STORM: This is the homerun guys. Enjoy the finale.
RAVEN: No!… Nooooooo!
-xXx-
Full Circle.
When I finally walked back outside with Ray'jin and Sarket at my sides. I finally got to take in the full scale of it all. The light pastel orange sky above lit up from what must be a huge orange star. Their smaller red star dwindling on the horizon, then the crowds of Predators that had gathered to see what I was all about.
Taking in the site of thousands of Yautja was intimidating to start with or perhaps it was a little too much for my human mind to comprehend. I mean, here I am, the only 'human' around on a planet of a high tech race that hunt my kind for sport… yeah… lovely thought. I'm sure I'll sleep with the dead tonight.
And that's only putting it mildly.
I struggled to keep the expression on my face in strict check as I presented myself to the clan. Hell, I'm literally making it easy for one of these guys to shoulder cannon blast me into oblivion!
Not so fast thou. I mean… as soon as I stepped down to their ground level, I noticed the glitter of something headed straight for my direction.
SHIT! And I froze whatever it was in mid swing. Daring to look up confirmed it to be a deadly spinning disk!
Alarmed, I just stared into my reappearing inert reflection on the blades as it continued to slowly turn in midair.
I was well aware of Ray'jin's body thrumming with anger as I looked ahead from where the disk had come from.
Chittering had resounded from the ranks of Predators, unsure or held in a sense of suspense of what was going to happen next.
Right ahead stood our culprit recovering from his throwing stance. He looked like the type to have stepped out of the dark ages.
I realized something then as the disk continued to turn in the grip of my mind. I'm just a so-called human who is to be hunted. However… considering the circumstances… I did not strike first. If I have to etch my mark into their minds forever, I have to make a stand now.
The deadly disk began to turn at a faster pace. Faster still until it spun in a blur and –you guessed it- I threw his disk back. It sung through the air until a metallic 'Clung' was heard from the other side of the crowd.
Ray'jin rattled and I dared to view the damage I'd done. Our intrepid Predator stood nearly on his tiptoes, talons splayed out on the rock against his back, heaving heavily at the sight of his own disk between his armoured legs.
Some where not moved. Some had slack mandibles (more noticeable in the Young Blood population) Ray'jin however… just huffed.
"Pity you missed." He said softly.
"Just as well." I relayed sideways, allowing a ghost of a smirk to tug at my lip. Of course I missed him on purpose.
"…Just as well." He agreed.
I couldn't relax from my stance as I had now grabbed the attention of everyone… and I mean everyone.
I stood firm and let my wings hang out on either side of me. Adopting a sort of predatory stance myself, ready to let loose if any dared to even flick a dagger my way. I had decided that I would reveal all. 'Take your best shot!' I thought to myself as I let my eyes flash briefly, 'Who's next?'
"At ease, Storm." I heard Ray'jin say. Unsure of it all now, I allowed myself to stand firm.
Ray'jin stood tall as he addressed the clan.
"CLANMATES… MY BROTHERS. I BRING YOU A GREAT HONOUR! THIS IS STORM! MYTH BROUGHT TO LIFE!" Ray'jin roared.
The front lines chittered as they lowered their gazes on me in what could be perceived as disbelief.
Aware of the sudden limelight, I felt tempted to shrink into the shadows. Yet being daytime at the moment, the luxury of night was way off.
…probably for my own good anyway.
Ahead, the crowd parted and two tall predators were allowed through. I heard Ray'jin let out a high-pitched chitter as the slender predators approached us. From what I guessed, they were nowhere near as mucho as Ray'jin or Sarket for that matter. They must be female, I realized.
They stopped right in front of us. I watched as Ray'jin dipped his head slightly with respect.
From my lower vantage point, these two towered over me by an extra two maybe three feet! I had to keep my lower jaw from going slack on me as I admired their prominent forms. Skin mottled with emerald blotches and thin stripes in a shade of Malachite. Long black dreadlocks that hung to their lower backs, adorned with bone clips etched with tribal markings and Celtic knots of silver.
For a moment I wondered what they meant to him.
The slightly taller one opened her more delicate mandibles to speak in a language so alien to me, "Do my eyes deceive me? You've truly found her!?"
" She's as real as any of us, mother." Ray'jin warbled.
The smaller one tipped her head to acknowledge me. "Such a noble discovery, Brother." I had to remind myself not to let my jaw hang. She could speak English too!
Ray'jin let me in the loop, "This is Amarra, My younger sister…" He introduced and directed my attention to the taller female, "…and this is T'sha're'setg, my bearer."
The gears in my head had grinded to a near complete halt. As if something was not quite computing at all. All my gray matter could formulate in its current gridlock were three measly words…
She's your mother?!
Snapping out of my stupor as briefly as I fell into it, I bowed my head respectively. Then something else occurred to me then…
At the rate my situation is going in, I had never thought about having a monster –I mean – mother-in-law!
For my sake, I took a memo never to say that former thought out loud… ever.
"You have her well trained, brother."
Ray'jin grunted, "Ease off Amarra. She's quite capable of watching her own back."
I turned just in time to catch her in the act, testing my nerve by attempting to poke me in the back of the neck with her index talon.
"So I see." She hissed gently. "How did she know what my intentions where?"
I felt a slight smirk tug my lip. Dr Philips had once called it my 'Mona Lisa smile'. The type of smile that just hints that you know something someone else doesn't know.
Ray'jin rattled softly as he indicated we get our group moving. Nightfall tends to get dicey in these jungles. "You may ask her yourself."
