Detective Sarah Deschane followed the raven haired girl who was wearing a red coat and pants that looked to be heavily insulated against the cold. The girl was pulling a train of four wagons towards the deepest part of a group of woods. This girl was the spitting image of a computer aged model. It had taken some serious and hard core investigating to find out that the couple had even had a daughter! The only picture of the girl named Lilith Michelle Davenport that existed was a class photo from the fourth grade. After that there was no trace to be found. There were no Middle school records to be found, and frighteningly, the home in question had possessed none of a girl's belongings. There were no clothes, jewelry, makeup, posters, magazines, music or anything! It was as if the child had vanished from the face of the Earth.

Now, Detective Deschane followed a young woman who just might be the girl they were looking for. Right now, Lilith Michelle Davenport was only a person of interest, and not a suspect in the possible kidnapping and torture investigation that was being conducted. Numerous DNA samples had been obtained from the basement of the home. There were also a few samples obtained from the bathroom upstairs. Some footprints were retrieved from the tile floor of the bathroom and the tub had seen a lot of blood washed down the drain. Unfortunately they could only see that there had been blood in the tub and not get a DNA sample from it. The cut hair in the bathroom sink though? That would give them an excellent sample. They were simply waiting for the results to come back.

Sarah saw the girl stop and look around at the snow covered ground for several minutes. She had no clue as to what the girl was doing. The wagons that were being pulled suggested that she had a specific destination in mind which would likely be a residence or dwelling of some kind, but there was nothing around for a few miles.

After several minutes, Sarah saw the girl raise a hand towards her face, and shrill two toned whistle was heard. It was a blast of sound that would easily make someone wince if they were close to it. That was when she heard something approaching through the barren trees. Looking towards the source of the sound of crunching snow, she saw a beast straight out of someone's wildest nightmares running straight towards the girl.

Lilith stared at the marks in the snow. She knew that the ship was supposed to be right here! Right there in front of her feet was the mark caused by the loading ramp and her foot prints from where she had walked to town. Everything said that this was where the ship was supposed to be… but it wasn't here.

Lilith wanted to cry and silent tears had begun to slide down her face as she stared at the empty ground. She was more than ready to start sobbing when she got an idea. She brought her right hand up, stuck two fingers in her mouth and made the loudest whistle of her entire life! She listened really hard for a minute and then she heard it. Something was running at her and fast! Looking at the source of the sounds, she smiled while her eyes filled with tears in heartfelt relief. Always there, always close by, and always reliable… Slobber was running towards her! That was when she heard something behind her.

Lilith turned around to see what had made the noise she'd heard. A woman stood there, pale faced, scared, and pointing a gun straight at Slobber!

"Don't shoot my dog!" Lilith screamed as she jumped in between the gun and Slobber.

"Dog? Kid that's not a dog! That's a porcupine crossed with a panther from hell!" The woman shouted in a shrill voice.

Lilith let out another quick whistle to call Slobber to her. She did not want this woman to have the chance to shoot her! "Well whatever she is, she's mine! And I don't want you shooting her!" She yelled back.

Just then Slobber came up behind her, stuck her head over Lilith's right shoulder and licked her up the side of her face.

"Jesus Christ! Look at the teeth on that thing!" Sarah said softly as she lowered her gun a little. She seriously doubted that a nine millimeter pistol was going to do anything more than piss that creature off anyway.

Lilith giggled a bit and got a mean idea. She turned around and grabbed Slobber's bottom jaw. "Yeah, look at the teeth on her! Aren't they huge?" She asked with a grin as she pulled Slobber's mouth open. She was a bit surprised that Slobber cooperated with her by opening that mouth very wide and showing off all of those dagger-like teeth!

"Kid you're crazy!" Sarah answered as she watched this strange girl pull that thing's mouth open. "What the hell is that thing anyway?"

"She's called a Yaut Hound and her name means 'Spear'." Lilith answered.

"Spear huh? Well at least it fits. You just keep that big monster away from me okay?" Sarah said seriously in a tone of voice that was a bit high pitched which showed her fear and nervousness.

You don't try to do anything to me, and she won't do anything to you. Unless I get something and throw it at you. Then she'd run flat over you to get. If she didn't catch it before it reaches you." Lilith replied with a grin.

