"Spyrro?"

Xala barked her name across the keh'rite. Spyrro scowled but she turned and went to her quickly, not wishing to disappoint the combat master, 'She has made my head ring enough times already this day!'

The D'tai N'as looked down at Spyrro, standing before her "It is your turn, child. You must learn to fight."

"I can fight, already."

"You must learn to fight well."

Spyrro met the golden gaze, "Who must I face?"

The combat master raised a hand "Ito, come."

Spyrro sized up the juvenile female who stepped forward, her stomach unknotting slightly. At least she would not have to fight the one who had glared at her and this juvenile was slender and looked younger than the angry one, but still a few years older than herself. Spyrro watched with interest how the girl bowed her head to the D'tai N'as and then stood in silence, awaiting her orders.

Xala gestured towards Spyrro, "No weapons … not yet."

The girl nodded and walked out onto the floor of the keh'rite, Spyrro following after her. The two of them took up position on either side of the circle, talons curling as they began to circle each other.

She swallowed, 'She is skinny, but older than I… and she was good when I saw her fight earlier,' Her hands clenched into fists. "But she has not seen me fight!"

She watched the girl's eyes, like Mei'Savir had taught her "She thinks I am a baby and the child of a… what was it? A criminal … or something … thinks I am weak - "

Ito lunged, taking Spyrro by surprise. She leapt to one side, trying to dodge, then was knocked to the ground as the girl landed a punch on the side of her head. She didn't have time to recover though, because Ito kept coming, pursuing her across the keh'rite floor, Spyrro scrambled to her feet and sprang backwards, out of reach, her heart racing, her blood up now. This was a game she knew; she would often torment her brothers by attacking and retreating, dancing just beyond their grasp.

The girl lunged and Spyrro dodged, lashing out with her fist before Ito could draw back, catching her in the jaw and knocking her head to one side. Ito made no noise. She threw herself into the attack with renewed intensity, driving a flat handed blow into Spyrro's chest, flooring her but even on her back with the girl's knee in her stomach, wheezing and winded, Spyrro wasn't ready to give up. Turning her hand palm upward to bring her claws into play, she struck at Ito with five parallel razors, slicing at her leg, her stomach, anything that was within reach. Ito did not release her, but she gave a small grunt of pain as Spyrro clawed ragged slashes on her wrists and thighs, slashing madly, refusing to accept defeat.

"Enough." Xala appeared next to them, putting her foot on her wrist, holding it still. Spyrro expected her to stomp down hard, but she did not, using only enough force to restrain her. As soon as Spyrro stopped struggling, she released her.

"You have courage and some technique, but you still must learn. Get up," The golden eyes looked down into hers "You must try again."

Lex grabbed thin air as she fell, trying to find some kind of hand hold on the walls. The tunnel curved into the dark, spilling her down faster than she could comprehend. Her climber's instincts kicked in and she threw out her hands. Ridges struck her fingers, adrenalin blotting out the pain as she grabbed blindly, groping for anything that might stop her fall. Without thinking she pressed the palm catch on the dah'kte and thrust her arms forward, striking the wall with a horrible, bone-jarring jolt. There was a squeal of metal on stone as the dah'kte scored tracks in the sheer slope, but she managed to slow her descent. Beside her, the metallic scream of Scar's blades as he did the same, the ear-piercing shriek going on and on as the shaft went down and further down.

They both landed on the hard, basalt floor, Lex rolling to avoid injury as best she could. She sat up and looked around. Scar was already on his feet, head twisting from one side to the other, looking for any potential threat, "What is this…?"

The room they had fallen into was empty. In fact, aside from the shaft above them, there seemed to be no entrances… and no exits.

Then there was a grinding of stone. The shaft overhead was closing, shutting off the only way out. Lex sprang to her feet and Scar made a leap and caught the lip of the aperture with his talons. He hung there for a few seconds but was forced to let go before he lost his fingers, dropping to the floor as the slabs boomed shut.

"Lift me up," She beckoned, "Let me see if there's a way to get it open."

At once, he knelt and let her climb onto his shoulders, straightening to his full height so that she could reach. Stretching upwards, she was able to run her fingers over the clammy stone, tracing the almost undetectable outline of the slabs. She unsheathed the dah'kte and tried to lever it open, sweating and cursing as she worked with the knives at the barely visible join between the stones until it slipped, nearly cutting her hand.

"No good." She sucked her fingers, "It's sealed so tight, I can't even get the point of the knife in."

"The soul eater rot this place!" He lowered her to the floor.