I nearly gasped, "I can't give away all my secrets."
Amarra's head pulled back and she turned her gaze to her brother as she rattled. "You've caught yourself a mischievous one." she teased.
I felt my cheeks burn once again as I kept my eyes fixed on the smoldering orange skies. "Gawds." I thought to myself, "She has a sense of humour too."
I heard Ray'jin rattle behind me, the sound breaking through my reverie. A question had bobbed up in my thoughts about where I was.
"Say… Ray'jin…I was wondering… how far is this world from mine?" I asked, really curious now. Ray'jin tittered and lifted up his wrist cuff computer and tapped in a few instructions. I definite red hallow graphic image appeared, suspended over the computer. Images of space and data I couldn't fathom out in his written out language. He indicated a spot in the galaxy whirling in the image as my home world. The image zoomed in to reveal very familiar eight planets. The image zoomed out to a star chart and unbelievably, just a few stars in one direction, the image zoomed in on a binary star system – their home.
Ray'jin rattled, "I believe Oomans have named and famed our star system already. You call it 'Gamma-Cephei'. You would understand it to be forty-five ooman light-years away.
My head pulled back in disbelief. "No-way." I started, "You're THAT close? You're practically right under our noses!"
"The best place to hide. So I heard." Ray'jin chattered at my amazement. " No really, we feel confident that ooman technology isn't as far advanced to be of any concern for us. Our world orbits the largest orange star of our system and our year here is just a little over two of your years."
"Wow!' I mused out loud as I gazed up at the sky once again. Sure enough, Ray'jin's voice was but a whisper in the breeze, "Do you wish to fly, Shur'ie?"
The tempted expression on my face spoke a thousand words to give this alien sky a go.
"Then what's stopping you?" Ray'jin teased, knowing I'd go for the bait.
A cliff was in easy sprinting distance. Amarra and their mother grew quite anxious, thinking I must be mad to throw myself off it. But wings held me high as I spiraled up the thermal updrafts, living a roller coaster ride without the cart and track. Higher and higher till there was nothing left but the clouds and the twin suns touching the horizon.
The warm light of those strange suns allowed my mind to think clearly. Who knows how long my legacy will last or when I might return to my home world for a hunt. But I was sure about one thing. There where bad people out there still. I had no doubts about flying into any of them. The hunt will be well assured as long as they are around to wreck havoc, but one man stood out from among them.
Ethan Weyland.
What ever happened to him? Did he perish in the explosion, or did he find a why out? I didn't know, and my thoughts soon shifted back in time, to a moment on the ship just before we had entered the Yautjain solar system…
-xXx-
Sarket leaned over so only Ray'jin could hear as they watched that black set of wings in the sky. "I take it she accepted your proposal?" Sarket clicked.
Ray'jin kept his eyes fixed skyward. His mind too, turned back to that moment Storm was in now…
: Flashback :
" Are you nervous?" Ray'jin asked.
" I feel like I'm about to choke on my own heartbeat!" Storm admitted.
"Here, let me get that for you." Ray'jin offered, as he took hold of the straps from Storm's fingers and secured them under her wings.
Storm stood in Ray'jin's room that morning, no longer intimidated by a huge killing machine behind her back.
"I need to ask you something."
Storm wondered for a moment as she cocked her brow, "What's wrong?"
Ray'jin tittered. "Nothing is wrong."
"Then…?"
Storm found herself being wheeled around on the pivot of her heel as huge clawed hands gripped her shoulders, and wound up facing the hunter that went through hell and back for the one thing he cared for the most.
Ray'jin's aura was intense and focused. He was going to jump no matter how high he was.
"Storm, I know that what I will ask… I pray… won't scare you. To find the right words in your language is hard. The ones I know… just don't sound right. They don't fit. Shur'ie…" He purred this time, " I… Adore you."
"…"
: End Flashback :
Ray'jin's visor never left the sky, "Yes…she did."
-xXx-
The silence of space is overwhelming. Such darkness consumes everything. Yet stars still find the power to make themselves known. A lone probe still turns and flickers in the confines of a mock asteroid entering another star system…
…
"Are all systems online and functional?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. Then what do you have for me?"
"Sir, one of our lone wolf probes launched years ago has new information from the Gamma-Cephei star system. Target is acquired."
"This is excellent news! Those hunting freaks cost this company millions with that stunt they made. I tell you…" Ethan pulled up and crossed his arms over his chest as he scrutinized the data coming in, "… they will regret messing with me!"
…
…
…
-
~ THE END ~
-
"We were strangers starting out on a journey
never dreaming what we have to go through
now here we are, I'm suddenly standing
at the beginning with you.
No-one told me
I was going to find you
Unexpected,
what you did to my heart
When I lost hope
You where there to remind me
this is the start of…
And life is a road
I wanna keep going
Life is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is the world
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the strong is true
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you.
Knew there was somebody somewhere
That he'd open the door
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's going to tear us apart
And life is a road
I wanna keep going
Life is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life is the world
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the strong is true
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning
… with you."
…
…
…
RAVEN: - wails-
STORM: So… I hope you guys loved it. Hey, I even gave ya what you wanted! Especially you MN. Yes I have my eye on you! Bet you're grinning from ear to ear! Thank you SO, SO much for taking this trip with me. I'm surprised it even got this far! To ALL my faithful reviewers: You guys are the best! ^_^
SR333 checking out
~ §torm