He was old already by his race's standard, well into his seventh hundredth year. Everything he had ever hunted, he had killed. He was a veteran, an Elite. He could have been an Arbitrator if he so chose, he did not. Not many made it to his rank and those that did, generated nothing but respect and honour. He had the scars to prove this, the left side of his face a testament to his hard earned rank. The left mandible was broken, missing the top tusk. A kiande amedha warrior had bitten it off centuries ago, its blood had also caused the heavy acidic scarring on his flared cranium when he had killed it. The warrior had taken the sight in his left eye with its acid. blood. A battle Setg'in-yu'san or Set, had never forgotten.
He was larger than most males, at close to eight feet tall, his colouring a mix of dark green, green and yellow a perfect blend of camouflage for the jungles he enjoyed hunting in. Despite his injury, Set could hold his own. The trophies he had amassed over his long life that lined the walls of his home and his ship attested to this. Most were of the kiande amedha, the various stages of growth including three queens. He specialized in eradicating the beasts when infestations broke out. His weapons were resistant to the acid, as was most of his armour.
His wrist guard beeped, startling him out of his thoughts. His claw rubbed along the keys. A distress signal. His mandibles clicked. It was Lax, the only living son of his mei-jadhi, his sister, she had passed long ago to hunt with Cetanu, the black Hunter. All that remained of her were three of her pups, Lax was the only male. They had hunted together many times since he'd succeeded in his chiva, his trial.
Lax's ship had crashed to Earth, the ship had been carrying kiande amedha hatchlings. One of their hunters had carried one aboard in death, and it had come from his chest. A hybrid. An Abomination.
There was no hesitation from Set. He stood from the massive chair he had been lounging in, his home overlooking the capitol, and began gathering his equipment. His heavy armour was strapped to his body. Heavy boots, greaves, legplates, and his metal loincloth. He strapped the heavy armour to his back, strapped his pack with the energy for his sivk'va-tai, his plasmacaster and then decided he would wear two, one on each shoulder. This was a new prey item, and it was half Yautja. He took no chances for this was going to be a clean up as much as a hunt. He strapped his whip to his belt, buckled the chest strap and his shoulder guard. He took everything he could carry that would ease his hunt and would not impede him. His mask was the one that he had crafted himself, the runes on it symbols of his honour.
A few more presses of keys had his ship started and ready to go. He did not hesitate as his long-legged stride took him through the halls of his palace and directly to the docking bay, the doors of his ship sliding open at his presence. He made for the control room. He pushed some buttons and set a course for Earth. It would not take long for his ship to travel. He would make the month journey in just a couple of days, his ship was equipped with the ability to bend space, and travel from one point to another by jumping across like it was nothing.
He uploaded the distress signal from his wrist guard to the computer on his ship and sat back in the pilot's chair, the controls in hand. Leaving the atmosphere of Yautja Prime would be the hardest part of this journey, and had to be done manually. The many asteroids that guarded their planet had to be navigated through for they were known to be haphazard and difficult.
It took a couple of hours but when he was finally cleared of the asteroid field, he touched a couple more keys, programmed his ship for the jump through space, and left the chair. It was Time for him to train. The kehrite, training dojo, in his ship was stocked with all sorts of weapons, new and old. The targets and robots that he fought against were programmed to rebuild themselves so they were always ready for him when he needed them. And he needed them. He did not want to think of Lax, or that he would find him dead if he did find him. There was a fire in Lax's eyes that reminded him of his mei-jadhi and how she had looked before going on the rare hunts with him. He had been close to his sibling, even if it was uncommon for it to be so for females rarely took part in the hunt, preferring to spar and raise pups.
The robots came to life as he grabbed his ki'cti-pa, his combistick, and extended it to full length. It would take a day, two at most to get to where Lax's ship had crashed. He had to clear his mind, his grief, and focus on the prey, focus on the hunt. If Lax had died, it would have been an honourable death. Lax was a lot like him, younger and still impulsive for a blooded warrior, but he would not have fled from the prey.
He twirled his faithful ki'cti-pa just as the automatons started attacking him, programmed to kill him, not wound. The small skulls attached to his spear, similar to those around his neck, clicked together with familiar noises that soothed his worried mind. He could retreat behind his skill and single-minded focus. There would be plenty of time to mourn Lax after the hunt, after he had secured the infestation.
