Xai'an ran his hands over the large marks in the rich soil, chittering softly as he examined them. The Queen had come this way and from the look of things, she had a fairly small number of drones with her. As long as they reached her before she matured and nested, they'd be able to contain her.

"You reek of Ooman." Baaul snarled from behind him. He had heard them approaching him, but he hadn't bothered to acknowledge them.

"What of it?" Xai'an responded cooly as he stood with his back to the trio. He felt the smaller male's anger but he didn't bother commenting on it. He had made it known he planned to take a human mate and that was that.

"A warrior of your rank shouldn't lower himself-" Baaul's words were choked out of him when Xai'an whirled around to slam his hand around his throat, lifting him off the ground with a challenging snarl.

"I, alone, have hunted a Queen successfully not once but three times! So please tell me again how I 'lower' myself, Baaul! Who I decide to take on as a mate is not your place! Not even Anak can deny me my choice!" He was undeterred as the smaller Yautja scratched at his arms.

Daruum chittered in annoyance behind him. "We don't have time for this! The more you argue, the further away she gets!"

Warark kept sinfully quiet about the subject which told Xai'an that he actually hadn't come forward about who his mate was. It was probably why he was still so respected. How he managed to hide his female’s scent was beyond him. Why he would even want to was even further. Xai'an was thrilled his female’s arousal clung to his skin like an invisible force field. He would not hide her like some dirty secret either. No. Everyone would know of her, and risk his wrath if they disrespected her.

Xai'an cocked his head to the side as he watched his brother struggle in his grasp just before he dropped him like a doll. "Insult me again, Baaul and I'll rip your spine from your back and mount your skull on my wall."

All of them, very smartly, kept their words to themselves. They filed in line as they pushed forward. The trail of the new Queen led them almost fifty miles northwest of his mate's crumbling city. He hoped that she was safe with her ooman friends. He had felt the tremors in the ground even this far.

Ooman air ships had passed by them, he assumed to give aid to the city, but that had been some time ago. It was eerily quiet, a sign that Kiande Amedha were likely close by. Earth's animals were very intuitive when it came to danger.

"She seems to be heading toward the mountains." Warark said, his dreads brushing over his shoulders.

They perched in the thickening trees while they stopped to get their bearings. Xai'an knew from his mask that they were in what the ooman's called a national forest preserve, though it was hardly a forest in his eyes. It just wasn't big enough.

A sound caught their attention.

Xai'an's thermals showed a fast moving vehicle about 100 yards to their right. Three of them. He could see as they moved that they had about half a dozen ooman's in the back. His mask zoomed in to make out various weapons and it made him growl. What were oomans doing this far away from their own kind? Were they also tracking the Queen?

"They seem to be headed toward the Queen." Daruum growled, echoing Xai'an's own thoughts.

"If they reach her, they will only be offering her more suitable hosts. Stupid oomans." This from Baaul. He had been quiet since Xai'an put him in his place. Just as well. The Yautja spoke too much for his liking anyway.

"Should we deal with them first?" Warark tapped his claws over the rough bark of the tree.

His question was valid. Ooman's no matter what were going to be a problem and they would have to be dealt with. Though right now the important thing would be to secure the Queen before she could reproduce.

"It looks like she's looking for a secure nesting place." Baaul's hand motioned toward an area not too far ahead. The ground was dug up in a hole. She was forming her own egg sac and Xai’an knew that until she found her nesting place she would occasionally burrow into a cool place to rest.

Xai’an clicked his mandibles in annoyance. They needed to quicken their pace. It would be annoying to have to deal with both ooman's and the Kiande Amedha. They needed to get there first. Plain and simple. Then they could deal with the ooman's.

"No. Secure the Queen. Let's move. We can not let the ooman's get there first. We will deal with them afterwards." Xai'an stood to his full height and launched from his perch. He didn't pause to see if they followed because even if he outran them, they'd be able to scan his thermal prints to follow.

He now knew that a few select ooman's knew of their existence. After overhearing his mates ooman friend speak of it, he made sure to reasearch it. He had found that there had been survivors from previous Yautja huntings and encounters. He knew that one of his half brothers fell prey to a worthy ooman several ooman years ago. 1987 was the year, he believed, though at the time, he had assumed all evidence was lost when he self-destructed. Apparently that hadn't been the case.

Then only about ten years afterward another Yautja fell prey to another worthy ooman in a major ooman city. One, the clan leader the Yautja belonged to, rewarded him with a trophy. Oh, and how could he forget that blasted Yautja/Kiande Amedha hybrid abomination that could impregnate any host without the need for a queen. He nearly shuddered at the thought.

Ooman's carefully studied these events amd used them to hieghten their own limitations. It's what helped them develop more powerful weapons and ships in a short amount of time. Any Yautja tech left behind, even unusable, was heavily guarded in remote structures. They indeed were a smart species. The more he learned of the advancements ooman's made, the less surprised he was at their resourcefulness. They no doubt would take any opportunity they could to greedily grow. Though the Kiande Amedha was not a species they could control and study. History had showed that proof time and time again.

With his speed, he was easily able to advance beyond the ooman vehicles. His mask showed the tracks of the Queen were growing more fresh which meant he was catching up. It also meant he needed to be watchful for the drones. Though he killed them easily enough, they were still worthy of caution. He didn't get to his rank by being foolish.

