Chapter 13: Koriv’n

 

I recounted our travels with Nikki in my lap. She wasn’t comfortable with all the new people, and I felt it in her body language. She was safe here though; she’d learn that soon.

They were not happy to learn of my lost translator and that they may be using it to listen in on our conversations.

“So they have our modified cell phones and your translator?” Lena asked, snuggled up next to Gerald.

“They won’t be able to charge them without a shuttle. We’ll warn the hunter groups in the area to move over to another frequency so they can’t listen on our calls.” Rajiv’k didn’t look too concerned. He was the one who’d converted the Earth-made devices to work on our networks and to charge in proximity to a hunter’s vessel. “They won’t be able to use the cell phones once the devices run out of battery.” He looked at me. “Your translator would work for a long time still, though.”

In my lap, Nikki stiffened and exchanged a look with Meghan.

“What is wrong?” I asked. “You can tell us. It is safe to talk.”

She exchanged more looks with her friend then cleared her throat. “They don’t have a full shuttle, but they have part of one. They wouldn’t let any of the women close to it, but I saw it."

"One of them said it was the computer and all the important parts, minus the shell,” Meghan added. “But I’m not sure if he was just talking out of his ass.”

Kaj’k turned to my Nikki. “Do you remember what it looked like?”

She shook her head. “I just saw a hunk of strange metal. I wouldn’t even have known what it was if they hadn’t been talking about it.”

“That changes things. I will warn the other hunters in a coded message.” Kaj’k looked back at me. “You might have forgotten about it, but your communicator is still translating all our words in English.”

I looked down at the device on my belt. I had forgotten about it.

“I have an in-ear translator on my shuttle for Nikki.” We didn’t have many left since we’d used so many for the volunteer fighters, but I’d kept silent about the one I kept in my shuttle for my future mate.

“Good. You can give that to her before heading out to the new nest you found. We should clear it out tonight while every scourge is inside. Bring another hunter with you for backup.”

Kaj’k was right. We needed to take care of the forming nest before the queen emerged from her chrysalis. Once out, she might decide the area was not rich enough with resources and move to a new location. The scourge were also easier to fight without a queen present. They fought harder to protect a fully-formed queen than one in progress.

“I’ll come,” Rayk’n offered.

Rayk’n was another hunter from my contingent. He’d spent most of the warm season with another hunter group. Their nest was created under a small village, and the scourge had used up all available food stores to mount this year’s swarms. After Tarv’k and I had helped them clear out their nest, Rayk’n and Mal’k joined our compound permanently. The other hunters from their team joined another nearby group.

The conversation moved over to ways to help the survivors at the human settlement to shore up for the winter. They planned an exchange system to share survival skills and man, or in our case, hunter power. They needed to learn how to effectively fight the scourge while keeping everyone alive and well-fed, and we needed to learn how to leverage our technology.

While hunters had a lot of technology at our disposal, the blueprints and the ability to create devices were from our makers, the original Xarc’n race. They’d given us what we needed to do our job, hunt down the scourge, but nothing more.

Some hunters like Rajiv’k had an insatiable curiosity and managed to recombine our technologies to make new devices and weapons. Still, on the whole, hunters didn’t know the first thing about the devices and weapons we used, beyond how to use them. If a device stopped working, we simply returned it to the space-bound motherships we used as hubs around each planet, and the retired hunters there recycled the materials and made a new one, using the same blueprints we’d been given centuries ago.

This was not an option for me. I belonged to no hub. If my devices failed, I had to rely on the goodwill of other hunters, and even that was more than I’d expected. I shouldn’t even be on this planet. One look at the female in my arms, and I knew I’d made the right choice.

I noticed Nikki had stopped eating. “Are you full?” I asked in a low whisper just for her.

She nodded, and I took her leftovers and downed them in one large mouthful. The food the humans ate didn’t have enough protein to maintain our muscle mass, but the hunters at the compound had developed a taste for it. We’d ordered nutrition bars with extra protein, the kind we used when healing from injuries, to use as supplemental nourishment.

I leaned over and placed both bowls on the low table before pulling her to lean onto my chest. I tried to suppress the rumbling, but it started up anyway. She put her hand on my chest as if she could hide the sound with her palm and looked around, abashed.

