Chapter 50

I am a poor wayfaring stranger

They had landed outside the apartment complex Katja and her squad had used, so many days ago. And where she and Blue had their first… misunderstanding.

Said bedroom invader was now fussing with her equipment. First, he had tried to attach alien armor pieces to her and quickly figured out that wasn't going to work for a lot of reasons.

He was acting… odd after her visit to the 'museum', wanting her to stay on the ship. He was also more concerned about her armoring up versus arming up. Maybe he wanted her undamaged so he could have her as his trophy later.

At that thought, Blue glanced at her, like he knew exactly what had crossed her mind. Katja just looked away.

Distantly, she knew she was probably acting irrational, but…

She'd thought it from the moment they met. Now that their alliance was drawing to a close, now that his people were coming, he might be obligated to kill them all.

Him giving over a prized skull was something she was still trying to process. For that, no answer made sense to her so far. Respect? An exchange for the queen's skull she'd offered him?

Of course, Mishka sometimes brought her dead things, too.

Oh, how she dearly missed her cat.

"Are you sure you don't want to come, Alexei?" she asked while Blue worked on her left forearm.

"I am certain I do not want to go out and die, yes," Alexei said, and Blue growled in response.

The kid had wandered to the ramp to see them off, but refused to join them. Really, he had earned this. They had forced him time and again into situations that he clearly didn't want to be a part of.

"Ready," Blue voiced.

Katja looked at her forearm. There was now something that resembled a wrist gauntlet on her arm, and it looked much like his.

He manipulated her arm into place, and curled her fingers into a fist. The gauntlet flared out into an oval shape made of the same blue energy as his cannon, if she had to guess.

A shield. That was certainly ingenious.

"Be cautious, easy to wound self. Will collapse as needed. Do not touch any part of the plasma, will cut through flesh easily," Blue recited, with a few taps to her gauntlet.

Even their defensive tools, like shields, were weapons; which was extremely telling about the species. Thankfully it was light, but a shield and a spear? She was trained on firearms, not weapons from ancient times.

Beggars couldn't be choosers, however.

Blue also produced a few metal sheets. Or at least, they looked metal.

"Remove human armor," Blue ordered.

"Alright." Katja opened the plate carrier and pulled out the armored plates. Blue took them and lined them up with the sheets. She watched as he used his cannon to cut the metal into rough outlines, mimicking her plates.

When he was done, he held them up. Blue must've been pleased, because he put the new sheets of metal into her plate carrier.

"Superior armor inserts. Will not corrode from acid. So strong, it can stop plasmacaster shots," Blue explained, sounding sufficiently smug despite the computer.

"Thanks," Katja said as she shuffled the armor carrier into place once more. The material was certainly better than hauling around ten kilograms of non-alien proof armor. Like everything else, it was surprisingly light. She wondered if it really afforded the protection he claimed. Certainly, she wasn't going to stand in front of his cannon to find out.

At least… willingly. She may be forced to, before long.

The ramp began to descend, and Katja readied herself, feeling just a bit stupid-looking with the mix of alien weapons and modern combat clothing.

"Ok, you're in charge. What's the play?" Katja asked once on the earth, in the apartment's parking lot.

The blizzard had wiped out any trace of previous tire tracks, but the BTR was still sitting there, under a mountain of snow.

Katja automatically ducked beside it for cover, looking to Blue for a cue. She wanted a committed plan from him, not just steering them around in a waste of time to avoid danger.

The ship, meanwhile, cloaked and rose out of sight.

"Without a queen hierarchy, they will have reverted to the feral, animalistic stage. They will be uncoordinated, spaced out. We will hunt them down one at a time," Blue answered, coming to stand beside her.

How much of that was crap, she didn't know. Blue was not known to lie. He actually seemed to hate it. It certainly was a convincing argument, but maybe he just wanted to keep her out of danger for his… mysterious reasons.

Katja glanced longingly at the apartment complex's face.

Where they had spent the night.

When she still had a team.

What a failure of a commander she had turned out to be. "Can we… visit the apartment?" she requested.

Blue looked at the structure. "It is a pointless deviation. What can be gained by returning?"