"Baaul, we are coming up to the Queen. Flank left to hunt off any remaining drones. Daruum, flank right. Warark, follow me. If we do this right, we can have her secured before the ooman's get here." Xai'an landed on the ground, just outside rock formation. The tracks led up to a small opening. Much too small for a mature Queen to get through. A good sign.

Warark came up behind him. "Let's get this Kiande Amedha. My female is close to giving birth."

He said it softly as if he did not want the others to hear. Considering how he kept his mate a secret, it probably was true. Xai'an opened his wrist sheath so he could program a non-lethal dose of tranquilizer.

"I've got half a dozen Kiande Amedha over here. As soon as I finish them I'll meet you there." Daruum's voice came to him. Six? Well that will be a fun challenge for him.

No word from Baaul. Not surprising.

Xai'an crouched so he could crawl into the tight space. Inside was a significant drop in temperature and he could smell moisture. There was probably an underground spring of some sort in here. Kiande Amedha preferred that kind of climate anyway.

The tracks led deep into the ground, every now and then they'd spot claw marks where she attempted to dig and rest. By now they could hear her cries of pain. Growing at a rapid rate was going to be painful even for the serpents.

There were other hisses accompanying her, indicating they had a few drones to deal with themselves after they tranquilized the Queen. A quick glance back at Warark confirmed a curt nod. He was on the same page.

A few more steps in and they could see the drones had already started to regurgitate along the walls, turning it into a more hospitable environment for their nesting Queen. The secretions from their mouths could gel up to hold their prey and their hosts. It was such a strong substance that even young Yautja struggled with it once ensnared.

There was movement ahead and they froze. There was one of the serpents huddled on the roof of the passage. It was remaining dormant until his Queen was mature enough to start needing hosts for her eggs.

They could kill it now, but it would alert the Queen before he'd have the chance to tranq her. He couldn’t say that he didn't disagree with Warark about wanting to get this done quick. He wanted his female back at his side.

So they were quiet as they walked under it. Their cloaking would only do so much to help hide them from them. About as much as the ooman's primitive war paint that they use to hide from each other.

Then there she was. Though she was easily twice the size of a drone, she was still merely an infant. Her crown hadn't even fully developed yet. She was lying half submerged in a pool of water, relieving herself from the heavy weight of the growing egg sack she had forming. She would be ready to reproduce shortly.

There were at least a dozen other drones surrounding her, hissing softly at each other. Xai'an was going to have to work quickly if he was going to get her sedated before alerting the rest that they were there.

Warark slowly released his wrist blade as to not draw attention to them just yet, but he was preparing himself.

Xai'an held out his wrist before activating the tranq dart so it would save time. The sound of it emerging from the gauntlet hissed loud enough to gain a chorus of snarls. It was too late though. The dart hit its mark, making the Queen screech loud enough to echo.

Warark was in motion then, slashing the first Kiande Amedha in half with his blade, being careful not to step into the splatter path of it's blood.

Xai'an reached for the whip at his hip, one of his favorite weapons, and snapped the head off of two serpents in one go. He roared in triumph when he saw the Queen sway and limp forward, the drugs taking effect immediately.

A serpent hissed as it launched into the air, it's retractable mouth extending with the intention to rip out his brains, but Xai'an sidestepped it and caught its tail with one hand. Using all his strength he twirled it around, knocking its massive head into the wall and kept going. He tossed it into a cluster of three, knocking them all down with angry snarls. Reaching for his spear he activated it and tossed it straight through them all. Five down.

Warark held up his wrist and shot out the constricting netting at one of them just as he tossed a blade at another. That made three for him.

Xai'an cracked his whip behind him, slicing the serpent coming up and flicked his wrist to sever the tail off another, leaving it screaming in agony. Warark tossed a blade, sinking it into its skull, effectively silencing it.

Another serpent managed to wrap its tail around Xai'an's ankle and jerked him off his feet. He roared at the rookie mistake but didn't allow himself to lie there while it gutted him. He rolled just as its tail slammed into the rock where he had been. Xai'an stood in an instant, slamming his fist into its inky black dome hard enough to crush it into the rockbed. He stepped on its back with one foot and roared as he ripped the things head from its shoulders with a satisfying suctioned plop.

Careful not to step into the acid blood, Xai'an turned to the last serpent. It was hissing as it crouched next to its sleeping Queen. He rushed it.

The Kiande Amedha jumped, trying to avoid him, but Xai'an had expected that. His hand found the spear that impaled the other three serpents, yanking it free with no effort. He thrust it right at the dome and pinned its twitching body to the wall.

"Looks like we weren't needed." Daruum said sourly from behind them. He had always been one for glory and no doubt had been counting the numbers he accumulated in hopes of boasting. Xai'an merely counted to ensure he got all the threats.

Xai'an didn't bother answering him. He ran a scan on the Queen to make sure her vitals were healthy before going to collect his spear. This, along with his whip and shuriken, was made out of the most precious metal in the universe and was immune to the serpent's blood.

"Call your ship, Warark. We need to get her loaded and secure before we deal with the ooman's." He motioned to Daruum and Baaul who were already getting to work on pouring the dissolving solution onto the dead serpents. "We will clean up while you send her back to Anak. They will meet you later."

"Where will you be going?" Daruum cocked his head curiously.

"To get my mate."