"Kid… you're not that far from me. There's no way she can catch something you throw before it gets to me." Sarah retorted as she finally holstered her gun.

"Oh yes she can!" Lilith bragged proudly. "I can be scratching her ear and throw something and she'll still get in front of it to catch it! She's that fast!"

"What? Have you been playing fetch with that thing?" Sarah demanded in disbelief.

"Yeah! And she's the best there is when it comes to playing fetch!" Lilith retorted grinning widely.

"Kid… you're unbelievable. What's your name anyway?" Sarah asked with a shake of her head.

"Lilith." She stated.

"Would that be Lilith Michelle Davenport?"

"Who wants to know?" Lilith asked suspiciously.

"Detective Sarah Deschane Homicide Division." Sarah answered holding up her badge.

"I've never killed anyone so you can talk to someone else." Lilith retorted sullenly.

Before she could respond to that Sarah saw several… beings walking towards them from deeper in the woods. They were clearly not human, even though they walked on two legs like humans. The colors were all wrong and they were many different colors ranging from a slight greenish color to a sort of grey. There were about a dozen of them and they were all much taller than a human too. Her face showed her rising fear.

Lilith looked behind her to see what had the cop so scared. She smiled when she saw Gwen and everyone else coming towards her. There were a few in the bunch that she didn't know; three ladies and two guys, but that didn't really matter because all of the ones she lived with were right there. That sight made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"What the hell are they?" Sarah asked with her voice barely about a whisper.

Lilith heard the cop's question and smiled. At least now she had some help if she needed it. "They're called Yautja. They're not from around here." She said with a shake of her head.

"Really? Not from around here, really? Ya think that maybe these aliens came from another world?" Sarah demanded sarcastically.

"Yep! With an orange sky, and black plants, and they live in Aztec style pyramids too." Lilith shot back while grinning.

"How would you know? Have you been there?"

"Yeah! That's where she came from." Lilith answered while pointing at Slobber.

"That figures. How long have you been there?" Sarah asked as she tried to get back to her investigation.

"I don't know… about a week maybe?" Lilith answered.

"Well I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your mother and father are dead."

"I know." Lilith said simply.

"If you know… then you can tell me who was in the basement of that home." Sarah said with her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Lilith started breathing faster because she knew she was going to be in trouble now and was just now beginning to believe that Gwen and the others weren't going to hurt her.

"Well? Who was it? The blood stains that are all over the damned place down there means that if they weren't killed, it wasn't for lack of trying! Now who was it?" Sarah demanded firmly.

"Me." Lilith answered softly. "All that blood is mine."

"Bullshit! Don't lie to me about this! If that poor soul isn't dead they probably wish they were!" Sarah snapped as she started to get pissed.

"I'm not lying!" Lilith snarled angrily. "Ask her!" She said pointing at Gwen. "She paid for the surgery to take away all the scars from where they made me cut my arms!"

"Do you speak English?" Sarah snapped at Guan.

Guan shook her head slowly. She understood that this ooman was trying to find out what exactly had happened, but she didn't know why.

"Well that's real convenient, now isn't it? You have someone who can give you an alibi and they can't speak English." Sarah said to Lilith sarcastically.

Lilith was about to say something when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking over she saw Old Bruce take off his mask and step towards the cop. Lilith knew what he wanted to do, but decided that she would not warn the cop who was being so nasty to her.

"He wants to put that thing on your head for a minute. Then you'll be able to understand what they say." Lilith told her.

"How bout he hands it to me and I put it on?" Sarah asked not wanting to let one of the aliens get that close.

Sarah saw the alien with the helmet looking thing nod his large head, and the sight of that mouth made her swallow hard! These aliens looked like demons or something. When the thing was held towards her she took it and placed it over her face. Instantly, she felt like she was going to puke or pass out. Whatever else that thing was it was certainly instant nausea! When she took it away from her face she looked up at the alien and then over to the girl who had told her about it.

"You didn't tell me it would make me sick."

"It didn't make you sick! It only lasts for a few seconds. The reason I didn't tell you about it is because you tried to act like a bitch. Now maybe you'll think about it before you do it again." Lilith answered with a vindictive smirk.

