Silence deafened the air as he slowly came to. Blinking slowly and choking on the heavy dust and chemical particles he realized his biomask was damaged, most likely beyond repair. Forcing himself to turn over, he winced at the sharp pain that zipped up his spine like it was a super highway. He blindly felt for his mask and pulled the tiny hoses loose to get the thing off him, cool air left in the wake of the monstrous thunderstorm that rolled through felt good on his burning skin. What led to him being in such a stunned state? He tried to remember but the pain tightening its sharp claws around his spine stopped him from getting too far in answering his own question. He rolled onto his side so he could spit out the phlegm gathering in his mouth. Rustling, uncoordinated, grabbed his attention to his far right. Then all at once it came back to him, everything leading up to him immobile on the ground. The U'darahje…. He had followed his mentor to the ooman planet to deal with the xenomorph outbreak. He and his teacher hadn't known how bad it was until they landed and found out they were dealing with more than a few escaped Kainde Amedha, a predalien was running loose too. The pauk de blast didn't kill the fucking thing? Then he paused. Well it didn't kill me either apparently. He didn't know where his teacher was; from the ferocity of the explosion he hoped-prayed he wasn't alone on an unfamiliar planet. He had only been to the ooman planet Earth once before and the trip hadn't ended with him being almost incinerated. The rustling continued, as it drew closer he finally spied his combi-stick laying shy of a nok away from his head. It would be up to him to finish off the U'darahje if the thing shared his luck and survived the blast. He waited for the right moment and then grabbed his spear, extending it quickly just as the dark shadow fell over him. The being grabbed the end of it before the sharp blade could puncture its throat.

"Seems your luck of escaping deadly situations has continued."

"P'sy?"

His mentor snorted. "You can save your tears."

A'luet ignored the sarcasm. "How did you-? That whole wall came down on top of you…"

The aged yautja offered his hand to which A'luet took, albeit not without pain as he was pulled to a standing position. "U'darahje. Those things are like steel, very handy when a wall falls on you and the pauk de, fucker, is on top of you. They're fireproof too apparently." He studied his charge. "You going to make it?"

"I was going to ask you the same question." A'luet bent for his discarded mask, satisfied it wasn't as horribly damaged as he previously thought, and reconnected it. "That looks bad."

P'sy glanced down at the wound where the predalien had speared him with its tail. "I'll live." He looked behind them to survey what had been the town of Gunnison, Colorado. "Well…. quite a bit messier than I would have liked but the infestation is contained. Shall we? I want to be in Prime before the Ancients find out what a shit storm this was and beat me there."

A'luet laughed once and regretted it. "Wonder if Osh'da and J'mper are still on their hunt. I want a day to recuperate before he's up my ass."

"One way to find out." P'sy turned in the direction of the traveling vessel he and A'luet used to arrive at Earth, but stopped short when voices were heard. "C'jit." He hissed. "I can't camouflage. My gauntlet was fucking destroyed."

Acting quickly, A'luet punched the sequence into his own gauntlet and then grabbed his mentor by the shoulder, the two of them disappearing into thin air. As much as they both dared, they moved back a few feet and then crouched as a group of uniformed oomans arrived in the massive clearing left by the nuke bomb. They seemed to be arguing.

"I don't know what they are saying." A'luet whispered.

"And you think I do?" P'sy scarcely breathed as he watched the humans. "Their guttural tones always sounded to me like the ill working septic system of that clan vessel you and I were on last year."

A'luet snorted before he could stop himself. Shifting P'sy grabbed his arm and put a code into the gauntlet. Within seconds the words of the oomans was flooding A'luet's biomask. Blast. Casualties. Washington. Ship. The last word A'luet understood. "They found our ship."

"Of course they fucking did." P'sy growled. "God damn rats don't know when to leave shit alone." The Elder fell silent for a moment. "If one of us is going to make it back to Prime, it is going to be you."

It took a second for his mentor's words to register. "Excuse me?"

P'sy barely looked at him. "I can hear every other word coming from your mask. They got reinforcements coming in to tow the ship. Both of us or one of us needs to get to that ship before they do. I'll be crucified if that ship falls into these barbaric shitbags' hands." P'sy moved to look at him. "I don't have a working gauntlet. It makes more sense for me to lead them away, giving you time-"

"No, it fucking does not make more sense." A'luet hissed. "I'm not leaving you behind. Are you fucking L'ulij-bpe, crazy?"

"It's the only way A'luet." P'sy tried to rise but A'luet kept a firm grip on his arm.

"The trees."

"What?" P'sy hissed.

"The trees. Not like you don't know how to climb. We'll run across them, use the branches."

"The trees here are like twigs compared to what you are used to A'luet. They are pathetic compared to the ones I know you saw the last time you were here."

"So be fast." A'luet wouldn't take no for an answer. "Don't dawdle. Isn't that what you like to tell Chiva prospects?"

P'sy growled unintelligibly. "That's because they don't know the meaning of the word hustle."

A'luet stood. "Well every second we stand here with you giving lame ass excuses, those barbaric shitbags are one step closer to our ship."

