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A New Alliance	By : Kehlan Category: M through R > Predator Views: 2899 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Predator movie series, nor do I own Star Trek, nor any of the characters from either of them. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Released from the transporter beam, the first thing Price noticed about his surroundings was the temperature. After the freezing cold shuttle, the heat was oppressive, the intensity of it hitting him like a brick wall. Within seconds of materialising in the jungle, he was drenched with sweat. Wiping his brow with the back of his sleeve, he removed the thermal blanket he had wrapped around him. Carefully he folded it and stuffed it into his backpack before looking around him, getting his bearings.

He was in a fairly large clearing, he discovered. Price had no way of knowing but it was the same one that only a few days ago, had been used by the away teams to park their shuttles during the big hunt. In this climate the plant life grew quickly and there was almost nothing to show that the clearing had ever been occupied.

Opening his flask, he took a drink realising as he did so that his first priority had to be to find water and then a place of shelter. Activating his tricorder, he scanned his surroundings. The device was not working properly – whether it was the fault of the minerals in the soil or it had been damaged in the explosion, Price didn’t know. Even so, he was able to ascertain that there was a river not far away. It would be a good idea, he decided after thinking for a minute, to find it and follow it upstream towards the mountains. Getting into the caves was vital if he wanted to evade the security troops who would doubtless be beaming down to look for him, but a supply of fresh water was equally vital.

Other than on the holodeck, Price had never been in a jungle and the simulations had left him woefully unprepared for the real thing. There was no path to follow, just dense, impenetrable foliage and it was with some difficulty that he forced his way through the undergrowth. It took him several hours to cover what was actually only a relatively short distance but eventually he succeeded in reaching the river. Cautious of whatever might be lurking in its depths, he knelt to drink and to rinse out his sweat soaked shirt.

From somewhere in the trees behind him, he heard a clicking sound, faint but still clearly audible over the background noises of the jungle. The sounds of the birds and insects had become familiar to him during his trek and this was something other, something he knew instinctively was inimical to him. Suddenly nervous he looked round but saw nothing.

What if they were wrong, he thought suddenly, and one of those xenomorph things had survived? He tried to swallow as a phantom lump formed in his throat. The thought of being taken by one and used as a living incubator only to die choking on his own blood when one of those things burst out of his chest, absolutely terrified him.

The feeling of being watched intensified. His uneasiness increasing he looked round again but nothing was out of place. All appeared as it should and yet… He’d read once that prey knew when it was being hunted. It was true, he realised. He could not say how he knew, but he knew. Something was observing him.
*****
The dart-like Yautja shuttle came in to land in a tiny clearing, settling itself on the ground in a cloud of dust and dead leaves kicked up by its powerful rear mounted thrusters. They had chosen the landing spot carefully, just a few klicks away from the point their scanners had indicated as the location of their prey. Disengaging the engines, the Elder rose to his feet and checked over his weapons one last time.   All was in order, just as it should be; Any free time Jau’esh’enye had was spent either training or cleaning and maintaining his weapons.

“You should be careful, my son.” Jau’esh’enye warned, picking up his bio-mask as he spoke. Fitting it to his face he connected the tubes and swiftly ran through the various vision modes. Like his weapons it was well maintained and in perfect working order. “Do not underestimate the Ooman. He is dangerous and treacherous enough to be a real threat. They call us Predator and so we are. We are great hunters yet we are not un-killable. More than one seasoned warrior has fallen at the hands of the Oomans they hunted.”

Kihr’yende nodded agreeably, not bothering to argue or to remind his father than he was no longer an infant in need of instruction. Nor was he stupid enough to admit that this was the real reason he wanted to accompany him, that he was driven by the need to protect him and keep him safe. Such was not the Yautja way and to admit it would be a grave insult to his father’s honour.

Until the beginning of the recently completed mission, Kihr’yende had never encountered Oomans. He had not quite been old enough to have hunted them back in the days before it had been banned and everything he had thought he knew about them had come from the stories told by the older warriors…. Stories that on one hand held them in contempt and on the other, praised them as one of the ultimate prey species. A newly blooded hunter he had busied himself hunting more impressive prey and by the time his interest had turned in that direction the ban had come into force and it was too late.

