And here we are with chapter seventeen.

Mark relaxed himself, slowly letting out his breath.

He was sitting crossed let in the middle of his small chamber, silently meditating.

The atmosphere on the ship was tense to say the least: the other unbloods were very energetic, excited for their first hunt.

They were hot headed and brash, ready to challenge and fight anything and anyone in an effort to demonstrate their superiority over one another.

A lot of the yautjas were already pretty racist against humans, young bloods in particular.

From the brief moments in which they stood next to each other, Mark had heard a lot of insults being directed towards.

Of course those fuckers had no idea of his implant, but he still decided to not interact with them.

He had spent all his time locked in his chambers, mentally preparing himself for the trial to come.

His body tingled and itched at the thought of hunting, mixed with the worry and anxiety of failing.

He still remembered what it felt like on his first mission back in the military; it felt very, if not, the same.

'Huh, déjà vu indeed.'

They were still a couple of days away from the designated planet.

The testing grounds were thousands of galaxies away from Yaut and they made most of that distance thanks to a few warp gates.

Warp gates were a part of yautjan technology, and from the little information Mark was able to gather of it, it was a very difficult and complex branch of science.

To put it simply: yautjas had achieved mastery over the creation of portals, thus traveling at speeds faster than light.

It was pretty badass and cool in his opinion.

It was though closely guarded knowledge. Some lesser clans didn't even have the ability to use this kind of travel.

It then dawned of him that he knew nothing of the planet on which the Chiva would occur.

He got back up to his feet, lightly stretching his legs as he did and removing the stiffness that covered them.

He briefly loaded a map of the ships layout on his computer wrist.

A red hologram appeared in front of him, he began to turn it around and focus on certain pathways and streets.

He honestly never got tired of playing around with the holographic functions, for they seem to belong in a science fiction movie.

Once he had memorized a course, he exited his chambers with a scan of his palm, and fully stepped out of the room.

Mark made sure to check the lock twice, wanting to eliminate any chance of unwanted guests breaking in and use his weaponry.

He had strategically planned out his course so that it would avoid any large public spaces were an abundance of people were bound to be.

One of the gods must have been favoring him, because he did not encounter a single soul on his walk. He could at least move at a leisure pace and study the detailed hallways he hadn't had the chance to admire yet.

This was his second time on a spaceship, ironically he was now leaving the planet he had been once brought to.

He had successfully made it to one of the libraries of the ship.

He had chosen a smaller one so that he could enjoy the relative solitude while he studied.

The large room was in fact empty. Just how he licked it.

He sat down on a desk, and started to type into the metallic keyboard. It didn't take him long to find the information he was looking for.

And soon enough he was making mental notes.

'Note to self: the planet has edible food and prey.'

That would've come in handy if the need were to ever arise.

He was so focused into his research that he did not notice the presence behind him.

He nearly jumped when the figure came into view at his side.

Upon inspection he realized it was an old, blooded hunter, indication of this were the graying dreadlocks and the worn and scratched awu'asa were further proof of his great age.

Mark bowed his head in respect and turned around to give the older hunter his full attention.

The yautja gave an inquisitive look at the display he was reading.

"This is the first time I have seen you outside of the quarter areas youngblood." the statement surprised, and he stood in silence for a coupe of instants.

His silence left the hunter slightly confused: "You are deaf?" he asked.

"No, no. I am simply surprised that you show some form of interest or acknowledgement to my presence. It is unusual for me to be approached by another hunter."

"Well you are fluent in yautjan as I can see." he joked, causing him to chuckle.

"But I am merely curious to know what has prompted you to leave your chambers."

"I am learning of the planet we shall be hunting on. I find it very helpful to know the battlefield before the fight." "Smart, very smart indeed."

They stayed quiet after that, not really sure of how to continue the conversation.

"It will do good to hunt with a week fed body. Come, share the evening meal with me." Mark smiled fully at that.

He turned around once again to close the the numerous data pads he had open, before switching off the computer completely.

Together, they walked into one of the dining areas. Unlike in the library, the mess hall was occupied by numerous warriors.

That still did not deter him from taking a seat in an empty table and having the food being served from a pair of etas standing nearby.

It was pleasant to converse with the elder, as both had curiosities that demanded to be satisfied: "I have accompanied many unbloods to their Chiva. This is the first time that I accompany an ooman." "It is indeed. This is also the first time I can properly talk with an honored warrior." that earned him a laugh along with the venomous glares of others eavesdropping their conversation.

The hatch of the drop pod opened with a hiss as air escaped the open hatch.

Two hands rose out of the opening to grip the sides of it. The human raised himself out of the pod, taking in a breath of the air.

'Not as bad as I thought.'

The instant his body left the warm inside of the vehicle, he was bombarded with the frosty temperature of the night, causing his body to shiver and his skin to form goosebumps.

'Okay, I take that back.'

He waited for a couple of moments, letting his body adjust to the disorienting trip he had just taken.

When the world wasn't spinning and shaking in his view, he dropped down.

His armored soles crushed the wet leaves on the ground, slightly sinking into the muddy ground.