Meghan frowned at us, but everyone else either pretended not to notice or sent us approving looks. Across the room, Jorg’k sat with Connie in his arms and Tooth on his shoulder, his chest humming softly. Realizing I wasn’t the only one making the affectionate noise, Nikki relaxed, resting her head on my softly rumbling chest.

We all spent an hour or so in the common area after the evening meal every day. It was a chance for everyone to talk about the day and plan for the future. This was the first time I had a female in my arms, the first time I had a future I wanted to plan for.

Nikki listened keenly as everyone talked. The evening meal was an intense time to introduce her to the compound, especially since she’d been wary about meeting new people. However, it was also the best time to show her how our compound worked. We were a team.

When she joined with me, and she would, she’d be a part of this team. My body had yet to show the first sign of a mating bond, the inability to release her after touching, and I’d tried to trigger it by touching her every opportunity I had.

But I wasn’t worried. We’d had an action-packed trip since we’d met. There’d been no time to relax; we’d been either traveling or exhausted. Now that she was here, it was only a matter of time. The mating bond would come.

Once upon a time, I’d thought I wanted a mate, any mate. I’d been so disappointed none of the Earth females I’d met so far felt right. They were nice people, pretty and kind, but they weren’t right. I realized now that just any female wouldn’t do. I’d been waiting for Nikki the whole time.

Nikki was worth the wait. She was brave and strong. Despite being betrayed, she still had enough optimism to trust me, but not so much as to be foolish. She was wary of others but still gave them a chance, just as she was doing now. She preferred to run when it came to danger—and smartly so—but she fought back like a fierce lion when cornered. She was everything I didn’t know I was looking for.

Before long, couples started to excuse themselves to get their evening chores done, lining up to wash and return their bowls. I had a future nest to clean out. As people got up to go, Nikki looked to me for what was happening.

“We’ll install the translator for you and then head back to the nest in my shuttle. You can relax in it while we clear the place out.”

Evie approached us. “She doesn’t need to wait in the shuttle while you hunt. She can stay with us. We’ll have some girl talk, and she’ll get a feel of how we work here. We’re night and day from where she and Meghan came from.”

“I can help clean if you need,” Nikki offered, looking at the growing pile of dishes.

If Nikki was comfortable on her own, it was probably best for Rayk’n and I to clear out the nest. Nikki had been grossed out by it earlier. I didn’t want her to see it again if it upset her.

Cynthia, Cov’k’s mate, chimed in from the side. “Go, Koriv’n. We’ll take care of Nikki; we promise. We don’t bite—well, most of us anyway.”

“I’ll be fine.” Nikki looked calm, and I didn’t scent any stress. “Please go put those people out of their misery. Nobody deserves that, even if they’re assholes.”

It wasn’t just her I was worried about. I didn’t want to leave her side either, but I knew I had to leave her to fend for herself at the compound eventually. It would only be a few hours.

“I’ll be back soon. Rayk’n and I can clear that place out in minutes now that I am properly armed.” I gave her hand a squeeze. “We’ll do the translator later tonight.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.” She licked her lips and leaned in. For a moment, I thought she was going to kiss me, but she hesitated.

I didn’t. I pulled her up to her tip toes and covered her mouth with mine. The kiss was short and sweet and just enough to convince me to return to the compound as fast as I could. Those scourge were going to go up in flames in record time.

I followed Rayk’n up to the roof where my shuttle was parked, leaving my female with Evie and Cynthia.

“I’m glad one of us found a female,” Rayk’n said as he pulled up the photos I’d sent of the future nest. “I heard Meghan tell the fighters from the human settlement there were more females where they came from, but many were afraid of hunters.”

“There are. They may be frightened of hunters, but only because their information on us is incorrect.”

Rayk’n made a bitter sounding noise. “Nothing they said about us on Earth’s official media was correct. And still, look at this place. There are humans willing to work with us. And a group willing to take in two hunters who’d deserted our post. We got lucky.”

“Yes, we did,” I agreed. “But most hunters on Earth are glad we are here. They need our help. The planet we were supposed to go to was too far gone. There was nothing left to save.”

“It was. I’m glad we’re here.”

I thought of my Nikki. “Me too,” I agreed. “Let’s go kick some ‘bug asses!’”