Katja frowned, and her throat closed. He was right, they didn't have time to waste on sentimental nonsense when the planet was still in danger. "You're absolutely correct, we should keep moving." Sliding from the shadow of the BTR, she began to creep away from the building.

"Wait," Blue ordered, making Katja stop. "There may be hard meats sheltered within the dwelling. A thorough check is in order," he continued.

That also made sense.

The kid had become tired and had refused to move after a certain point. Adrien was now carrying him around this seemingly endless, foggy forest.

He had also apparently decided it would be cooler to wear Adrien's helmet instead of his own training diaper. Er, mask.

"Ok, let's take a break," Adrien said as he set the kid down and sat on a fallen log. He knew he still had an orange and a bottle of water to share. After all, seafaring military guys knew scurvy was a very real enemy.

The kid came and sat with him, much too close. Adrien pulled out the orange and cut the peel away with his knife. He split it in half and offered it to the kid. He also gave him a bottle of water.

It was weird to see them like this. He had never given them much thought; he just… assumed that these monsters crawled their way out from the bowels of a hell planet, fully grown beasts. Like Orcs from Lord of the Rings. The kid was entirely too relatable to a human child – like Mackenzie, for example.

God, he missed her.

A hissing screech from deeper in the forest brought Adrien back. The marine stood, and the kid clung to his combat pants.

"Kainde Amedha," the kid said, whatever that meant. The shadowy creatures that had been stalking him since he arrived here were coming.

"Stay close to me," Adrien ordered the alien hunter child. Probably unnecessarily, given how tightly he was latched on to his pant leg.

The creatures broke through the fog line, climbing down the trees. Adrien began firing, rotating around, trying to hold his aim and breath steady, while not tripping over the koala clutching his leg.

Rather than mag dump, he switched to semi-auto and took them down in controlled fire.

Adrien attempted to remain calm, but there were so many closing in. He switched from the ones in the trees to the ones already on the ground.

They were encircled now, and Adrien was out of rifle ammo. He switched to his pistol, but a moment later, there was a distinctly different roar and several flashes of blue light from above began eviscerating the shadow demons.

The human and hunter child forgotten, the creatures began climbing back up the trees, likely going after what was killing them.

It wasn't a moment later that Adrien heard a thud from behind him. He spun, pistol at the ready, and pushed the kid behind him.

The distortions in the air gave away what it was.

A hunter. An adult this time. What was unexpected was when the cloak fell away, the marine found himself face to face with what was obviously a female of the species. Breasts, pronounced hips, overall feminine features. Smaller than the men. Bigger than him, as expected.

The kid peeked around his leg and when he saw her, went running. Mom, then. She bent down, removing her mask, and spoke. Even though it was clicks, growls, trilling, and various other noises, Adrien could tell mom was unhappy he had run off. Like a kid in the grocery store.

Adrien was just beginning to wonder if he should take the opportunity to slip quietly away when the adult hunter spoke.

"You have my gratitude, Pierce," she said in English. She was stunning to look at, really. Jet-black with a red dot pattern in symmetrical locations, the light-yellow eyes offsetting the rest of her. The face was a turnoff, though.

"How do you know my name?" Adrien asked, unease settling in at her clairvoyance. She simply tapped a spot on her armor. He looked down at his own and noticed the Velcro name tape attached to it.

Oh. Duh.

"Uh, all in a day's work for the marine corp ma'am," Adrien answered automatically in a professional tone like he would with any other civilian. Stupid. She had no idea what that meant.

"I am curious, why would you help? He is not your offspring. Not even of your species," the woman questioned, pinning him with those hypnotic, bright eyes.

"I'm not gonna kill a kid, if that's what you are asking. I'm also not gonna leave him out here to die by… those things," Adrien answered, just a little insulted.

"Honor compels you, then," the woman summarized, straightforwardly.

Honor.

He didn't know if honor existed anymore. It was an ancient word for a different time. And who knew what it even meant to a hunter? He thought them dishonorable.

Suddenly, of all the cliché things, part of a song popped into his head; the lyrics nearly brought a weary, self-deprecating grin to his face.