Quickly, they searched the chamber, running fingers over joins in the stone, feeling for concealed panels or switches, but there was no other way out.

Lex sat back on her haunches and opened the wristcom she had taken from the female hunter. The red display sprang up before her eyes.

Scar looked over "Where did you … get that?"

"Stole it from our friends up there, I wanted to know if they have a ship here."

"They must… have one somewhere."

"That's what I thought," She tapped the controls a few times, "Wherever their ship is, I can't get a fix on it. There's no signal down here. We must be too far underground."

"Just as… well or they could use it to… track us."

She nodded and flipped the gauntlet closed and then looked hopelessly around them again. It should have been pitch black in here, but the chamber was illuminated by patches of the same glowing fungus or algae they had seen at the cavern lake. 'But I thought that stuff grew because of the chemicals in the water from the geo-thermal springs…' The thought sent an ominous shiver through her, but she did her best to squash it. Meanwhile, Scar ranged up and down the room like a beast in a cage, talons twitching.

"What were those female yautja doing here?"She asked, wanting to distract him from his restless pacing and take her mind off her own burgeoning anxiety.

He stopped prowling, shifting into yautja, "Assassins, I do not doubt. Sent by my Mother to finish us off, if the hard meat failed."

"But how?"

"How, what?"

"How did they know we are still alive? And how did they locate us so fast? This place is a maze that changes all the time. We could have been anywhere."

He stared at her, open-jawed for a few moments, "I am such a fool!"

"Why?"

He gave a short, bark of laughter, "Many reasons… but I should have realised this; they could not have known, unless they are tracking our movements."

"But Scar, how in hell could they track us?"

He gave another purring laugh "Easily." He raised one hand and rubbed the muscle at the base of his neck "I imagine they implanted us when we were unconscious…"

"Implanted us with what?"

"Tracking bugs."

"Bugs?!" She said, sharply.

"Not a living bug, but a technological one. Tiny, sitting under the skin. Why bother to hunt us by skill when they could do it much more easily?"

"You are saying they fitted us with tracking devices?"

"Undoubtedly. As you said; how could they otherwise find us so fast? I guess they would be synced to our heartbeats. That way, my Mother could know the instant our deaths occurred."

Her hand went behind her own neck, rubbing the trapezium muscle there, "If you are right, then we need to do something. We have to remove them, immediately."

"Agreed and as we are trapped…" He looked around, pulled his knife and stretched out a hand, taloned fingers beckoning, "Come here."

Lex eyed the blade. She didn't bother asking what he planned to do. Instead, she stepped closer to him and turned around, lifting her hair and twisting it up, leaving her neck bare.

"Can you see anything?"

"Yessss…" He made a little click of noise, "I see the entry wound, here." The tip of a talon lightly touched a spot between the base of her neck and her shoulder.

"I thought you said they could track us using the wristcom, anyway?"

"Perhaps they can – when we are not buried underground – but to discard the gauntlet would be foolish. We will need it if we are to gain entry onto one of their ships… and perhaps they will not realise we have stolen it. Whereas these devices will have a unique signal that will easily identify us beyond doubt."

"Can we not deactivate them, somehow?"

"Yes, but we need to cut them out first and quickly. Otherwise, my Mother's executioners can still locate us, even if we escape the planet. I will find yours and then… you must find mine."

Turning away again, she set her jaw, bracing herself for the knife, but it did not come.

"You should sit."

She twisted around, "Why?"

"Because this is going to hurt."

"Walk straight, drunken fool." Halkrath snarled, "Or we will be stopped by a patrol."

Varrik growled "Speak so to me again and you will see if I am too drunk to stick you in the guts!"

Rika clicked sharply, and both of them fell silent. Though Rika was wearing a mask, Selim could tell the shorter male was angry. His abrupt movements belied his irritation. Selim was quickly learning that when one yautja male had a problem with another, conflict swiftly followed. They needed a strict chain of command to keep the peace. He could remember his Father saying as much "Clan life is a constant battle for supremacy. You must establish your dominance early and not ever be intimidated, if you wish to earn their respect."

Amongst their three companions it was clear to Selim that none of them was a dominant enough personality to take the lead. As Varrik had said, Halkrath seemed not to care about anything besides his research. The Rough Skull captain was very likely the superior warrior but he also looked younger – so possibly he was lower rank. It was clear he did not get along with the scientist. Rika was the senior warrior, but he was not big enough nor aggressive enough to keep the others in line.

