Predator: Huntress - Alpha

Chapter 7

Walking back and forth across the large common area, Justice let out a ragged groan as Larsa's cries intensified. Casting a worried glance over her shoulder towards the bridge, she looked to see Jarak calmly sitting in his seat, occasionally adjusting the ship as they approached the oncoming planet. He didn't seem bothered by the noise, but Justice was sure it was an act. For nearly an hour, the sound of Larsa's hungry cries echoed off the ship's walls. Even she was starting to become undone by the constant crying.

Hugging the baby closer, Justice put a bit more bounce in her pacing as she rubbed her cheek against hers. It was hot, and her screams rang in Justice's ear, but she endured it.

"I know, I know," she soothed, her heartbreaking as she walked from one end of the room and turned on her heel. "Once I get something to eat, then you will be able to eat too."

Her milk was coming out only in tiny amounts. The last time Justice ate was three days ago back on LV549. She had eaten her last energy bar that morning as she hid in the desert, preparing herself to run to the dorm building.

Waking up from her first night of sleep on the ship, she had asked the hunter if he had any food onboard and received a quiet no in response. Justice wasn't surprised by the answer, oddly enough, the ship was immaculately clean. It made her wonder if the ship was new or if the hunter was just OCD or something. Besides the weapons on the wall and his precious sack containing what she was sure was a xenomorph head, there was nothing else in the ship.

After a few more laps of bouncing steps, Larsa settled her head sleepily against Justice's chest as her cries dropped into a constant mewling noise that tore at Justice's soul worse.

"Jarak?" she called quietly, knowing the hunter's keen hearing would pick up her voice.

Turning silently in his chair, he stared at her in answer. His orangish-red eyes that reminded her of solar flares were calm and patient. He really wasn't all that bothered by Larsa's crying, she realized. And for some reason, that made her think of last night, which was probably some of the best sleep she had ever had. Half naked, she had slept a good portion of the night in the yautja's arms. He had moved only once, early that morning, carefully shifting her so that she lay against the bed, allowing him to finally get up. And if she was really being honest with herself, she hated to see him go. For years she had slept with all of her senses open, with one hand on her gun and ready to react within a second, but last night for the first time, she entered a depth of sleep she had only ever read about, and it was glorious--and she hated herself for it.

Unaccustomed to asking for help, Justice forced the words out, wincing at how awkward she sounded. "Is their fish on your planet?"

Jarak just blinked.

"I only eat fish, vegetables, and fruit," she explained, knowing that Yautja were primarily red meat eaters--raw meat at that. "I need to eat in order to produce milk so that she can eat. Does your planet have an edible fish I can eat?"

Thinking, Jarak nodded before turning around. His black claws clacked at the console, pulling up a large holographic viewer, overlaying the window. Stepping closer, Justice looked at the images and smiled. Sorted into two groups were seemingly all the known fish on his planet.

"Ok," she breathed in relief. "That's good."

Exiting the screen, Jarak looked up to the encroaching planet, and she followed his gaze. It was beautiful. Covered in dark greens and deep blues and shrouded in a thin filmy white gaseous layers, the jungle planet floated proudly in the sea of glittering black space. Even their planets were foreboding, she thought with a smirk. How thick was their jungle if even from this distance, the planet shined like a dark emerald? How deep were their unexplored oceans? The scientist within her leaped at the excitement the new planet offered, but the bigger part of her, the soldier, stared at the planet with a cool appraisal.