'First to fight for right and freedom

And to keep our honor clean

We are proud to claim the title

of United States Marine."

"Honor? I suppose," Adrien agreed. "I suppose maybe it does."

The kid pulled on his mother's loincloth, and she bent down as he 'spoke' excitedly.

"Well, now I have to come up with new stories to get him to sleep," the woman chuckled.

"Why's that?" Adrien asked.

"We tell our children that humans are dishonorable, predatory creatures that will come and snatch them away in the night if they don't behave. You have proven that inaccurate. He is also impressed with your skills, and wants to grow up just like you, "the woman answered.

Feeling was mutual in regards to the 'dishonorable' and 'predatory' parts. But again, it was perspective. They saw him as the dishonorable bad guy, apparently.

"I apologize for that inconvenience, ma'am," Adrien chuckled back. She just waved it off.

"What is his name?" Adrien asked.

"Daga," she answered. Not the mouthful Adrien was expecting it to be.

"His father must be proud. He was very brave," Adrien said.

"His sire died during a hunt on Earth. The human that killed him cleverly trapped him in a blazing fire, forcing a fight on his terms," the woman answered, just a bit morosely. She approached with his recovered helmet.

"I'm sorry," Adrien offered as he took his helmet back. He knew right then that he had killed the father in Afghanistan. It was hard staring the widow in the eye, now. He never thought of these beasts as anything but monsters. Killers. But they had children, wives, and families. Just like him.

It was no different than war, when you killed a man on the opposing side. They were just like you, but because the term 'bad guy' was attached to them, one often didn't think of the repercussions of taking their life.

"Your words are kind, if unnecessary. You seem lost too, honored warrior. May I help you, now?" the woman questioned, an inquisitive head cock joined it.

"I'm looking for someone. A human woman," Adrien said.

"Yes, I know of her. She waits for another. Perhaps it is you. She is that way. But, if you prefer, your warrior companions are back in that direction. If you don't feel like you found what you were looking for in here, consider continuing to wander," said the woman, pointing in opposite directions.

It was bizarre to see the fog physically part. Two routes. To the woman, or his men. There was even a gravel road now. Somehow, he was aware only one route would lead him home.

"Thank you, ma'am," Adrien finally said. She dipped her head before returning her mask, cloaking, and fully disappearing with the child into the fog.

"I sincerely wish that you find what you are looking for, honored warrior," he heard her disembodied voice.

It seemed he had a decision to make. Go back to his men and endlessly fight in the past, wander this forest in hopes of finding something else out here, or, go to the waiting woman, and hopefully she would have the answers to the questions he had.

Making a choice, he moved on…

The ghosts of her men were here.

Or at least, her memories of them were.

Katja moved without a sound through the penthouse, weapon ready but mind wandering.

Preobrazhensky had been sitting right there during that horrid 'Never have I ever' game, a startled expression hidden by his mustache. Zaitsev, loyal Zaitsev, had followed her, to save her, though this very living room the night Blue dragged her to the roof.

And Alexei had been naked over in that spot. Ugh.

Her eyes swept the kitchen, where she and Adrien had cooked and eaten together, and fought one another.

Moving on, she went to the office. Inside was the figurine Adrien had thrown on the floor right before they left.

She didn't remember now what they had argued about, or why he had been angry. All she knew was it didn't matter anymore, and she wanted him back.

Katja was about to turn and leave the office when she saw something on the desk. A discarded treat wrapper.

Her mind took her back to her birthday, and those quiet few moments splitting a cake with Maksim.

She had eaten half the cake, not because she wanted to, but to make Petrov happy and thank him for his thoughtfulness. He had, however briefly, distracted her from the destroyed base.

The cake was stale, and sickeningly sweet. She tried not to make a face and looked at Petrov to gauge what he thought of his half.

"I'm actually really sorry I gave you that, Captain. It was horrible," he told her. He looked nauseated, and there was a smudge of chocolate on his face.

It was cute.

He was cute.

Katja drew back, shocked at the intrusive thought.

