AN- Alright, guys. I get the hint. Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry I've been gone so long. Life has been pretty real. I won't bore you with the details, but it's been rough, and it's made writing very difficult. Every time I would write this chapter, I would go back to edit and absolutely hate everything I'd written. I've started and restarted this so many times and I'm still not happy with it. It was supposed to be longer, but this was all I felt comfortable sharing.

In spite of all of that, I hope you guys like this. Enjoy.

The Huntress dodged a crate thrown at her by the creature and it disappeared from sight. Cursing under her breath, she crouched behind a large mountain of what appeared to be metal storage units and eased forward enough to glance around the corner. Nothing moved in the darkness. All she could hear was the sound of air moving through the ventilation system overhead and the occasional cough from the unconscious victims that the Abomination had dropped. She would have to deal with them later, though, and hope there was enough time to dispose of this creature before there were more to worry about.

Shifting her shoulders to ease some of the tension, she crept slowly further into the darkness, listening for any sound that would indicate her prey's location. These things were cunning and dangerous and would require her whole attention. She'd rather have several other Hunters with her for this, but she was an Arbitrator. If she could not handle something like this, she did not deserve the life that had been returned to her.

The Dark Warrior made no mistakes, though; she would use the life she had to honor Him and the gifts she had been given, even up to the end of her life, however long that may be.

Time seemed to crawl by as she made her way through the maze of equipment, storage containers, and crates, searching for any indication of where the Abomination had gone. It was as though the thing had simply vanished, but that was not possible. From further behind her, she heard one of the unconscious victims gasp and cough, thrashing a bit in what sounded like convulsions. Cursing again, she took off running back to where she had left them, hoping to get there before any more of these creatures could be birthed. This was about as messy a situation as she had ever found herself in and she was not happy about it. Too many loose ends were a recipe for disaster.

She had not gone far before the Abomination leaped out at her from the shadows, roaring, mandibles flared. It caught her on the side of the head and sent her flying into a stack of the storage containers. Her mask broke, leaving her right mandibles exposed and bleeding, but she didn't have time to assess her condition more than that. The creature's tail stabbed through her left thigh and it grabbed her by the throat with its remaining hand, picking her up and slamming her back into the crates. Roaring in pain, she tried to stab it through its chest with her naginata, but her hand was empty. The impact with the containers had forced her to drop her weapon from a numb hand and she had not realized it until it was too late. Disarmed once more, she scrambled for a weapon only to be slammed back into the containers again.

She could feel the metal bend inward around her back.

The Abomination roared in her face and she hit it point black with her plasma castor. It was a bad shot, her head angled by the creature's grip which kept her from aiming properly, but the right side of its head exploded and it shrieked, dropping her. She landed on her bad leg and gasped in pain, staggering back into the storage units as the thing writhed and screamed. Its tail lashed out and hit her on the left side of her face, ripping the remains of her mask off and sending her crashing to the ground. She lay there stunned for half a second while the Abomination kept thrashing around. Trying to look at it, she had to shake her head in an attempt to clear her vision; it appeared that there were two of them fighting each other. Her vision focused in time to watch a large male finish the creature off unceremoniously.

She forced herself to take a deep breath to keep from yelling at him for taking her kill. She was currently in no condition to complain.

The male walked off into the dark only to return a half-moment later with her mask. By then, she had managed to struggle to her feet, using her recovered naginata as a staff, and was able to get a good look at the male. Shorter than Luar'ke-de, but not by much, he seemed confident and wary all at once. His eyes never stayed in one place for long, and it was clear that all of his senses were trained on the darkness around them. There was no sound from the victims further back where she had come from, and she was hoping that this male, whom she recognized now as Kn'cit'l, had taken care of the matter before showing up to help her.

Taking her mask and putting it back on, she nodded her thanks, "The Elder and the others?"

He shook his head slightly, "Dead when I arrived. They had been hosts."

She swore colorfully under her breath. She really could not imagine a worse situation than this, "Did you see any of the-?"

"Two, and I was only able to kill one before the other vanished. The Clan Ship is being evacuated. This is no longer a Hunt worth pursuing and you are too injured to attempt it. We must go."

"Pauk!"

