, clearly at the mercy of this nightmarish apparition.

"The second ship was cloaked, to avoid detection by our instruments," Continued the guard, "He has sent you the female child, as was agreed. They were waiting out of range of our weapons, withholding her until they were sure we would give them the antivirus. I did not allow them to have it until they had produced her."

"The treacherous always fear betrayal. How like Nar'Jat." The Annihilator's jaws spread in a grim smile, "I trust that they have been given the antivirus and our agreement is now concluded, as I ordered."

"Yes, GhaRan-S'i-Ka."

"That is well." The huge female transferred her gaze to Spyrro, "Bring her to me." She commanded and the two guards half-dragged the girl across the room, as Spyrro struggled, kicking and thrashing, throwing herself around in an effort to break free. As soon as she was within reach, the Matriarchseized the squirming child by one arm and dragged her closer.

"She resembles me," She said slowly, "The only one of your offspring who is pure yautja and not an obscene half-breed!"

She turned to look at Scar, who was seething at her rough treatment of his petted child, "Take your hands off my daughter!"

"She is yours no longer. She is female and so, she belongs to me: the female child I should have had, instead of worthless sons."

Spyrro struggled even more fiercely, fighting to rip herself free of the enormous talons, "I belong to nobody!"

The yautja leader grasped her chin so that she could look at her face. Spyrro suffered her scrutiny, her face contorted, teeth bared, a study in fury.

"She has such dark eyes." The GhaRan-S'i-Ka turned Spyrro's chin one way and then the other, "Like the Nameless Goddess. How fitting for my namesake. Who was her mother? Why do I not know of her?"

'Seems like Nar'Jat didn't tell her everything after all,' Lex thought, 'But in a minute, she's going to work it out for herself… or Spyrro might even say that I'm her mother.'

"S'Kia will not tell me," She cried, "He will not give me the name of the female he betrayed me with."

Scar turned quickly to look at her, "I will not explain myself!" He spat, and she knew he was using all the frustration he felt in that moment to make it seem as if he were angry with her. "I have told Spyrro that she must never speak of her mother, especially not here – "

Lex looked at Spyrro, desperately wishing she could explain, but she didn't dare call attention to herself in case the matriarch noticed her own dark eyes – so similar to Spyrro's – or in case the girl unwittingly blurted out the truth.

Their daughter was looking from one of them to the other now, black eyes full of distress, "But… but Mei'Savir, I do not understand – "

"Spyrro!" He snapped "Do as I tell you! Your mother's name is forbidden – "

"Be silent!" The Matriarch's voice was so loud that Spyrro went limp, momentarily stunned into submission, her small arm still clutched in the huge talons, "You have no voice here, S'Kia! A female child is not yours to command. Concern yourself with controlling your own conduct!"

"What do you know of my conduct?" He roared back, his volcanic temper rising to meet hers, "You, who have not laid eyes on me since I was two years of age? You wish me to repent of my actions, is that it? You wish me to say that I regret my offspring with Lex, but I will not speak such filthy lies! I regret nothing! I would change nothing! She is certainly a better mother than you are!"

In the appalled silence, the clan leader's talons made a nerve-jangling scrape on the arm of her throne.

"I have heard enough from you, Abomination. Of your treachery. Of your uncontrolled licentiousness. I cannot allow you to continue to disgrace my name."

She turned to Sek'Met, "Take them both to the place of execution."

"No!" Scar went pale, "Kill me if you wish, but the human female is of no significance to you! Let her live and release my daughter, I beg of you, pleassssse – "

"She is no longer your daughter – she is for the Vortex. As for the ooman," The Matriarch snorted, "This slut is just as guilty as you are. You committed your offences together. You can watch each other die."

Sek'Met had not yet moved, "GhaRan-S'i-Ka, your son."

"My sons are dead."

"Might he not be bewitched after all?" The young blood persisted, "He pleads for the ooman's life… surely, it is a sign that he is still under her malign influence? You could let him live – "

Without warning, the GhaRan-S'i-Ka lashed out with her free hand. The blades caught Sek'Met across the side of her face, raising a thin spray of green blood. The lieutenant did not flinch or cry out. She did not lift a hand to touch her mutilated skin. She remained still, staring straight ahead, awaiting her commander's further instructions.