"Lilith has undergone several procedures to remove the evidence of dishonor. The scars that she should never have had, have been removed from her arms, legs, and back. I can do nothing about the missing and broken teeth." Guan stated firmly. She didn't at all like the insinuation that Lilith might be so dishonorable as to as to lie.

"Missing teeth?" Sarah demanded as she turned back to Lilith. "And where were you when that happened?"

"Tied up in the basement. That's where I was every time they beat me. That's where I was when my mother held me down so my father could fuck me too!" Lilith snarled as she got pissed. "I tried to make them stop. For years I had to stay there and take it! Well I'm not in the basement anymore and they're dead! I hope they burn in hell!" She added in a scream.

The tears of rage that ran down the girl's face were something that Sarah knew wasn't faked. If the girl had been another couple of decades older, she might be that good of an actor, but not yet. Kids just weren't that good!

"How old are you?" Sarah asked in a neutral tone of voice.

"About fourteen, why?" Lilith countered.

"Then you need to watch your mouth." Sarah stated evenly.

Sarah had no idea what she could say to alleviate the girl's anger, and she would readily admit that Lilith had a very good right to be angry, but that wouldn't help anything right now. The issue with the teeth could very well prove or disprove Lilith's statements.

Sarah was about to say something else to Lilith when one particular word in Lilith's tirade struck her, "years"! It explained the various ages of the blood pools that had been found. It also explained the numerous piles of feces that were present, but at the same time, it took everything to a whole new level of horror.

"I don't care if you are a cop! They said I didn't do anything wrong!" Lilith said with a gesture at her family.

"Look… I know you didn't kill your parents. Forensics have already proven that, and being a victim is not against the law. I just have to ask a few questions okay? It's part of my job." Sarah said reasonably.

"What exactly is your job?" One of the aliens asked.

"My job is to enforce the law and arrest those who break it. I don't determine guilt or innocence; I just find the bad guys and stop 'em." Sarah answered.

"You are an ooman Arbitrator then?" One of the females asked.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what an Arbitrator is?" Sarah replied.

"I had to ask about that too. An Arbitrator is someone who kills those who break the law." Lilith interjected as she stepped towards the wagons and dug through the Wal-Mart bags until she found what she was looking for. A full quart of Borden's strawberry milk. She opened it and drank down quite a bit.

"What is that, and why are you drinking an ooman substance?" One of the males demanded of Lilith belligerently.

"It's strawberry milk. I got it because I remember how much I used to like it." Lilith answered hoping that this wasn't going to be something else the Yautja didn't like the smell of.

"Do you have an issue with a pup who is still drinking milk?" One of the females demanded coldly.

Guan watched the male look back at the female Arbitrator who had asked the question and smirked. The male now looked terrified. Guan guessed that he had realized the actual nature of the question.

"No… no I don't."

"It's a good thing you don't because all pups drink milk!" The female growled before looking back at Lilith.

"Wait a minute! Are you telling me that they get killed for breaking any law?" Sarah asked in shock.

"Yeah. Even telling a lie will get you killed. They don't play games about it." Lilith answered readily.

"God I wish it was that simple for us." Sarah lamented. "But that would never get passed."

Suddenly Sarah looked at Lilith with a high level of suspicion. "So if you were on their world, what are you doing back here?"

"Their Queen asked me to come back here and get stuff made out of rubber so they can figure out how to make it and build stuff out of it." Lilith answered.

"So you plan to go back with them?" Sarah asked.

"Why not?" Lilith shot back.

"Because you could go to a foster home where you might get adopted. Some family out there could be looking for a young girl just like you." Sarah answered.

"Might be, could be, may be, well I don't have to worry about possibly! I was adopted!" Lilith said as she got mad.

"Do you see this?" Lilith demanded as she held up her left hand.

"What about it?"

"I cut my hand on accident, but they didn't. They cut their hands on purpose!" Lilith said as she walked over and grabbed Celtic's left hand and held it palm out for the officer to see.

"They all stabbed their hands and mixed up the blood from the cuts. They put my blood in a big bowl and then let their hands bleed into that bowl too. They mixed all that blood up and shoved it back into the cuts… on my hand too! They did that to make us all family!" Lilith said hotly.

"Yeah… kids do something similar. It's called being blood brothers, or blood sisters." Sarah replied skeptically. "It never lasts."

