The Hunted (Nytemare / Sylvani)

[NyteMare]

Calla was the youngest leader of an exploration group since, well, since Jorhan had lead his group to colonize planet Zed 25. That had been many cycles ago. And the fact that Calla was female, that also was a first. Not that humans were sexist, well, some were. But there was always the belief, even now, in this time, in this place, after all that humans had been through, after all that humans had accomplished in space travel and colonization, that men, males, were the stronger sex. Perhaps physically, yes. Perhaps. But Calla was cunning, intelligent, quick, and pretty damned strong for her size.

She earned this command.

Her crew consisted of... Astoria ... George ... Her second in Command Kevick ... Paul... and lastly the Medical Officer Doc Watson...

They had landed on Planet designated V72 a mere 24 hours ago. The first 12 hours were spent in the ship, taking readings, observing, mapping the planet, and preparing to depart the ship. The second 12 hours were spent sleeping. They were an experienced crew, they knew it could be some time before they could sleep this soundly again, so now was the time to take advantage of it. Of couse, Astoria and Kevick were sleeping together, so they did not get quite as much sleep as the others. Some commands and crews forbid members from becoming involved, but Calla, she was ok with it. Their love affair had yet to compromise any of the missions they had been assigned. As long as they did their jobs and did it to the best of their ability, and as long as Calla and the others could count on them, she had no issue with it.

She envied them a bit. She had never been in love.

V72 was a highly forested planet with ample water reserves and a myriad of lifeforms. None had shown, as of yet, to be supremely intelligent. Not to the degree of humans and other sentient lifeforms. But there was a wide range of animals and the like that lived and apparently thrived on V72. There was hopes that this planet could be and would be colonized for humans.

It was their job to detemine if that was possible. That involved testing vegitation and the various life forms that roamed both land and the water on this planet. They also needed to detemine if the water was viable and where did it come from. Was there only fresh water? Was there salt water? Was there water that contained something else?

The plan, at the moment, was to live and work on Planet V72 for the next 6 to 8 months, possibly longer if the planet was deemed inhabitable. If so, other teams would be sent for more extensive testing, freeing her team to move on to the next Planet.

Today was day 1... and Calla and her team had set out on their first expedition...

 

[Sylvani]

This planet had always been a favorite of his. The beasts were ferocious and could smell him from miles away, and despite the lack of intelligent, technological life, the hunts here were among some of the most challenging. The hunter had collected three intact Sollux skulls and spinal columns, all of which had been killed in hand to hand combat, a feat for which he was understandably proud. The three sets of bones sat on prominent display in his domicile, and were his prized possessions. This day, he would claim a fourth. At least, that was the plan.

But the microphones in his face mask had picked up some new sounds, ones that he had never heard on this particular planet before. Voices. Intelligent voices, communicating with one another. His teeth grinded against one another, assessing the situation. He had spent four days tracking down this beast, but if these new interlopers carried weapons, they would make for a worthy hunt as well. So he activated his cloak, jumping from tree to tree towards the sounds of the new potential prey.

When he found them, he sat back, patiently studying them. Their heat signatures looked remarkably familiar, and their speech sounded...ah. They called themselves humans, from the third planet in the Sol system. They had been expanding as of late, finding new planets to inhabit or terraform. While they were weak compared to his race, they sometimes carried some dangerous weapons, and the thought made his heart quicken in it's pace. He had to find out if they were armed. There was no sport or honor in killing the helpless.

 

[NyteMare]

They were several hours into their first expedition.

The fact that there appeared to not be any highly sentient life on this planet had allowed them to let their guard down a bit. While both Paul and Kevick had their weapons at the ready, the others did not. Their weapons consisted of Laser Rifles, Energy Pistols, 2 Crossbows (both Calla and Astoria favored those), several Daggers, and a Flamethrower. It was rare that they had to even use their weapons. But there had been an occasion or 2. Such as the large reptilian beasts on Xeno7 that they had encountered. Large, carnivores, and extremely dangerous. They had lost Boris there, when the beasts had attacked and surprised them. They lived underground, so initial scans of the surface had not revealed them. Hard lesson learned. That planet was deemed hostile. They were not in the habit of wiping out an entire species even for their own gain.