Because that's all it was. Just stress-induced absurdity. Best to forget about it, bury it. "No, it was good, Petrov. Thank you," she said, looking away.

"Katja, will you miss me?"

She snapped her head back around. That wasn't right. That hadn't happened.

He hadn't said that.

Petrov was staring at her now, and a big chunk of his face was missing. Instead, there was a hole in his head, dark with blood. "Are you sorry?"

An enormous, clawed hand touched her shoulder, and Katja jumped.

"Blue," she said shakily. "I– I apologize. I guess I was… daydreaming."

His head tilted, mask going sideways. Katja couldn't tell if he was concerned or confused. "No hard meats in this dwelling, but I must still check the food preparation room and sleeping quarters."

"Yes, you're right. I'll come with you," Katja said, exiting the office. Despite the lack of heat in the room – Katja and her men had switched off the generator before leaving – she felt sweat gathering under her helmet.

They entered the kitchen, which was dark and empty.

On the counter, she saw the pack of pregnancy tests Adrien had previously used to taunt her. She picked it up, looking at the box resentfully.

"What is?" Blue asked.

"Pregnancy test," she answered shortly. "Does pretty much what you'd guess."

Blue was strangely quiet. For a very long time. "Use?"

Katja shook her head. "Too early." Why would he care? They just kinda stood there awkwardly for a moment until Katja cleared her throat. "Should we check the bedroom?"

He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and dipped his head. Katja took the pregnancy test box with her, for some odd reason. The door was closed, so they went to opposite sides. Doubtful anything was here, since they hadn't been jumped yet; but better to be safe than sorry.

Blue opened the door very quietly and Katja peeked in. Empty. She relaxed and did a once over. Blue did as well, but stopped when he reached the bed.

Katja watched him stare at it.

"You were not supposed to wake," he finally voiced. The computer tone didn't project any feeling, so she wasn't sure how to interpret that.

"I am used to sleeping light in the field. Don't feel bad," Katja offered, not knowing what he wanted her to say.

"It is dishonorable to hunt something during its sleep cycle. I was to slip in and acquire the portable computer without engaging. Killing any of you seemed dishonorable. I provoked you during a sleep cycle," Blue elaborated. Was it regret? The monotone didn't help.

Katja again tried to say what he wanted to hear. "But you didn't kill us."

He didn't respond, just stood there ruminating about something.

Now was as good a time as any to ask. "Blue… are you gonna kill us personally if the clan tells you to? Is that why you're saving Adrien and trying to keep me in shape?" Katja asked.

"No. I would cede that duty to another. It would feel dishonorable. Comparable to killing a clan member," Blue answered without hesitation.

Well, that was something, at least. They weren't being preserved as future trophies. Or at least, Adrien and Alexei weren't.

But he'd still let his associates kill them. Not exactly reassuring.

"If, if, I joined you on your planet… what would that be like?" Katja asked. She wanted to know if she'd just be paraded around as a novelty. Blue might be respectful, but for ulterior motives.

He gave a huff. Frustration, maybe. "Your position would have to be decided. Ideally pet, but slave or servant is more likely to be approved by clan," Blue answered.

Her stomach churned. "That doesn't sound like an upgrade to living on Earth. Even on the run from my government," she ventured.

"Laws protect treatment of slaves and servants. Pets as well. To adhere to the laws, you will be expected to perform tasks and fill a role. There is no room for purposelessness from what is considered a lesser species," Blue continued.

Katja mentally braced for the bad news. It sounded to her like the worst scenario facing her on the Yautja homeworld would be slavery. At best, she'd be an ornament; a living part of Blue's 'trophy' room. No different than sitting on her ass in a bikini all day for Alexander. Even if he had good intentions and truly meant to save her from the Russian government, neither option sounded worth it.

"That role and those tasks would be decided by the master. Me. I cannot account for all needs now, but perhaps an assistant to carry goods in the bazaars. Or a companion on long travels. I certainly have need of a human expert when coming to Earth," Blue rattled off.

That didn't sound too bad. At least she'd be keeping busy, get to see the universe.

"It is only to adhere to the law. I would treat you as equal. You would become equal with official citizenship," Blue assured.