"Remember what happens when you lie?" Lilith asked with a vicious grin.

"It proves that they mean it! Forever! I have three brothers now. They're all older than me, but so what? I have three Aunts too! They're the ones who did the surgeries on me. I don't have any more cuts on my arms, burns on my legs, and there's no more scars on my back that hurt all the time. They give me something to eat anytime I'm hungry, and I don't have to be cold and naked anymore! I have a Mom, a Dad, and a Grandma! I have a dog who's the best friend I could ever ask for! Why would I even think about staying here?" Lilith screamed angrily.

"Because at least you'd be with your own kind." Sarah said softly.

"I know you and the man from the pawn shop earlier today… that's it! It means that everyone is a total stranger to me. I know them! I've lived with them! I've seen what their world is like. There's this grumpy ass bitch who hates me, and she didn't do anything like what my parents did to me after I even spit on her! It means there's a lot of good people there." Lilith retorted angrily as she let go of Celtic's hand and spun away from the police officer.

Lilith walked over to Gwen and looked up at her. "Can we go home now?"

Sarah watched in concerned silence as the alien woman who'd first spoken to her picked Lilith up and cradled the girl against her left side as casually as if it were something she did every day. The alien never said a single word in answer; she just reached down and lifted Lilith into her arms. That more than anything Lilith might have said convinced her that Lilith was making the right choice. She'd heard a lot of stories about some crazy kook who claimed to have been kidnapped by aliens. She never thought that she would see someone go with aliens willingly!

When Sarah got back to the station, her Lieutenant handed her a large sealed manila envelope.

"These are the DNA results you requested." The man said plainly. "Those results on the foot prints are in that folder." He added pointing out a plain manila folder that was laying on Sarah's inbox.

No one in the precinct had much hope that this case could be solved, but that would not stop them from trying. Sarah opened the envelope and read the reports. All of the DNA samples came from the same subject. Each of the pools of blood in the basement, the feces, and the hair in the bathroom sink upstairs had all come from the same person! That told her that whoever it was, who really had been trapped in that basement, had escaped and was still alive somewhere! Opening the folder she read the reports on the footprints. Most were identified as belonging to the two deceased individuals. A few other footprints that had been recovered from the tub, and the basement, and the bathroom floor turned out to belong to one Lilith Michelle Davenport. Although she would never be able to tell anyone about it, she now knew that the truth had come out, and she'd heard it from Lilith herself! The only positive thing about this mess was that the case would now be closed and no one would be looking for Lilith any longer.

Lilith pulled all four wagons into the Throne room where Nana was waiting. Jackass was close by and he was scowling at her. She almost wanted to smile at the bastard but she didn't want to make Nana mad, so she didn't. She had taken every thing out of the plastic bags while she was on the ship, so now she was ready for anything.

Mo H'chak stepped forward and used his mask to look at the various objects this ooman had brought before The High Matriarch. When he saw the contents of the fourth conveyance he became enraged.

"You were instructed to retrieve certain things and you return with plants?" Mo H'chak bellowed as he snatched one up to throw.

"No!" Lilith screamed as she got in front of him and stretched for the plant that was out of her reach. "That's a baby rubber tree; you need to have those to make rubber. You can't make it without those!"

"Just how do you know this to be the case?" Mo H'chak demanded.

"I printed the instructions of the internet. These tell you how to make rubber. See?" Lilith yelled as she grabbed the papers.

"Are you saying that the substance we need is made from plants?" The High Matriarch asked loudly.

"Yes… they use the sap to make rubber." Lilith answered.

"Finding someone who is able to grow those plants from another world is going to be next to impossible!" The High Matriarch lamented.

"Grumpy ass!" Lilith said to herself.

"What?" The High Matriarch asked in confusion.

"Hey Gwen! What's the name of that woman who has the flowers? You know, the one I stabbed and spit on." Lilith asked as she spun to face the woman.

"You speak of Lar'ja Sain'ja, why?" Guan asked confused.

"Because… she grows those flowers that came from other worlds, so she should be able to grow these trees too right?" Lilith asked hopefully.

"Am I to understand that you know of someone here who can grow these?" The High Matriarch asked with a gesture at the wagon full of plants.

"Yeah… but someone else will have to ask her because I'm pretty sure she hates me." Lilith replied ruefully.