George and Kevik favored the Laser rifles, while Paul favored the Energy Pistol. At this point, as they made their way deeper into the vegetation, Kevik had the rifle in hand. He had always been the more cautious and suspicious one. He'd watched when Boris was killed, it happened right in front of him. If he had been slower in his own reaction, he'd be dead too and he knew that.

Calla paused, she had moved a bit away from the others, and thought she heard something. She'd seen several smaller lifeforms, the largest being the size perhaps of a fox back home on Earth. But this, sounded larger than that. She closed her eyes and canted her head slightly, listening intently. Had she heard something above, in the trees? There had been several flying lifeforms, but all were very small so far. They'd only been walking and exploring for 4 hours or so. She estimated they were probably a couple of miles from the ship by now. They planned on moving out about 25 to 50 miles and working in a circle and then returning to ship and moving the ship to another location and repeating the process. Yes it meant sleeping outside for several nights, but they had the provisions for that. This was the norm for them. It was a slow process, but to confirm a planet habitable, one had to be thorough.

She stopped again, thinking she heard something again.. something shifting.... and she got the distinct feeling of being... watched...

 

[Sylvani]

The hunter paused, watching over the young female, who seemed to be more alert than the others. He tilted his head, quieting his breathing as he studied her. The cloak wasn't perfect, and could be seen by creatures who saw above infrared and below ultraviolet, Iike humans, if they were particularly observant. In the thick brush of a jungle, it did wonders to keep him hidden, however, and even if he was initially noticed, it was easy enough to slip into the chaotic visual noise of the trees.

She seemed young and fit, perhaps the youngest of the group. Normally, he would have taken this opportunity to pick her off, as she had wandered away from the group and made herself more vulnerable. But as he narrowed his eyes, studying over her body, he held himself back. This one would be saved for last.

Slowly, he climbed a little ways down the trunk of the tree, shifting his attention to Paul, the one with the sidearm. Their technology had advanced significantly in the centuries his people had been hunting them, but it didn't matter much. He held out his gauntlet, pointing it squarely at Paul's neck, and fired a small but deadly dual-pronged dart that would puncture his jugulars and quickly end his life.

 

[NyteMare]

Paul never even had the chance to let out a scream. All he could do was emit a guttural grunt and he fell to the ground, his blood spurting out in long red streams. He had been ahead of the others, so no one saw him fall. No one heard a scream, since he never had the chance to. It took a moment before his vision faded to blackness and in the moment, he saw something approaching.

It was hidden at first, invisible, but then shimmered into view. An Alien, walking upright, with purpose, toward him. His monitor was beating, indicating that this, whatever this was, was sentient, intelligent. He had to warn... and then he was gone.

Calla had shaken off that "being watched" feeling and continued with her planned route. They all had a planned route to take, allowing them to investigate as far and wide as they could before regrouping. Calla found nothing of note. She catalogued what she did see, vegetation, living species, she even found what looked like a small spring of water fed from underground. After scanning it, she found it was clean, clear water and she dared to take a sip. Damn it tasted good. She would have to bring the others here. This would be a perfect spot for a base camp for a night or two or more.

She marked the location on her map and headed back to the rendezvous point, where she met up with Astoria, George, Kevick, and Doc Watson who had collected several plant spores and leaves for medicinal testing.

Where was Paul?

"Paul, report, Paul"??

But he did not answer the transmission, not from Calla, or any of the others. Paul was never one to be late, but they waited, just in case he had found something he was investigating. But when he did not answer again, an hour later, they went looking for him.

They found, what was left of him.

"What the FUCK"? Kevick was immediately on guard. But it was Doc Watson who, after examining the body, stood up and stepped back, his face devoid of all color.

"I've seen this before" he quietly said. "I was working with another group, mercenaries, sent to eradicate an Alien on planet Nebula4. Nebula4 was being colonized and an Alien had landed and was, well, hunting the people there" he paused, swallowing hard, shaking his head.