He sounded like he truly meant it. And he did since it wasn't sugared coated or watered down in any way. But that didn't mean his people would think the same way.

"What about other Yautja?" Katja blurted.

"They will view you as lesser. You will not interact with them. Public forced punishment could befall you," Blue answered bluntly.

"Wouldn't I get lonely?" Katja rubbed at her elbow. Strange. Never before had she worried about being lonely. In fact, she preferred to be on her own. But for some reason, the idea of drifting among the stars with only one being, Blue, seeing her as a real person, was… terrifying.

"I would stimulate your need for social interaction. There are siblings and companions of mine I trust and would introduce with control. My sire and bearer are also trustworthy. Honorable and revered Yautja. With citizenship, interactions would get less difficult," Blue explained.

It sounded like a lot of hardship, but Blue seemed very serious about making the best of it. She uncurled her hand and looked at the unused box of pregnancy tests.

Maybe she didn't just have herself to consider, either.

"What if I'm pregnant?" Katja asked, and watched him subtly waver.

"That would be best, as it would ensure your survival. Killing the unborn is highly illegal and dishonorable in Yautja society, no matter the species. The clan would be forced into a compromise allowing you to live," Blue stated.

She honestly couldn't decide if this surprised her or not. She vaguely knew by now how Blue's culture viewed children. "Ok, but what is the child's future?"

"The terms are up to me, to which I would defer back to you. There is no requirement that the offspring would have to be raised like a Yautja. We are not the same species. There would be no Chiva trial," Blue answered, even including the unasked question.

"I don't know if I can raise a child alone," Katja mumbled her concern out loud. Oh, she'd been sure back when she'd kicked Alexander to the curb. But now? Without a country? Without a planet? Without any sort of means to provide? Without even the regard of 'personhood?' for herself or the child?

"Yautja males have no experience in offspring rearing. It… would be a learning experience, but I offer my assistance," Blue pitched. Despite the monotone computer, the statement suggested he was unsure of doing this. He certainly had no obligation to, either, but it was… sweet that he offered.

"That's very noble and kind of you Blue," Katja said, looking away. It didn't sound like the greatest situation, but maybe with time it would eventually be ok.

The feeling of a claw under her left jawbone brought her head back around to look at his mask. "Would never harm you, or your pup. You should not fear me."

Katja smiled. "No, I shouldn't," she agreed. The things he said sounded like he had her best interests in mind. There were dozens of other questions to be asked, but for now, she'd settle with this. They kept eye contact a moment longer before Blue broke in.

"I will use the hygienic refresher, and then we must be on our way."

"Ok," Katja agreed, and he left the room. They were burning daylight and needed to use it more wisely.

Going over to the bed, she sat and looked at the pregnancy test again. Life hadn't been kind to her out here, and a pregnancy would cause even more complications. Worse yet, things weren't about to get kinder for her; either on Earth, or Blue's planet.

Briefly, her time with Petrov passed her mind.

"You need a male?" Blue suddenly appeared, accompanying a trill with the question. She swore the noise sounded mischievous.

"I'm sorry?" Katja asked as her brows furrowed.

"You are in need of a male," Blue stated this time.

Katja sat there a moment, processing what he was saying. Then it hit her. Because she had pulled up the memory, it had prompted inadvertent feelings that were being misconstrued. Question was, how the hell did he figure that out?

"Um, no, I was just… remembering. How did you come to that conclusion?" Katja politely demanded.

"Can smell," Blue answered simply.

Katja was sure she turned beet-red. Adrien had been correct, then. Yautja had a fantastic sense of smell.

"Oh, wow. Ok, I am so sorry. I'll try to keep myself in check." She wanted very much to steal his light bending ability and disappear now. No way she was telling Adrien about this incident, either.

"Fascinating. Possibly pregnant and still ready to receive prospects," Blue observed. It sounded like scientific curiosity, and she supposed that made sense for a being that was constrained by breeding seasons. The human reproductive system was one of a kind, really.

All the same, she needed this to stop.

"We should leave here and g–"

Blue suddenly stiffened, silencing her by lifting his hand, while his head tilted down to look at the floor.