"Sek'Met, I value your skills in battle and I have promoted you accordingly, but do not ever presume to question my judgement again… unless you wish to lay down your life with these two shameless creatures?"

"No, GhaRan-S'i-Ka." The younger female said, tonelessly.

She lifted the shocker switch that she had taken from D'Jukai and pressed the control. Lex felt the terrible pain in her chest, overwhelmed by a hiss of static, so loud it was drowning out everything else, washing away the room as Spyrro, Scar, everything was obliterated by the white noise that filled her whole head…

Isaac watched powerless, pinned against the wall by the largest yautja warrior as Selim fell unconscious at the leading Rough Skull's feet. He spat curses, claws gouging at the adult male's arm but the giant was unmoved.

"You must not kill him." The leader said. "Our orders are to take them alive."

Isaac's captor stopped and turned, heedless of the blood that was now flowing down his wrist, "This creature is an outrage against our race! He should be exterminated, like the other one!"

Isaac's eyes glowed with rage, "You better not have hurt my brother!" When the two Rough Skulls did not answer, he switched to their own language "Did you hear me… morons? If you… hurt him I… will kill you!"

At that moment Isaac meant it; he didn't care about his own life, all he cared about was his twin. His giant assailant began to laugh again, jaws clicking together "And just how will you do that, witch's brat?"

His laughter turned into an enraged howl as Isaac sank his teeth deep into the Rough Skull's hand. Reflexively, the giant dropped him and Isaac fell to ground. Ignoring the blood streaming down his chin he rolled and scooped up the plasma cannon from the floor, pointing the barrel at his attacker's chest.

Before he could fire, something struck him from the left, knocking the gun from his grasp and pinning him to the ground.

"You have courage, half-blood," The lead warrior loomed over him, and Isaac gasped for breath as the yautja's knee pressed down in his throat, "It could have worked if he had been alone."

Isaac's blood rushed to his face as he struggled to breathe, he could barely hear the other's words over the blood pummelling in his ears. "

"Fuck you!" He gasped, in yautja.

The Rough Skull shook his braids, halfway between a nod and a shrug, before he brought the flat of his blades down on Isaac's head.

Lex opened her eyes to more pain, a wrenching ache in her shoulders. Her lashes blinked once, twice, hesitantly in the greasy, clammy heat. Perspiration was running down into her eyes. Her shoulders and arms were on fire with pain and she could not move them, her chest tight. Still groggy, she slowly raised her head, trying to get her eyes to focus. Her arms were no longer fixed behind her back but pinned above her head, her wrists held together by a thin line of agony.

As her vision cleared, she opened her eyes wide. Scar was opposite her. For a few seconds, she could not understand why he was so still. Then she saw his arms were stretched almost to breaking point. As she squinted at him, she could make out the shackles around his wrists and the chains, attached to tough looking pillars set far apart, his arms pinioned so he could barely move.

He was awake, yellow eyes open and watching her. He saw she was conscious, held eye-contact for a few moments, then lowered his gaze down to the floor. In her still-woozy state, she took a second to understand his meaning. Then she followed his line of sight … and felt her breath stop and her blood congeal in her veins.

Between them, only a couple of feet away from her, were two large, leathery pods; anchored to the floor by coiling, fleshy roots, their slitted apertures covered in a film of translucent slime, quivering to the pulse of the larvae within.

She looked up, staring into his eyes in horror as the words of the GhaRan-S'i-Ka echoed mercilessly in her head.

'…you can watch each other die.'

Thanks for all the views everyone, all hail the weekend! If you're reading and enjoying please follow, fave and review as it motivates me.

LovyDovy7: Don't know if this confirmed your suspicions or not, but I planned for a while that Scar's mother would come into the story. Don't think Lex is going to get much sisterly solidarity from her, though.

Tenjp: Nope, things are not looking good for any of them - and they're about to get a lot worse, but entertaining too I hope.