"Is there anyone here who knows how to contact this female?" The High Matriarch asked the room at large.

"I can not contact her myself, but I know of one who can, and I am able to contact him!" Setg'in said as he spoke up.

"I wish for you to do whatever is needed to achieve contact with this female." The High Matriarch ordered as she turned to face the Young Blood.

Setg'in sent a written message to Thwei-de Thei-de telling him what the situation was and to have Lar'ja Sain'ja contact him as soon as possible. He received a tone acknowledging the receipt of his message and within seconds he was in direct contact with the sought after female. Upon informing Lar'ja Sain'ja that The High Matriarch needed to speak with her on a matter of importance, he was asked where he was and that she would arrive as fast as she could get there.

"She is on her way here as I speak. I expect that she will arrive soon." Setg'in said as he bowed his head in respect.

"Her swift arrival will be appreciated." The High Matriarch replied evenly.

"Now Lilith, did you obtain anything for yourself, like you were told?" R'ka-de Guan asked.

"I got a few things. Not a whole lot though. Ketchup and steak sauce for the meat, and I got a bunch of peppers too. I grabbed a couple cans of lemonade, but no one likes it when I drink it around them because it smells like that sleeping potion stuff. I also got two new baseball bats and two practice swords that I can put an edge on later." Lilith answered.

"That does not sound like you obtained very many things for yourself. I would have expected you to get more." R'ka-de Guan said slowly.

"I guess I could have got some more stuff, but I didn't think I needed anything else. I mean, I didn't even need the stuff I got, but I'm glad to have it. The sauce and ketchup with make the meats taste better, and the peppers I got are going to be great! I don't think I should anyone else eat those things though." Lilith replied wryly.

"Why would you not allow others to eat them? What if they want to try one?" R'ka-de Guan asked curiously.

"I'll let someone have some if they want some, but as hot as those things are, I don't think any one will want to eat any." Lilith answered easily.

"Why would they not want them?" Mo H'chak demanded in a surly tone.

"If you think those things you call 'fire berries' are hot… these things will make you think your whole head's on fire! These would be like volcano berries or something!" Lilith shot back with a grin.

"You got some of those things that you said are hotter than fire berries?" Hulij-bpe asked in disbelief.

"Yep! Sure did." Lilith said happily.

"It takes strength and discipline to eat a fire berry. You claim that you enjoy things that are even hotter? I will match you bite for bite, because I know that I am better than you ooman!" Mo H'chak declared haughtily.

The High Matriarch was about to chastise her Lifemate when Lilith startled her by laughing menacingly. She would readily say that it was a very disturbing sound.

"Lilith… the last time you were involved in a challenge it killed you several times. I want to know right now… is this challenge dangerous?" Guan demanded in a growl.

"Not to me!" Lilith replied with a laughing smile. "He'll think his head's about to explode though!"

"Grab a couple of bowls, and have one of 'em full of fire berries! We're gonna have a good old fashioned pepper eating contest!" Lilith proclaimed happily to Mo H'chak.

"You will have your 'pepper eating contest' little ooman! You will lose! I will prove that any Yautja is better than a mere ooman!" Mo H'chak growled loudly.

Lar'ja Sain'ja entered the Chamber of Decision to hear a male making a declaration to the ooman she knew to be Lilith. She didn't know what a 'pepper eating contest' was, but she could tell that this was serious.

"You know… that's about what that other jackass said too! So I got an idea… from now on whenever the loser meets the winner, the loser will say 'I am glad to greet someone who is better than I am!', and they have to say it loud enough that everyone can hear it!" Lilith smirked.

Mo H'chak started laughing. "I agree to that little ooman! I also stipulate that the loser will proclaim in a very loud voice that they admit defeat and have lost to someone much better than they are!"

"You're on!" Lilith shouted eagerly. "Let's find a table 'cause I'm hungry!"

Hulij-bpe clearly remembered how much Lilith had enjoyed a lot of fire berries the other day, and didn't act as if they had any heat at all. She had told them about things that were hotter than fire berries, and now she had them. He watched as she grabbed a container from a bag in one of her carriers, and then smiled widely. He could tell that she knew she had the advantage in this. He followed along with everyone else as the two went into another room. An elevated seat was quickly procured for his little sister and she climbed up in it. She tried to open the strange container but apparently wasn't strong enough. She showed her opponent what to do to open the thing and then scooped out a lot of them with her left hand and placed them in an empty bowl.