"But Nebula4 was never inhabited beyond...." Calla stopped. Most of the colonists, the men, some of the women, had been killed. The one's left had been evacuated. There had been talk of an Alien, that had slaughtered the mercenaries that had been sent to kill it. "You, were with that team?"

Calla had no idea. All the records of that mission and planet, for the most part, were sealed or destroyed.

"Does this look like that... Alien?" she asked quietly.

"Yes" was the answer....

The ship was hours away at this point. But Calla decided, they needed to make their way back, the ship was the safest place where they could discuss their options. But it was getting dark, and traveling in the dark was not something any of them wanted to do. Calla showed them the spring she had found on the map. They would head there, try to sleep, with a guard posted of course, and head back to the ship in the morning...

Kevick and Astoria took the first watch....

 

[Sylvani]

The hunter tracked the group, now with Paul's skinned and cleaned skull attached to his hip, watching as they set up camp for the night. There were two that remained awake, and he studied their weapons, scanning them with his mask. The male, curiously, seemed to have the more technologically advanced weapon of the two, although the crossbow the female carried didn't look like much to scoff at either, with presumably multiple opportunities to fire before needing to reload. It quickened his heart, the danger of the hunt exciting him. Humans were not as strong or adept at killing as his kind, but they were dangerous and cunning in their own right, especially when backed against a wall. They made for good trophies, but there was another reason this hunter was excited for this encounter.

Unfortunately for Astoria, or perhaps fortunately, he had his sights on the younger female for his ultimate prize. She would merely become another skull to display on his shelf.

He grabbed hold of a small metal device on his belt, clicking the button in the center with his thumb, before tossing it at the male with the laser rifle. A thin metal net sprang forth midflight, widening like a terrifying mouth to engulf him and pin him to the ground. If it caught him, it would contract against his skin harshly, sawing into him with it's razorlike strands that were all but impossible to cut through in time before dicing him.

 

[NyteMare]

Kevick never even heard the weapon coming, it was that silent. In the darkness, it engulfed him, and the scream that he let loose echoed into the night. Astoria screamed as well as she ran to her Lover's side.

Calla, George, and Doc Watson, who had all been blissfully asleep, were on their feet in an instant and scrambling out of their makeshift cover, running to the horrifying sounds of the screaming that was coming from the struggling Kevick.

But he never had a chance. The more he struggled, the more that thing tore into him. Blood flowed, and his screaming, that agonized sound, weakened. Try as they might, they could not loosen the net. It was as if the more he twisted and jerked, the tighter it clung to him... the more the others pulled, grabbing, the razored edges cutting deeply into their palms as they did so, the deeper it sliced into Kevick.

"NOOOOO" Astoria was on her knees, wailing as her Lover slowly, agonizingly, died in front of her eyes. "NOOOO KEVICK" .. he could not even manage to speak, the pain that ripped through him, the shock, the rage, the anger, the fear, all too great for the warrior that had been Kevick.

Calla stood back, watching the grim sight. While the others still worked to try and free the now nearly dead Kevick, Calla scanned the area. Where was he? It? She wondered. Where was he hiding. It dawned on her that for the net to work, it had to be deployed from a someplace higher than where they were, from one of the trees. It had to be. It was the only way it could open and engulf Kevick as it had.

Calla turned, her eyes moving in the darkness, from one tree to another. She got the profound sense that she was indeed being watched. They all were.

"I know your watching us" she snarled, stepping closer to the stand of the tallest trees. "Why don't you show yourself. You fucking coward, attacking from the shadows" She was pissed, that was evident. Defiantly she approached the trees, still gazing from branches to branches. What branches were big enough to hold whatever he was? How was he staying so invisible?

"FUCK YOU... SHOW YOURSELF!!!!!"

"Calla".... George stood up. Kevick was dead, his body still twitching as the razored net continued to cut into him. Astoria was inconsolable, on her knees, sobbing wildly, unable to even think. Doc Watson was as in shock as the others, and he too was looking from tree to tree as if he would be able to spot the Alien Hunter.

But Calla was having none of it. She would not be anyone PREY!!!!!