"Alright. Fine." P'sy grumbled. "You're lucky I like you. Otherwise you'd be missing teeth right now. Let's go."

Without another word the two took off toward the trees sparking an alarm in the group of oomans as they heard running feet but saw nothing. One trigger happy idiot let loose a volley of bullets, none hitting the two predators thankfully. The moment the two reached the trees A'luet let go of P'sy and jumped up, grabbing the first branch he could, his mentor right next to him; his age not a hindrance.

Jumping to the second tree A'luet saw immediately what P'sy meant about pathetic trees. He didn't weigh that much, but what weight he did have threatened to snap the branch in half. P'sy noticed.

"Like I said. Move!"

Below them the oomans tried to keep up, their gun flashlights waving frantically in the air as they ran, trying to see what was moving at an incomprehensible speed through the trees.

Please let us get to the ship. Please. A'luet had heard of stories about other yautja being caught by these oomans and the stories weren't always pretty. He didn't want the same fate to befall him or P'sy.

"Wait." P'sy slowed to a stop. "I think we lost them."

A'luet was stopped from answering by the interruption of a wide load trundling down the logging road directly below them.

"Damn." P'sy growled.

"That's not going to carry the ship. It's too small."

"No shit." P'sy looked around. "Well. Make yourself comfortable… I'll figure something out when I'm less irritated."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." P'sy murmured. "No way we can get to it now before they do. It'll just cause a lot of unneeded violence."

Grudgingly agreeing, A'luet made sure he wouldn't pitch out of the tree before sitting between two close branches, hoping he wouldn't be stiff come morning.

One week previous

Yautja Prime

Soft breaths in his ear pulled him from unconsciousness, looking to his right he saw his mate K'iera had returned from a hunt during the night. She stretched in her sleep and turned away from him, the light brown spots catching his eye, dotting her spine until they disappeared under the covers. He wanted to reach out and follow them with his finger but resisted. The touch always tickled her and she'd probably wind up kicking him in warning. Instead of tickling her, he figured pulling her closer to him would be safer. She stirred. "Hi."

He took a slow breath, filling his nasal cavity with her scent. "Hey."

She groaned. "Is the suns up?"

"Mm-hm."

She growled lowly. "Nothing worse than having to get up before you are ready."

"Then don't."

She snorted. "Funny." She pulled away from him and sat up. "Except your dear aunt is expecting me and I do believe P'sy is expecting you."

It was his turn to groan. "He can wait. It won't kill him."

K'iera shot him a smile. "He might kill you."

"Pffft. He'd miss me."

She rolled her eyes and left the bed, her expression teasing. "I'd get moving if I were you."

The Elder's home was empty, almost eerie in A'luet's opinion as he wandered room to room. In the two years since his first mentor, Kainde, died during the Hish invasion he had grown just as close to P'sy; feeling like he had known the older predator forever. A fellow Elder once remarked Kainde knew what he was doing when he asked his longtime friend to watch over his student should anything ever happen to him. Returning to the main room A'luet was just resigning himself to the fact P'sy wasn't home when rapid swearing erupted from the rear of the house. Amused, he followed the words, finding the Elder on the tail end of his colorful language regarding an abnormally large skull as he removed the head from the grotesque body.

"Pauk de S'yuit-de, fucking son of a bitch-" P'sy looked up and saw him. "You're late!" He barked, returning his attention to his dead prize.

"K'iera came home." His words were answered with a grunt. "What is that?" He came closer, still unable to put a name to the creature.

"A shoddy kill by an unblooded I've been graciously tasked with." P'sy clicked and growled. "Fuck it. Too shitty beyond repair."

After the mention of it, A'luet saw the skull for what it was. It wasn't deformed from birth, its head seemed to have popped. Looks like an ill aimed caster shot. He fought a smile. "I don't know, it looks like a lucky shot to me. The unblood could have been killed."

"Too bad he wasn't after that shitty killing technique." P'sy stomped back into his home. A'luet followed in his wake and watched as the Elder sat heavily into a chair.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm stewing." P'sy glanced at him. "Well I suppose I did ask you to come by today. We can go see that dolt G'jidi, and hopefully he's smart enough to repair my caster right this time and then I figured we'd go to a game preserve by the end of the week. I need to release my frustrations in a positive way."

"By killing things?"

P'sy didn't bother to answer him. "Alright then." He rose from his chair only to pause when a call beeped on a monitor mounted to the wall. "What the fuck do they want with me now?" He grumbled. Silence reigned while the Elder read the notes being laid out on the monitor. "Well." The Elder glanced at the young predator. "I guess that preserve is taking a back burner." A'luet knew such information passed between Elders was none of his business but he took a risk, asking what the memo was about. "A distress call coming from the ooman planet was picked up. It's my turn to check it out."

Disappointment washed over the young blood. P'sy just got back from a trip in which the Ancients asked him to take and now he was taking another. "Duty calls I suppose."

P'sy's back was to him while he decided which weapons to take. "That's what happens when you're too good at your job. Maybe I should start sucking-I'll get a desk position like Dahl'K."