"Hey, where's the bowl with those fire berries at? I want some of those too. Like I said, I'm hungry." Lilith said loudly while smiling.

"I have them right here, along with the first of the Naxa fruit that I owe you." R'ka-de Guan answered as she placed them on the table.

Lilith looked around and saw that everyone was watching! Her whole family, Grumpy-Ass, Nana, and a lot of Yautja that she'd never met, along with a few that she had met were all watching what was going to happen. She flashed a bright smile at the Jackass.

"Over the teeth, past the gums, look out stomach because here it comes!" Lilith said loudly as she reached over and grabbed a large slice of jalapeño. She chewed blatantly before swallowing. She blew out a long breath because these things were a lot hotter than she remembered, but then she figured that she just wasn't used to them any more.

Mo H'chak reached into the same bowl that the ooman had and picked up a piece of what had been called a pepper. He put it in his mouth and started chewing. Almost instantly the tremendous heat of the thing hit him. His eyes bulged, his mouth gaped, his mandibles flared, and so did his tendrils. It felt as if he had placed molted metal in his mouth.

'How can that ooman stand to eat such things? Fire berries are cold compared to this!' Mo H'chak thought in surprise.

Lilith looked at the reaction Jackass had to eating a single slice of jalapeño and grinned. She knew without any doubts that she'd win this and he would be humiliated! She planned to show him in front of everyone! She grabbed another slice and popped that one in her mouth, chewed it up and swallowed, then she held out her hand towards the bowl and silently invited Jackass to do the same with a smile.

Mo H'chak picked up a second piece and put it in his mouth to chew up and swallow. He was determined that this ooman would not prevail against him. He could see that the heat from these things was affecting the ooman because the normal coloring of her face had changed as fresh blood suffused the skin. The problem was, this strange creature was still smiling at him! After swallowing, he began breathing heavily in an attempt to cool himself.

Lilith almost started laughing at the poor Jackass. After only two slices of jalapeño he looked ready to keel over. She grabbed a piece of the pepper and popped it in her mouth to swallow, before really showing off and reached out to grab a half dozen fire berries and put those in her mouth as well. As she chewed the fire berries, Lilith's smile got even bigger! It was really weird but the fire berries actually countered the heat from the jalapeño! It meant that her mouth wasn't burning any more! She watched him take a third slice and eat it, and she couldn't help but snicker.

Mo H'chak watched in total astonishment as the ooman pup grabbed a handful of dripping pepper pieces and place them in her mouth. The ooman was grinning at him while chewing them up and swallowing. Then… then the ooman did something that no one with any shred of sanity would do… the ooman got a handful of fire berries and ate those as well!

"You are insane!" Mo H'chak growled angrily as he glared at the grinning ooman.

"You know, I think someone needs to give you some water before you melt!" Lilith laughed.

Guan watched what was happening with a high level of apprehension. What was going on was something she really didn't understand. It was clear that Lilith was enjoying what she was eating, but at the same time, Mo H'chak was having a reaction that showed he was experiencing some rather extreme levels of heat. It was the same reaction that was much like that of a young pup who had gotten a hold of some fire berries by mistake. It seemed to her that Lilith was able to actually enjoy eating something that a Yautja could barely even tolerate! That was when she realized that Lilith would not have obtained something that she was unable to eat! It meant that she would prevail in this challenge far too easily! So that was why she had stipulated those conditions… she planned to humiliate her opponent! It was no different from an adult Yautja challenging a young ooman pup to a weight lifting contest, there would be no challenge in it. She would have to say something to Lilith about this later.

Mo H'chak ate the third piece of pepper and watched in shock as the ooman began eating lots of pepper pieces before he'd even swallowed!

"You know you've lost, so just admit it. Besides… this is good!" Lilith said plainly as she started tearing into the giant mango along with more jalapeño peppers and fire berries.

"You're right. I am defeated…"

"Say nothing more, Mo H'chak!" Guan snapped loudly before she spoke to Lilith. "Lilith you know that this is not what you call fair!"