Selim frowned, 'They would not dare to bicker this way if Mei'Savir were here. He would soon frighten them into obedience… and then Mei'Varsi would find a way to defuse them by reason. When they are united, nothing can stand against them …'

He and Isaac were walking in between the three Rough Skulls, both of them wearing a mask Rika had scrounged up from the ship's armoury while Varrik kept lookout. 'Rika seems to be trustworthy, but this Varrik?' Selim scowled. 'He is the one who captured us… but now we are supposed to trust him?'

Beside him he could sense Isaac's muscles tense "The moment we get to the ship we make a run for it, Sel." His twin said in English, clearly thinking the other three would not be able to speak it, "I don't trust any of these motherfuckers."

"How can we get out of here without them?"

Isaac shrugged, his shake of the head resembling S'Kia's habitual gesture, "We'll manage." He moved his arm slightly and Selim could see he was holding the surgical knife concealed along his arm, under his wrist guard. Selim wasn't surprised. He himself had slipped another of the wickedly sharp blades inside his boot when Varrik wasn't looking.

"Ize, let us at least see if they can be trusted…"

Isaac grimaced "By the time we find out, it'll be too late!"

Rika's head turned at their words, but he said nothing. Selim watched him carefully, 'Does he understand English? Unlikely…'

He liked Rika, more than the other Rough Skulls they had met anyway. The way he talked about their parents convinced Selim he was genuinely on their side, but he wondered how the smaller male would be able to defend them if any yautja loyal to Nar'Jat wanted to make trouble – or if the other two decided to turn on them. Halkrath in particular seemed to have an unhealthy interest in their biology, 'What if he decides it is better to get us back to the lab?'

"Just… follow my lead," He hissed.

Beside him, his brother growled "Sel, we have to get to the Chameleon. Then we can ditch them and fly out of here."

As they rounded a bend in the hallway, Selim stiffened, a shock running through him. Sitting against the wall was a large adult hunter. His eyes narrowed as he tried to get a good look at him. He was resting with his head leaned back against the wall, 'Maybe he is asleep,' Selim shut his eyes briefly 'Bitch goddess, may he not notice us!'

As they drew nearer, he relaxed a little. The hunter might have been sitting up, but he was clearly unconscious. Selim peered at the downturned face, 'He is so still, he looks as if he might be dead.'

Flies fed on the dried green blood that trailed down his jaws and chest, flurrying upwards in a buzzing cloud as they passed.

"What is wrong with him?" Selim's lips curled back under his visor.

"It is the contagion," Rika said, in a low voice, "It is sweeping through our population like a sword stroke, cutting down all without mercy – "

Selim said nothing but he looked at the face of the hunter; maybe he was dead, maybe not. 'Why do you not help the sufferers of this illness?' He turned towards Halkrath, "Surely you have the capability to treat them?"

The scientist looked uncomfortable "We can assist their breathing and dull the pain if they are too weak to stand it – "

Behind Halkrath, Isaac rolled his eyes.

"But an effective treatment has so far eluded us." The scientist concluded.

"The females have an antivirus." Varrik said, sharply.

Halkrath turned towards him "Nar'Jat has made a treaty with them to acquire it, a treaty you helped bring about – is that not so?"

The younger male said nothing, but looked away.

"I can guess how." Isaac rounded on the Rough Skull Captain, teeth bared as he spat out his halting yautja "That is why he wanted to … capture our parents. Yes?"

Varrik's brows lowered and he splayed his jaws but Rika stepped in between them "Cease this idiocy," He snarled, "At least you can wait until we are aboard ship before you try to kill each other!"

"Or longer…" Selim said, quietly.

There were more yautja in the corridor ahead of them. These ones were definitely not unconscious…

Lex set her teeth as the knife tip cut into her skin, cold sweat starting out on her chest and back. She had been cut before – of course she had – but that had been in the heat of battle, and adrenalin had carried her through. Her right hand held the material of her suit, baring her left shoulder, her fingers tightening on the fabric as the pain intensified.

A horrible image flashed into her mind of Scar's knife point sliding down Bad Blood calf muscle, unknitting the skin… and a sick feeling washed through her. She screwed her eyes shut to banish the memory and tried to think of something else. The blade seemed to be cutting deeper with every passing second. She breathed deeply, in and out, 'This is nothing,' She told herself 'Nothing compared to childbirth! Just breathe…'

"Can't you do this any faster?"

"If I hurry, I may lose it …"

The point dug in again and she had to clench her fists hard to stop herself from jerking her shoulder away.

Just when she thought she couldn't stand it anymore, he trilled to himself. It took a second before she understood that he had stopped, but then relief flooded her and she exhaled, almost falling against him before she caught herself.

