Grace of An Elder

Chapter 5

Zaiyu stood at the ships control panel while his companions rested in the stasis pods. They had been away from the mother planet for several weeks, but would be returning within the hour. They had gathered many trophies, as well as collected a great amount of food and several hides. However Zaiyu had strongly missed his mother's home-cooked meals.

He thought on how he had not received any communications from his parents through most of the trip, but he reasoned it had to do with their wanting him to get used to being on his own. In a few years he would be of age to take the kiande-amedha chiva: the trial of defeating the hard meat prey.

The thought of the black, eyeless serpentine creatures sent an uncomfortable chill up his spine, and he forced the images from his mind. Minutes later, he sent a hail signal to the mother planet that was finally coming into view.

"Yautja Prime, this is Zaiyu, son of Tah'kath. We are approaching the outer atmosphere. Requesting permission to proceed."

"Are there any missing or deceased to report?"

"Negative. All party members are present and accounted for."

Silence fell over the communication but the voice soon returned. "Permission granted. Proceed as normal, young blood. The elder has been expecting you." That couldn't be good...usually his father only waited for him to arrive when he was in trouble for something. Zaiyu couldn't recall doing anything wrong before he left on the hunting trip, and he definitely didn't remember that he'd forgotten to do anything important... "Hangar seventeen is ready for you, Zaiyu."

"Acknowledged. Thank you, Yautja Prime." Zaiyu initiated re-entry procedures and the ship began to glow with the heat caused by forcing its way through the atmosphere. The craft shook and groaned but stayed on track. He made slight adjustments to the controls and the shaking intensified.

"Ease down on your speed, young blood. Keep your cruiser level or you will fall off course." The young male gave no response, but did as he was told. The controls indicated that his trajectory had been corrected but still the ship trembled with the force of re-entry. "I have the fire crew on site."

"That will not be necessary this time, but you have my thanks." This time...the first time out of several. He was determined to get it right this time...mostly right.

"I was not asking, simply informing. Remember your place, young blood. They are already on-site and the healers are on their way." Zaiyu rolled his eyes behind his face mask. All this fuss would be for nothing, and then what would happen? Likely he would be scolded for causing a fuss over nothing. He could see the hangar now. "Throttle back, young blood...throttle back, THROTTLE BACK!!" The ship flung sideways before slamming down onto the landing platform and skidding back several yards before it came to a screeching halt just moments before it would have made contact with the inner wall of the landing dock. A loud exhale was heard over the comm system and Zaiyu checked all of the controls.

"No fires, no injuries. We're all clear in here, Yautja Prime."

"Good..! Very good. That was much better than before, Zaiyu. Next time try not to mess up my hangar. Wake your friends and go meet with the elder."

"Many thanks, Ya-O'ja. Say 'hello' to your sister for me." The voice on the other end of the line could be heard projecting an angry laugh and the young blood ended the communication. He deactivated the stasis pods, allowing his three friends to awaken and lift the doors of the pods before stepping out. "No fires, guys! How awesome am I?!"

"How bad was the crash?" Zaiyu frowned, his shoulders falling as he glared at the taller of his friends. "Trick question. If you crashed at all, you did it wrong."

"Get out of my ship." It was his father's ship, but who kept track anymore? The elder never used it anyway. His hunting partners shared a hearty chuckle as they jogged down the boarding ramp. When Zaiyu stepped out into the hangar, a large Yautja donning battle armor and a red cape was watching him with folded arms. "Elder..." Zaiyu greeted his father by placing his fist over his heart and bowing his head.

"Young blood..." his father's tone was low and intense. "No fires this time, I see." If he hadn't been on edge, the younger male would have smiled behind his mask. "Come, Zaiyu. Your mother is waiting for us."

"Waiting for what, father?"

"You will know soon enough, young blood. Remember your patience. We will speak of it when we are home." Zaiyu said nothing further, only kept his head low as they walked. What had he done? It had to be serious if his father wouldn't even mention it until they were in private.
————————————————————————
"WHAT IS IT?!" Zaiyu approached the tiny being clad in traditional combat armor and poked the squishy substance that replaced mandibles.

"She is pyode-amedha, and you will help us choose a name for her." Zaiyu turned toward his mother with wide, yellow eyes.

"You mean we get to keep it?! Great! My friends will love it! It's so ugly, it's almost intimidating!" His mother clicked angrily at him and his father stepped to his side.

"She is not a pet, Zaiyu. She will be your sister. We have taken her in, so she is one of us now."

"What did you say??" He turned to look at his father in disbelief, but he received a stern expression. "But how? They won't allow her in the training academies, and she doesn't know our customs. She'll be executed before she can make her first chiva!"

"And that is why you will help protect her. While she is training, you will keep a watchful eye over her. When she is outside of our home, you will be held responsible for her wellbeing unless your mother or I are with her. It will be just as though she were Yautja. We will teach her our customs, and she will learn our traditions. She will be no different than anyone else. Granted, there are some slight physiological differences, but that can be overlooked."

Zaiyu returned his focus to the tiny, squishy creature that stood before him, and she reached up to poke one of his exposed mandibles since his father had taken his mask when they first entered the residential building. Her fingers were so small, so soft, and the lack of claws seemed so strange to him. Her silver eyes held a strange determination, and she grasped the protruding appendage tightly in her fist and yanked down. Zaiyu cried out in pain as she nearly bent it far enough to snap the primary bone in half. His father simply chuckled and made a joke about how she would be able to hold her own against the young blood by the time he saw his own chiva. Zaiyu growled at the youngling and she mustered up what she could of a growl herself. The young male was silent for a moment before he finally grinned at the strange being. If she stayed this feisty her whole life, he might just be proud to call her his mei-jadhi...his sister.