"I know… but he needs to know that he's not as tough as he thinks he is. He better be glad I didn't get out the hot stuff! Those habeneros would probably make him want to die." Lilith laughed as she grabbed a few more jalapeño slices.

"You have something that is even hotter than this?" Mo H'chak demanded in disbelief.

"The sticker on the shelf said that habeneros are five-hundred times hotter than a jalapeño! So yeah… I do!" Lilith answered bluntly. "I also got the seeds for jalapeño plants so I can try to grow them!"

Mo H'chak narrowed his eyes at the ooman across the table from him. He knew that there was no way she would have obtained such things when she knew what they were, unless she liked them. He might as well have challenged Cetanu himself in a contest of skill or strength. His defeat had been assured as soon as he issued the challenge!

"Enjoy your peppers little ooman, because I am now certain that no Yautja can." Mo H'chak said with a chuckle. "I am enough of a Warrior to admit when I am wrong. Until today, I had thought that oomans were nothing more than animals. You have proven otherwise!"

"I have come at the request of The High Matriarch." Lar'ja Sain'ja announced loudly since the strange challenge was over.

"Yes I did request your presence." The High Matriarch replied seriously. "The ooman Lilith has stated that you are able to grow plants that originate on other worlds. I need to know if this is so."

"It is indeed so High Matriarch. Twice now, the ooman Lilith has enjoyed the scent of blossoms from plants that do not come from this planet." Lar'ja Sain'ja answered in confusion.

"The ooman Lilith was recently sent back to her planet with the task of bringing back samples of a substance called rubber so that our scientists can reverse engineer it. Not only did she obtain the required samples, but also the basic instructions and several of the plants that the substance is made from. Without those plants every thing is useless. The substance can not be made without those plants! The substance can be used to make training weapons that will cause no injuries at all! Even intentional actions can not result in an injury! According to Lilith, it is your skill in growing plants that will help shape the future of all Yautja." The High Matriarch said in utter seriousness.

Lar'ja Sain'ja was stunned. She would have believed that the ooman didn't like her at all. Yet even now, she was wearing something that had been provided by the ooman Lilith. It was something that made her reconsider her stance on oomans. She knew that there were many oomans who had no honor, but it was now clear to her that Lilith at least did have honor! She knew that if Lilith had possessed no honor, then most likely, she would never have been brought to the attention of The High Matriarch.

"I can make no guarantees High Matriarch, but I can certainly try to grow these plants." Lar'ja Sain'ja replied just as seriously.

"I can ask no more than that." The High Matriarch stated.

Feeling a series of touches on her right leg, Lar'ja Sain'ja looked down to see the ooman Lilith standing there with the handle of some sort of pulled conveyance in her grasp. Lilith spoke to her, but she had no idea what was said. She would apparently have to acquire Lilith's ooman language for future dealings.

"Can someone tell me what she said?" Lar'ja Sain'ja asked.

"She said that these are the plants you need to grow, and asks if you would be willing to teach her to grow some of her own so that she can have more peppers in the future." The High Matriarch said in response to her request.

Lar'ja Sain'ja nearly gaped at The High Matriarch, but caught herself before she did. Never would she have guessed that such a one would know an ooman language. Many of those who were Blooded knew various ooman insults and profanity by being exposed to it. For The High Matriarch to know an ooman language meant that there might be something about oomans that was worth knowing.

"Thank you for bringing those to me. It is a challenge to get plants from another world to grow properly at all. They will grow just fine, but we do not have the proper creature to pollinate them, so that has to be done by hand or there will be no fruits produced by them, and no seeds are made. I am quite willing to teach you what I know of growing plants, but mostly it is a matter of knowing how to leave them alone." Lar'ja Sain'ja replied.

"See ya later Nana!" Lilith called out happily as she grabbed Grumpy Ass by the hand and pulled the wagon full of baby rubber trees out of the Throne room.

END?

Although this particular story has finally come to an end, Lilith's story has not. Gwen, Old Bruce, The Thing Sisters, Celtic, Scar, Rave, Nana, and of course Slobber along with others will return for another round of utter chaos and total mayhem in "A New Family"! Don't ask me when I'll post it, because I can make no guarantees on that. It has taken me a few YEARS to write this, so it might be a while.

Khalthar.