The planet looked very much like a tropical jungle in south america, if not for the three, red colored moons.

There was no noise, no wildlife, no soul.

He sighed before starting to trek forward, his steps being silent thanks to the training he had received.

It did not take him long to come into view with the other unbloods.

Mark frowned when he glanced at them: it seemed as if they were communicating with their masks, forming a battle plan.

He did not care for their strategies, they probably wouldn't have cared to include him in their scheming even if he had accepted the mask Kyiv had offered him.

The entrance to the hive was just in front of them: the entrance was a cave, and it reeked with death and fear. He could faintly make out the resin walls of hard meats on the very edges of the rock.

The others approached the opening with a confident stride , carrying a sense of skill and security.

Mark merely scowled at them under his breath. They were stupid to think that kiande amedha were already not expecting their attack. There was no way in hell that they hadn't sensed the tremors and earth shaking generated from the landing pods.

He opted to search for a smaller opening, from which he could then have a greater chance of catching his prey by surprise.

He walked around the clearing, scaling a tree with mild difficulty, finding it faster to travel on the branches then on the sticky ground.

His inquisitiveness turned out to be a win as he spotted a crack in the side of a cluster of boulders.

He crept up to the opening with quick movements, taking out one of the combisticks and extending it to it's full length.

He used the blade of the tip to scrape off some of the resin, and concluded that it did in fact belong to the hive.

He twisted his torso to fit in the slim entrance, and was able to make it on the other end of the gate.

The entirety of the walls, floor and ceiling were black and dry. In front of him the tunnel extended, devoid of any light.

Mark waited some more in order to let his eyes fully adjust to the darkness, before creeping forward.

'What the fuck! Still nothing! Were the hell are these alien fuckers!' he internally screamed.

Mark had traversed through the cave system for quite some time, and he had still yet to encounter a kiande amedha.

He could only assume that the warriors and drones were occupied fending off the attack at the front, thus the rest of the hive was devoid of presence.

The silence was unnerving now: he had mapped out some of the tunnels, and learned that a couple more lead to the outside world; but it was getting to his nerves.

Then, he heard the distant bellowing of a roar, a yautja roar.

He uncovered the direction in which the battle was taking place.

He slightly sped up his pace, but the slammed his back against one of the walls.

A soft slithering and clicking sound came from the tunnel opening to the left of the wall.

He then kept his breath in an saw it.

Mark saw the body of machine, a creature of death, bony and robust, but also sleek and elegant.

The warrior stopped in its tracks, tail swishing back and forth.

It tilted its armored head to the left and right.

'Almost there... stay there a little longer...'

He jabbed the spear forward, certain that it would hit its target with lethal precision.

But he was wrong.

The warrior moved out of the way at the last second, the tipped blade missing its mark completely.

Mark dashed back, but not far enough to avoid the clawed hand that struck his leg.

He hissed in pain and dove out of the way, avoiding the shrieking beast. He whirled around, training his eyes on the hellish demon as it stalked him on all fours, saliva dribbling down from its maw.

Then, it reared its elongated head back and let out a gut wrenching shriek.

Without wasting a moment, Mark threw the combistick, watching as it perforated the rib cage of his opponent.

He quickly stepped forward to the dead carcass. He had to move fast, for it could have already alerted the other brood.

He yanked the weapon out, but ended up with landing a spray of acidic blood on his arm.

He immediately removed the shoulder pad and leather guard, watching as they dissolved to nothing.

He took out the ceremonial dagger, ready to claim the skull. He stilled and heard shrieking noises coming from all the other tunnels.

"Fuck, fuck!" he openly cursed, sheathing the blade and making a mad dash to one of the exits, leaving the untouched corpse behind.

He dodged, flipped and rolled through the pathways, occasionally battling against the angry hard meat.

Mark could see the moonlight in the crack, and pushed his legs harder.

Then, the entire tunnel shook, cracks briefly appeared on the ceiling before fully collapsing at his back.

He heard the sound of shrieking and hissing, and he turned around, in time to decapitate the leaping drone with a shuriken.

Mark picked up the head, and made it out of the tunnel.

He ran, ran and ran, careful to not get any of the acidic blood on him.

He then dodged the strike of a warrior had meat.

He tossed the shuriken at it, cleaving its leg and tail off. Mark rushed forward, stabbing it with his spear and driving it to the ground before finally jabbing his knife into its throat.

He breathed heavily with exhaustion, before twisting his eyes to scan the trees and fauna, readying himself for the possibility of another ambush.

He let out a gasp of exhaustion, and then he saw a light lift into the night sky.

'No'

He saw the clan ship leave the surface at ever increasing speeds.

To his horror, he realized that they weren't coming back.

He dropped his weapons in shock... he fell to his knees.

He hadn't made it time.

He was left alone.

He had failed.

And that's that. I would like to inform you, my dear readers, that this story is coming to a close. The next and final chapter will be posted in a short amount of time, and it will contain an epilogue that will wrap up the story and officially conclude it.

I thank you all for following on this journey that was writing my first story, and I can never thank you enough for the support.

Until next time.