Katja followed his gaze and saw… the floor. There was nothing there, not even a bug.

But then Blue spoke in a low tone. "There is a human in here. Level below us."

Inhaling, Katja ran through the various scenarios of how that would be possible. There weren't many. "Alexei?" Pretty much impossible, unless he figured out how to land the ship somehow.

"No. Female."

Even more puzzling. Had Jade somehow gotten cut off from her Weyland companions and left behind? Served the woman right. "Was she here when we first entered the building?"

"No. Would have noticed."

Tossing the box of pregnancy tests on the bed, Katja hefted her spear and got to her feet. "Well, let's go check it out."

"Will cloak," Blue announced before disappearing. "Am right behind you."

It was disproportionately relieving to hear those words. He still had her back. He always had her back.

"Okay. Don't just kill her right away, though. I want to find out who she is and what she's doing here."

The shimmering, seemingly empty space that Blue occupied gave a huff. "She has weapons."

"Even so, let's assess the situation first. For all we know, it's a civilian who found a gun from a dead soldier or mercenary out there."

"Unlikely," Blue muttered in actual English. Just loud enough for her to hear, but not loud enough that it could be truly considered an argument. Sometimes he was so… human.

Without further comment, Katja led the way down the stairs, until they came to the hallway of the floor below the penthouse.

"Which room?" she whispered urgently, and Blue responded quickly.

"Third, left."

Katja walked to the indicated door and tried the handle. Locked.

She felt something nudging her aside, and soon Blue's cloak shimmered beside her as he kicked down the door.

Immediately, her training kicked in and she plastered herself along the wall outside of the apartment, dropping her night vision goggles at the same time. Blue's entry method had surely gotten the woman's attention; Katja now had to wait a moment and see if this person was dumb enough to come check it out.

Nope.

Katja waited a few seconds more, then started a countdown with her fingers for Blue. When all her fingers were lowered, she swung around the doorframe into the apartment, spear raised at the ready.

With no gun, she adopted more of a defensive stance. When breaching, you came in ready and hot to fire. Nothing. She did a stationary sweep of the room, looking for threats. None presented themselves. "Army, identify yourself!" she ordered in Russian.

No one did. Shield lifted at chest level, she cautiously moved on. It was a studio apartment, one room only. The hazy green of her night vision goggles did not catch any movement, until–

A shape rose just above the back of a sofa.

Blue reacted more quickly, or had simply seen it first; but either way he shoved her aside as a firearm muzzle lit up and began peppering the area with gunfire.

Using the momentum of Blue's push, Katja rolled away from the sofa, looking for cover. Cool as the spear was, it hindered her movement, catching on parts of the apartment with its length.

There was a break in gunfire, followed by a loud growl, and Blue must have taken the opportunity to vault himself over the sofa, because said sofa slid back – violently – and a couple of cushions went flying. The human figure was suddenly lifted in the air, dropping the RPK machine gun.

"Hold! Don't kill her!" Katja barked, and the person was dropped unceremoniously on the sofa, the woman cringing as something held her down with force. Blue didn't uncloak, however; she was guessing it was his foot.

Katja made her way over, noting the new dent in the ceiling, likely from the hunter's thick head. Not to mention the claw marks in the wooden floor where her Yautja companion had attempted to get traction with his sudden acceleration on a slippery surface. Something about that was funny, but she couldn't say what.

"Let her up," Katja requested calmly.

"Who the hell are you talking to, and who just grabbed me?" the woman panted in Russian, lifting herself to a sitting position and drawing a knife from her waist.

Despite the woman's helmet and night vision goggles covering most of her face, Katja recognized her. "Sergeant Kiselyov?" She flipped up her night goggles and switched on her helmet light, and the woman winced and did the same.

Anna Kiselyov was part of the 14th Guards Engineering Brigade. She wasn't an engineer, but instead, part of one of their protection detail units.

Despite being one of the few women in the Russian military Katja had met, Anna had never seemed to warm up to her or want to bond. Nevertheless, Katja was overjoyed to find a fellow soldier alive. But what were army engineers doing out here?