"You got it out?"

"Yessss," His hand appeared in front of her face, and she squinted, focusing on the tiny dot of metal that lay on his palm like a swollen tick "Look at it… closely."

She blinked, not understanding. The wound in her shoulder throbbed and she put a hand to it, but only a few drops of blood stained her fingertips, 'He must hardly have cut me at all…'

"Why do I need to look at it?"

"Because you must now remove… mine."

He placed the silvery tick on the flagstones and brought the hilt of the knife down with a crunch.

Lex felt nausea pooling in her stomach as he wiped the knife and placed it in her hand. He seemed oblivious, already unclasping the armour plate from his left shoulder and pulling his mane of braids out of the way, using one plait to knot the rest of them at the back of his head and kneeling at her feet so that she could reach more easily.

She gave a little hiss, "You're injured!"

There was damage to his right shoulder, where Jah'Di'Tou's hammer had buckled the armour. The flesh that showed under the lip of the metal was bloodied and discoloured.

"It is nothing. This is more… important."

She sighed and looked down at his shoulder in the ghastly glow of the chamber, eyes searching the muscle at the base of his neck. As her vision adjusted and the shaking and weakness subsided, she noticed a pinprick of lurid green, standing out on his sandy coloured skin.

"I see the entry wound."

"That is … good. The bug will be a couple of fingers-widths… beneath the surface," He held up his hand, without looking round "The width of my fingers… not yours."

She laid the knife point on his skin, next to the tiny green wound, and gripped the handle. Seconds slipped by.

"Why do you… delay?"

She exhaled again, realising she had been holding her breath, not wanting to say the thoughts out loud, 'Because, even after all the shit he's put me through, I still don't want to hurt him…'

She gave a slight shake of her head at her own reluctance.

He laughed, as if he knew what she had been thinking, a deep, snickering purr in his throat.

"Just do it, Lex. You know I do not care about pain…"

Her lips pressed together hard and she jabbed the point in at the spot marked by the pinprick wound. He did not move or make a sound, no gasp or even a twitch. Gritting her teeth, she drove the knife in further. His skin was thicker and tougher than a human's and she had to almost saw with the blade, the ragged feel of the knife slicing into his flesh turning her stomach over. Vivid green blood began to ooze from the cut. He didn't give any sign that he had even noticed.

With her fingertips, she pulled back the edges of the wound. There was nothing, no tell-tale glint of silver amongst the green, subcutaneous pulp. Wincing, she forced herself to cut deeper, digging with the knifepoint, tentative at first but harder when she saw no sign of the bug. She knew her hesitation must be causing needless suffering. Fresh streamers of emerald blood ran down, tracing the line of his shoulder blade. In the utter stillness she could hear only the air being drawn into her own lungs. Scar remained silent, not even a catch in his breathing as she worked the blade in further still.

Then she saw it, a gleam amongst the green of the tissue, a tiny bead of metal lodged in the muscle.

"I think I have it – " Hardly daring to breathe herself, she used the knife's point to dig underneath it, levering it out. "There!"

The bug rested on the tip of her blade, tiny and bejewelled with emerald blood. With great care she lowered it onto the stone floor, then brought the hilt of the knife down, striking all the harder from her own repugnance. She lifted the dagger and stared at the crushed thing for a few seconds. Then it dawned on her … he had not answered. She looked up.

Scar was breathing deeply, his chest slowly rising and falling. He seemed to be trying to contain some strong impulse, as she'd seen him do before. 'Maybe he is in pain but doesn't want to show it, just like always…'

Immediately, she was filled with remorse.

"Scar?" She put a tentative hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

His head snapped round, his eyes like burning sulphur in the dark.

All hail the weekend!

Am enjoying writing some more dialogue scenes instead of hacky/ slashy. It's always nice to have a balance.

LovyDovy7: Spyrro has definitely got a bit of a journey ahead of her - whether she comes to be like the female yautja remains to be seen. She is half human too, even if she doesn't look it. Selim and Isaac still have some growing up to do, much more in fact. Not sure about Scar being on the tamer side of the spectrum for males of his species either - all the other males are scared of him, so maybe not that tame! He does love his sons though, as oppressive as that love may sometimes be.

Tenjp: Alliances all over the place. Some will stand, some will fall.

adodcefa: Good to hear from you - it's been a while, hope you're ok. Not sure we'll ever get the lowdown on Scar's biological father, as Scar doesn't even know who it is. R'Zuul is definitely the nearest thing he has to one. Whether they were blood or not, he filled that role - for better or worse.