He wasn't out of breath, nor was he overheated, Yautja couldn't sweat like most life forms. Their body netting kept them at the perfect ambient temperature no matter where they went, whether cold or heat. The machinery lay in ruins around him, he clicked his mandibles absentmindedly, his head lowered and bowed when his ship started alerting him that he was approaching the atmosphere of the blue planet. He needed to guide the ship now.
Set left the kehrite and returned to the control room. He grabbed the controls and switched from autopilot to manual with a few quick button presses. He activated the vessel's cloaking device and shield, preventing the oomans from detecting his entry, and let himself be guided by the distress signal. Lax was close now.
He trilled in worry subconsciously, a high pitched noise, and stopped himself as he realized what he'd done. His grip tightened on the sticks and he dived towards the large landmass that was half the size of the other continent. A large mountain range came into view and his mask told him he was landing somewhere in the Americas, not a usual hunting ground for it was cooler here. His body netting adjusted accordingly as he descended, the sensors outside his ship alerting his mask to the temperatures in this area.
The Yautja landed his ship about a kilometre away from the wreckage and cloaked both himself and his vessel. He touched the computer on his wrist guard and with a couple pushes, his ship took off to await further instructions. It would hover in the stratosphere, out of reach of potential kiande amedha hatchlings, and out of reach of curious oomans, but would descend at a touch of a button combination from him.
Set took off running. At full speed the Yautja could run down most any animal on earth for they were faster than any two-legged or four-legged creature, it was expected of them. This is why they constantly trained. They could maintain a top speed for hours for they had an abundance of stamina. Two hearts pumped their nourishing blood throughout their muscles, allowing for more freedom.
It took Set about a couple minutes to get to the crash site. He trilled disheartenedly as he found the blasted out ship. He found dead hatchlings, and without even looking killed a couple more that jumped at him with his left plasmacaster. He moved debris until he found what he was looking for. The body of Lax.
A high pitched noise came from his chest, his mandibles clicking in grief as he crouched by the corpse. Lax's wrist guard was still open, still sending the distress call and it was splattered with green blood. Lax's blood. He closed it and ran a hand over Lax's mask, stopping over the rune etched in his mask, the mark of his family. His head lowered and he released a heavy breath as he closed his eyes behind. He remained still and quiet for a long moment, grieving Lax and the others.
He wanted to bring him home to give him an honoured burial but he knew he could not do this. Lax could have been infected, he could not take the risk. Instead, he returned to the ship and examined the computer. Set uploaded what he could from the wreckage onto his mask and listened to what it had recorded. He also accessed the cargo log, he had to know how many hatchlings had been carried, how many potential kiande amedha could be running around, and how many of those were Abominations.
Fifteen. He shrugged his shoulders, sending his dreads flying as he growled low in his throat. Fifteen was a paltry number, and none were Queens. He could kill easily twice that number. He moves to the control room of the scout ship and activates the self destruct mechanism. It takes five minutes for the bomb to go off, he has plenty of time to destroy the hatchlings on a molecular level in the event that they somehow survive the plasma blast. The oomans had no business knowing anything about the kiande amedha. They weren't advanced enough to understand what the deadly creatures were capable of.
At his belt, a blue vial contains a solution that with only the smallest of contact, would dissolve the entire body twice the size of a Yautja. He moves quickly, making sure every hatchling has been doused in the formula. He takes off running at top speed as soon as he's finished. He needs to be out of the blast zone, five kilometers minimum.
Set does not look back. The bomb will be thorough in its destruction. Nothing will remain. Not of the ship and not of Lax. His mandibles tightened against his mouth and his fists clenched as he doubled his pace. Focus on the hunt, kill the Abomination, grieve after.
Distractions would cause him to falter. Lax was now a distraction. There as nothing else he could do for the hunter. Lax hunted with Cetanu now, and if Set was not careful, he'd be joining him. He needed to keep his wits about him and focus on killing the Abomination and eradicating the kiande amedha.
This was why Lax had called him. Set excelled at hunting the kiande amedha, in all forms, all stages. He would control this infestation, and he would kill all those that sighted him. This hunt, afterall, was not just a hunt. It was genocide.