A'luet laughed before catching himself. It was common knowledge P'sy did not get along with the tribunal elder leader. "Can I come with you?"

"These types of duties don't allow-" P'sy paused. "You're not old enough and you haven't yet gathered the experience to come along." He glanced at A'luet, his face partially shadowed. "Not my rules kid."

"How do they expect me to gather the experience if I'm not given a chance to do so?"

"A good argument that is always ignored when asked. I don't know." P'sy pulled his whip off its hook.

"And if I ignore the rule?"

The elder picked up his biomask and passed the young predator, shrugging. "I doubt you'll be punished. The tribunal likes you too much."

….

Heavy silence when it involved his father always ratcheted his anxiety; he sat waiting as An'nu regarded him… silent. Next to his father sat the predator's longtime friend and hunt partner, J'mper; a yautja who had seen better days. In the last year, the predator underwent a grueling surgery and recovery to repair his lower jaw, lost due to a botched attempt by a facehugger to impregnate him. For what seemed like the millionth time, A'luet took a split second to admire the skill. While the bottom mandible was made from an alloy metal, the skin was real, almost matching the predator's coal colored skin perfectly. He looks normal now.

"So… you want my permission to answer a distress call that is spotty on specifics on the flea-bitten ooman planet?"

"It's the only way I can go with him, yes."

"A'luet. There's a reason why only the Elites go on those trips."

The young blood shrugged. "Call it a learning experience." His reply didn't amuse his father as the predator rolled his eyes.

'You're okay with this?' An'nu asked J'mper in sign. Even though the yautja's jaw was repaired, due to so many years signing, the predator still communicated occasionally with his hands.

'It is your call.' J'mper looked away to see his mate Issa, An'nu's sister, enter the bungalow. She paused at seeing the three males sitting.

"Did I miss something?"

"No. A'luet just wants to follow P'sy on a distress call coming out the ooman planet."

She stepped forward until she was behind her nephew. Looking down at him she asked. "And what's wrong with that?"

An'nu shot his sister a sour look. "It is not a trip for a young blood to be on."

"Oh, for god sakes An'nu, A'luet is almost twenty seasons and he's not made of glass."

"Should I repay the favor to you in eighteen years when Samira wants to do the exact same thing and you're saying no?"

Issa glowered at him. "That's different."

"Is it?" An'nu snapped. He sighed, his eyes landing on his son again. "Issa has a point, even though I hate to admit it. You are almost twenty…. Just promise me you'll stay by his side."

A'luet sat up straighter, scarcely believing his luck. "I promise."

An'nu nodded once. "J'mper and I are leaving too. Hopefully we'll come back roughly the same time." He looked back at his son. "Be safe on this, you hear me?"

"Yes Osh'da."

Later, as he packed his belongings and his gaze landed on his mother's combi-stick it really hit him, he was leaving Prime and going to the ooman planet. N'-ithya. No, the oomans call it Earth. The last time he went to the planet he and his father landed in a dense jungle no different than the one he grew up in, only more humid. The distress call was coming from a populated area on a different part of the planet if he recalled correctly from the digital map P'sy was studying earlier in the day. Though battling a small amount of irritation due to K'iera just returning from her hunt and now he was leaving, he still felt an insane urge to get off the red dusty planet. It was going on five months since he left Prime. And he was ready to leave again.

….

Next day

"Is this thing safe?"

A'luet doubted by the looks of the ship it would make it out of the Prime atmosphere. P'sy shut a storage compartment and turned to answer him but was interrupted by none other than the tribunal leader, Dahl-K.

"Looks are not always important T'Jierk." The predator drawled.

Seeing the Elder leader put A'luet in an instant bad mood, and his mentor too by the looks of the expression he was fixing on the yautja.

"You here with a point Dahl'K?"

"Actually I am." The predator slapped a disc into P'sy's hand. "In case you also need to have a rescue squad come after you. Hit that center button."

"Oh, you'd like that." P'sy yanked his hand away and boarded the vessel. "A'luet let's go before I do something I may or may not regret."

A'luet started to obey, opting to ignore Dahl'K who was staring him down as he followed his mentor, but the arrival of K'iera brought him up short. He set his equipment down as she came forward.

"Be safe, okay?" She pulled him close.

"I'm always safe." He earned clicking in disbelief. Then he was serious. "I'll be back before you know it."

A smile lit her face. "I'll wait for you. No hunts until then and maybe when you return, we can go-just the two of us."

"Yeah." As much as he wanted to take his time with her, he knew any longer would ignite P'sy's impatience. "I have to go."

She held onto his hand until he gently pulled out of her reach and boarded the travelling vessel. Pushing his bag out of the way he sat next to the scarred predator as controls were flipped on and off and the twin engines began to hum.

"Think we'd be lucky enough to incinerate his ass? Maybe I should wave him forward, so he thinks I need something, when in reality he's right in front of the engines."

"That'd be murder unfortunately." A'luet's wishful tones made P'sy's face crack with a smile.

"Only if you're caught."