This mission had taught him respect for the Oomans and their abilities. The marines had fought honourably and well and they had earned that respect.. Kihr’yende knew that his father was both capable and vastly experienced. The Prey they hunted now however was a Bad-Blood of the worst sort and although he could not admit it, Kihr’yende was taking no risks with his father’s safety. Wisely Kihr’yende said nothing of this. “I understand, my father.”

The shuttle doors opened and side by side, both Predators stepped out into the sunlight. In this region it was just a little past mid-day and the heat was at its most intense. The Elder raised his face to the sky, letting out a purr of appreciation as he savoured the feel of it on his skin, warming his bones and muscles.

Kihr’yende touched a control on his computerised gauntlet panel, cloaking the shuttle and activating its automated defensive systems. Anything that managed to find the craft and tried to get inside would get a nasty shock. It was a sensible precaution; he’d heard more than one story of warriors returning to the ship after a hunt only to find a xenomorph or two waiting inside.

“Do you remember what I taught you, Kihr’yende?” the old one asked, “Mind clear...”

The words were the beginnings of a mantra taught to the very youngest students as they began their training for the hunt. Kihr’yende widened his mandibles in a grin as he remembered. He’d been very young, barely reaching his father’s waist and very much in awe of the big, powerful Elite Hunter who had just been introduced to him as his sire. Yautja males had very little or no involvement in the raising of their offspring until it was time for their training to begin and until then, Kihr’yende had seen his father only on rare occasions. He’d heard the stories though. Everyone knew the story of Jau’esh’enye’s Chiva and that had only been the beginning of his hunting career. The youngster knew he been sired by one of the greatest Hunters in clan history and biting back his nervousness, he had resolved to live up to his father’s reputation and make the Elite warrior proud of him.

“I remember well,” the younger Hunter said, “Mind clear, senses alert, feet quiet… Your teachings served me well over the years.”

“You have finally learned some tact,” Jau’esh’enye observed, his mandibles twitching in a smile that was hidden behind his mask. “I know what you are thinking… that you are an Elite warrior and a trainer of Young Bloods, no longer an infant in need of my teaching.”

Kihr’yende bared his teeth in fierce anticipation of the hunt to come. “Our prey is heading for the river,” he told his father, blatantly changing the subject. “If he is very lucky, the river monsters may even get him before we do.”

The Elder grunted. “That would be unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate for the river monster,” Kihr’yende quipped, “He’d probably give it food poisoning.”

“They are vegetarian,” the Elder reminded his son dryly, stifling a snort of laughter. Turning, he strode forward towards the edge of the clearing and leapt for the nearest tree. A moment later he was high in the canopy, his son not far behind him.
*****
With his immediate thirst quenched, Price surveyed his surroundings. He had found what appeared to be a naturally formed crossing point. Marks were visible on the ground where large animals had entered the water to drink or to cross to the other side. The river was not particularly wide, and at his location, the water was calm. Upstream was a different story. The river was narrower and faster flowing, tumbling over large, jagged rocks and its sides rose up, forming a steep cliff-like embankment that reared high above the water level.

He was just being paranoid, he told himself; that strange clicking had been nothing more than a product of his own imagination. As he bent to fill his water bottle, a ripple disturbed the surface of the water and a huge creature surfaced. He had no idea what it was but it reminded him of a very large crocodile with huge teeth and vicious spines along the length of its back. Hurriedly he pulled back having no desire to get anywhere near it. Even so, he relaxed a little. However nasty it might be, it was just an animal and could be dealt with.

He should start moving upstream, he decided. He could not stay here. Both the creature in the water and the prints on the shore warning him that this place was not safe for any more than a temporary rest stop. Besides, he was exposed to the elements and there was nothing to hide him from the Starfleet Security team.   He needed to get to the mountains where there would be shelter and the water would be too fast moving and shallow for these huge creatures.

Just as his heart rate was beginning to return to normal, he heard that clicking sound again, coming from somewhere behind him. Again he turned, once again staring around him but there was nothing. He did not see the trio of red dots on the ground in front of his feet.

The shot seemed to come out of nowhere, a blue bolt of pure energy exploding right in front of him. Letting out a panicked cry, he stepped back, before turning to run along the river bank, scrambling over the rocky ground in an effort to get as far away from danger as he could. He had gone only a few feet when a second bolt struck the ground in front of him. Skidding to a halt, he turned at bay.
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A New Alliance