Author Note: I do not own Aliens or Predators. Yesterday was my 18th birthday, and guess what I got from my parents that I badly needed? A new laptop, that's what! This is great because now I can update my stories more. (And go on Tumblr but that's a different story). I'll try my best to go back to updating my stories at least once a week; even though I have a new laptop I'll still be busy because I'm in my senior year in high school. Thanks for your patience and support, guys! Enjoy.

27: THE CLAN

LAR'JA-THWEI was more content than he'd been in a long time. Teaching Ember, he found, wasn't nearly as difficult as he'd thought it might be, and she was more than eager to learn. It gave him an enjoyable routine, and he found his rage diminishing more the longer he taught her. Sure, it was frustrating that she wouldn't even touch a weapon, but she excelled in hand-to-hand combat and using her tail and claws once she got the hang of it, so he wasn't too worried about it.

All in all, Ember worrying about the Queen and their approach to the Clanship was what was on his mind at the moment. She'd learned much in the time he'd spent teaching her, but he wondered if she was ready to meet his Clan. One thing Lar'ja-thwei was grateful for was the fact that she spoke Yautja naturally—he couldn't imagine how much more difficult this would be for both of them if he'd had to teach her his language.

Then again, Lar'ja-thwei mused, if she didn't speak Yautja, she probably would have let the Queen kill me, and we wouldn't be going to the Clan in the first place.

Yes, he was very grateful for having a common language.

Still, the closer they got to the Clanship, the more uneasy he became. Doubts began to plague his mind. Would they accept Ember as he'd assured her they would? Would they listen to anything she had to say? Yautja-Kainde Amedha hybrids were considered the worst abomination by his kind—what would they think of Ember, who was not only Yautja and Kainde Amedha, but Ooman as well? He knew she couldn't be destroyed, but it didn't make him feel any better about sending her to his Clan. If anything, it was worse for her—she could be tortured in ways no one else could be and he was sure her childish mind (maturing though it was) couldn't handle such pain.

Then there was the Queen to think about. She was already enraged just by being in the nesting chamber of this ship. He'd seen the bond between Ember and the Queen and knew if she was captured and tortured, she would tear him limb from limb. Of course, she might just do that anyway…

Whenever these thoughts came to mind, he did his best to push them away, but he wasn't always successful. Despite his worries, however, his confidence in his student was growing, as was his respect for her. He found that as her skills grew, so did his own. She often forced him to think outside the box and he was learning even as he taught her.

How could he have ever thought her an abomination?

Soon enough, sooner than his liking, they neared the Clanship. Lar'ja-thwei had Ember wait with him in the ship, and it was a mark of how much she had matured that she was quiet. She normally would be bursting with questions and fidgeting, but she knew how serious her first meeting with the Clan was and was silent and still, except for nervous twitches of her long tail.

"Are you ready?" asked Lar'ja-thwei quietly.

He was more than willing to stay away from the Clanship and train her until she was absolutely sure she was ready. To his surprise, she nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready," she replied.

Again, he was struck by how much she had matured in the little time they'd had to train aboard the ship. She was still childish, of course, but not as much as when she had lived in the Oomans' lab on N'ithya. It seemed that being given such responsibility and training had made her a bit more serious, as she now understood what was at stake for her and her beloved Queen.

Lar'ja-thwei looked at her for a moment, then decided that, despite his concern, she was as ready as she would ever be. He nodded at her, and found that he was proud of her. He was proud to have taught her, and proud of her growing skills and maturity.

"Good. There is an escape pod in the ship. Because I am unable to go to my Clan, you will have to go alone," he said. "They will kill me on sight if they see me."

"I know," said Ember. "That's why I'm going." Suddenly, she smiled. "Don't worry. I won't fail."

Struck by this statement, Lar'ja-thwei simply nodded. "Good. I will stay as close as I can without the Clan seeing or detecting me. You're on your own now." A pause, then, "While you're at the Clan, I will also spend time finding a suitable planet for the Queen to live on."

Ember's expression turned sad for a moment, then she said, "Take care of her, okay?" in a small voice.

"Of course," said Lar'ja-thwei.

He led her to the ship's escape pod, putting in the destination for her. As she climbed into the pod, he said, "Do not forget what I taught you, Ember."

"I won't," she replied. "See you soon, I hope."

He nodded and sealed the pod closed, then ejected it. He watched it speed toward the Clanship and for the first time he could remember felt regret.

See you soon, Ember.

…

Please review! So what did you think? Good? I think maybe it got too sappy toward the end. What do you guys think?

Question: Anything you'd like to see in the story later?

Leave your answer in a review!

Special note: I'm going to be taking down Predator: Apocalypse sometime for editing. So if you're looking for it and can't find it, it's down for editing. I've improved my writing a lot so I want to make some changes to it. It won't be changed drastically, just some minor improvements.