Growling in complete disgust, she limped along behind the Warrior, careful to keep an eye on the darkness, for what good it would do her. Those creatures could be anywhere and as much as she hated to admit it, Kn'cit'l was right. She was in no shape to even move quietly, let alone fight one of those beasts. If one of the Abominations jumped them, about all she'd be able to do is hit it with her plasma castor. She wished longingly for a team of Arbitrators, but it was just her and this pampered Warrior. She doubted he had been off the Clan Ship in any recent cycle and was likely one who had spent most of his time in a kehrite. Skilled enough to win mating rights, in an honored enough position as the Clan Matriarch's offspring to make many Clan females take him seriously, but with a limited trophy room.

In short, he was nothing like Luar'ke-de.

Comparing him to the other Arbitrator was perhaps unfair, but looking at the back of his head as they walked in the darkness, she had a hard time avoiding it. She had hunted many times with Luar'ke-de and had learned his style and how to trust his judgment in a situation. She would do what she had to, but she would rather it be with someone she knew she could rely on. Making their slow way through the dark, looking for any odd heat signatures through a broken mask, she resigned herself to her present situation and sent out her spirit animal to check around the area. With a chuff, the ethereal hound took off, passing through Kn'cit'l who didn't seem to notice at all.

The Huntress suppressed another sigh.

Eventually, they made their way back to where she had first seen the Abomination and she scowled at the corpses left laying on the ground. What a stupid, ridiculous waste. She would have enjoyed wringing the Elder's neck for this mess had he still been alive. As it was, she thought strongly of spitting on his corpse. Her left leg felt like it was on fire and every step made it worse. She would have to take care of it soon, but did not dare take the time yet. She did make an exception to use a clean segment of the Elder's robe to bind the wound and hopefully stem some of the bleeding. It would not pay to become weaker when she was already compromised.

Luar'ke-de walked through corridors that became increasingly crowded by Yautja leading teams of Eta and Asegians that carried belongings and valuables to one of the many vessels readying to abandon the Clan Ship. It was a massive undertaking, and no doubt there would be those unhappy about leaving anything behind, but belongings could be replaced, lives couldn't. He pushed past many, some that looked afraid while others worked with cold efficiency, making his way toward some of the storage holds where his last communication from Kn'cit'l had come from. It seemed that sensors had detected the presence of the Abomination, along with a handful of other Yautja, and he had gone to be of some assistance.

Luar'ke-de did not think that the Warrior had any clue what he was getting himself into and so tried to hurry.

There was no telling at the moment whether or not the Abomination had had a chance to reproduce, but there was to be no risking it. Everyone needed to get off of the Clan Ship, and that included Kn'cit'l, himself, and anyone else foolish enough to think going after something like this was a good idea. The sheer insanity of anyone trying to create the existence of such a being for any reason; they were referred to as "Abominations" for a very good reason! There were stories that would make one's blood turn to ice in their veins at the mere telling. To his knowledge, no single Hunter had ever taken one on by himself and survived. The only way to best one was in a well-organized Pack. Should that fail, nothing short of complete annihilation of the area it was in was acceptable. Should the Abomination have the chance to reproduce, the Clan Ship would have to be destroyed and every ship that left would have to be quarantined.

Just in case.

The closer he came to the storage holds, the less populated the corridors became until he was the only one. This area would be abandoned completely; no chances would be taken just to secure the supplies kept here. He slowed as he came to the open gate to one of the holds. Inside was complete darkness and there was no sound, save for the movement of air in the vents. The door being open worried him and he stopped a ways back, quietly observing for a few moments. He had no way of knowing what lay inside and he didn't like the uncertainty.

Waiting silently, he saw the barest flicker of movement from deep inside, of something low to the ground and brighter than it should have been in the darkness. The thing reappeared moments later, seeming to move through objects, pausing occasionally as if looking for something. When it came closer yet, he realized that he was looking at a hound, but not one that was alive. It came closer and seemed to notice him, pausing briefly before turning back toward where it had come from and taking a few steps. It stopped and looked over its shoulder at the Arbitrator before continuing, only to repeat the glance at him.

He knew of only one individual that could have sent that creature. Taking the hint, he followed after it, hesitating at the gate before entering into the darkness beyond.

AN- Short, I know. Please let me know your thoughts on this one. It'd be appreciated. This chapter has been incredibly frustrating and I would value your opinions if you're willing to share them with me.

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