Katja's light played over Anna's face. She appeared gaunt, haunted, and bruised. No surprises there. There was a hard look in her eyes, too, and she clung to her knife tightly. "Mikhailov. You're alive?" she growled, and Katja, who had been moving towards her, faltered.

"W... Yes. I… I am. Are you alright? What are you doing here?"

"No way. I get to ask the questions–" Anna began before a threatening snarl cut her off. Katja hurried forward, kneeled on the sofa, reached out and placed a hand on Blue's invisible forearm to let him know it was fine.

"Go ahead," Katja prompted Anna, looking back at the other woman.

"First things first, what the hell is that?" Anna demanded. "There's something… there, isn't there?"

"What… the… hell… are… you?" Blue parroted back via computer voice, and Anna gave a stifled scream and launched herself backward, hitting the arm of the sofa in panic.

Katja raised a hand to calm her.

"It's classified, per the Russian government. I really can't disclose anything," Katja answered with a half-truth. As always, deceit felt wrong. But for any hope of Blue and his people allowing Adrien and Alexei to live, she had to prove she was trustworthy, and wouldn't reveal the Yautja's existence on a mere whim.

Eyes still darting fearfully between Katja and the spot Blue occupied, Anna snarled, "Same government that sent everyone out here to die?" Before Katja could answer, she heatedly continued. "Yeah, I saw the FOB. What was left of it, anyway."

"Have you seen any other survivors out here?" Katja asked grimly.

"I haven't seen anything native to Earth alive out here," Anna hissed. "Saw a few of your guys at the base. Definitely not survivors, if you were wondering. Not that you seem to care."

The remark cut Katja, and an involuntary shudder hit her. But she pressed on, trying to get the conversation back on track before she could react further – because she honestly had no idea what she might do or say in retaliation. "Ok, but what are you doing out here? Engineers rigged the base up and left before the army came in."

"You haven't seen?" Anna asked, the confusion genuine.

"No?" Katja answered honestly.

"They're walling off Siberia. It started when the base went radio silent. Like they knew what had gotten to you. Seems you came out ok," Anna said coldly, and sneered at the end.

Blue again got defensive. She could hear him clicking; either with fury or frustration.

"I… was evacuating homes when the base attack started. We couldn't hear it over the radio with the extreme terrain. It was dumb luck," Katja explained.

"Dumb luck, or cowardice because you knew what was going to happen?"

To that, Anna was hoisted up by the throat, and a short roar sounded out.

"Tell your… psychotic ghost… to put me down!" she squeaked.

"Put her down," Katja mumbled.

There was a hesitation, but Blue did obey her request. "The female reeks of deception," he stated.

"Female?" Anna asked aloud and indignantly. "This female has a name."

"I have answered your questions; now tell me, why are you out here?" Katja requested.

"I told you, the engineers–"

"No, why are you out here?" Katja demanded, this time using her Captain voice. "This is well away from any Siberian border where a wall would be built,"

There was a moment's hesitation, and Anna looked away. "The 14th was wiped out while we were building the walls. I ran, and have kept running ever since. Scavenging what I can where I can," Anna finally admitted. "I've been staying in this building for a while now."

Blue was right. She was lying, at least about the last claim she'd made.

Her hunter ally hadn't noticed Anna's presence when they first entered the building together, and the generator hadn't been turned on. Even if Anna wasn't an engineer herself, she could surely recognize and turn on a generator after years of working with the brigade. And this particular apartment clearly hadn't been lived in for years.

Now curious in addition to being sympathetic to her plight – Anna certainly wasn't lying about being on the run from serpents – Katja decided she wanted to question her further. "Listen, I have a way out of here. Out of Siberia. I'm gonna get you home, all right? Come with me; we'll get you warm and get some food in you. You'll be safe."

Anna reacted like she'd been attacked. "No!" she barked before slapping Katja's outstretched hand making a move, pushing Katja aside and running out the door.

"Wait!" Katja began to rise from the sofa.

"Stay your feet," Blue said as he grabbed her shoulder with his cloaked arm. "That female is not to be trusted."