I know that I said that I would update next week, but I've decided to write some more of the human hunter, I'm being motivated to finish it, now that we're getting into the part that I really want to get to, which is, coincidentally, the endgame.

'My god, I just had the best of luck in being dragged into one of the least tolerant clans...'

This clan surely was one of the most racist; that notion had all but been confirmed now.

The alpha female was truly petty and hateful, as were the rest of the high ranking members of the group.

Ihrool shot him an apologetic look, for he did not wish to bring him into this shitshow of a mess.

He was just getting ready to leave, when the elder informed him of his matron's refusal, and had thus "ordered" him to come and speak to her.

The interior of the pyramid was nothing short of disappointing, given that this clan was a minor one already, but good lord did they really suck balls.

He could smell the barely concealed rage that was present in the room, all of these hunters wanted to challenge him, because as always, they hated the fact that he was a human.

A human that had saved their asses, and made them look like fools in the process.

The yautja were made even angrier when he didn't bow like the elder did, but instead only nodded his head.

Mark was straying a bit from etiquette, but it wasn't so much as to warrant punishment, not yet at least;

"Why is it that elder Ihrool may receive his due payment but I not?" the hybrid knew full well why the bitch was hesitating, but he wanted to push her buttons a little.

The female growled, trying to assert her dominance, "Call the council of elite arbitrators, they will also have a say in this matter."

'Great, now she wants to try and delay the inevitable... what embarrassment this is...'

He waited, as did the rest for them.

In that time, he got closer to the friendly elder, and in doing so exposed some of his back to the matriarch, doing it deliberately to irritate her.

"Is this a common occurrence?" he whispered to Ihrool, "Unfortunately yes, in your case." the older hunter responded.

Mark could tell that he was brimming with shame, and he did feel genuinely bad for him, knowing that the matriarch's less than honorable behavior would reflect badly on the reputation of the clan.

But it was she... whatever his name was (he did give enough of a shit to care to remember her name; besides, bitch was a good enough substitute) who had wanted to make this a problem, and he would deal with it accordingly.

That much of his sanity remained.

The group of five arbitrators were conversing, a couple looked distressed, and Mark had a good idea of why they were like that.

Soon enough, they turned around to address the others, and more specifically, the leading female: "Honored matron, the warrant must be respected." the most senior of the members said, emphasizing his words.

If those five were as racist as the rest, then they were doing an extraordinary job at hiding them.

"Very well, then, let's get this over with and I shall be on my merry way. No need to drag this out more than it already is." he spoke in english, knowing that their masks would translate what he was saying.

"You do not have authority here ooman! You would do well to remember that!" the matriarch roared at him, and he had to fight the urge to scoff at her. She really was a bitch.

"You are correct yes, so I ask that we please formalized and finish our deal, which, might I add, is already much different than the one that you had originally issued." Mark spoke calmly, measuring his tone so that it stayed neutral.

The huntress seemed as if to want to burn him alive with her gaze, "You do not get to decide the payment ooman, the deal is to do as I please." he was expecting, no, hoping for that kind of answer: "Then why is it that the good, honorable arbitrators over here support my claim on this argument?" he replied, and in that moment he relished in the fact that he had just embarrassed her further.

"As I said before, your actions do not seem to measure with those of the code of honor. I told you once and I shall tell you again: respect our deal, or face the consequences." but the female was to prideful to accept that, so she ought to stay silent.

Finally, Mark had enough, "Fine then, let's do it the hard way. I challenge you." he spoke, and trills of astonishment were heard.

The matron was taken back, clearly not expecting this development.

The elite marched forward until he was at the base of the throne, and the royal guards surrounded him, pointing their sharp combisticks at his throat, but his attention was still focused on the female, his blue eyes staring at her challengingly, daring her to fight him.

"Prove to the Sharp Claw clan that I, a soft meat and my species as a whole are inferior to the yautja. If you win then I will leave, free of pay. But if I am victorious, then you will have to pay me in full, and admit to have acted dishonorably." he was walking on dangerous grounds here, and he could hear the growls of threat from that were being sent his way, but he ignored them.

The female looked at a guard, and spoke again, her voice regaining confidence, "I name the captain of my royal guards as my champion. She will battle you."

His face turned into a scowl, 'Fucking coward, that's what you are. I am done with this shit.'

He turned around and walked to Ihrool as the room was being cleared. He unclasped the katana from his side, and handed the long blade to the elder, who gingerly took it, "Hold this for me, would now?" he asked, "Of course." the male answered, grasping the weapon with great care.

Mark faced the opposing female. They were of the same height, so her advantage of longer reach would be nullified, and judging by her constant turning, she didn't have a good control on her emotions.

It was surprising that this was the leader of the royal guards, had this been with his clan, then she would have been made a laughing stock.

The matron banged her spear o the floor, signaling the begging of the duel.

The female approached him, combistick pointed at his heart.

The elite stood there, not bothering to get into a stance.

The royal guard initialized her attack with a thrust, which he deflected with his gauntlet, sparks flying off his forearm as he pushed the offending weapon away.

He dared to say that they were equally matched in terms of strength, and it seemed that he was even capable of edging her out in that factor.

The huntress roared, coming back to strike him with lighting quick speed, but after constantly fighting kiande amedha for so long, it was nothing that Mark wasn't prepared for.

He kept twisting his body around, either avoiding her strikes completely, or countering them. But he never made an effort to attack, for he was willing to completely shame her.

The hunter kept taunting the snarling yautja, playing on her feelings, and leading her to make mistakes, mistakes that kept getting bigger and more evident the longer the fight kept going on.

After some time, Mark had yet to still be hit, the armored female was sweating, her movements were slower, sluggish even, and that was the moment when the predator went to attack its prey.

In an instant, Mark smashed his against the decorated mask of the guard, snapping her out of guard and catching her unprepared.

She staggered back, disoriented by his blow, but Mark proceed with his onslaught, not giving her time to recover.

He jumped forward, smashing his knee into her abdomen, further pushing her back as she recoiled. Then, just as fast he spun around, and brought the heel of his foot against the side of her unprotected head, hitting her with such force that pieces of the mask broke off.

And finally he raised his leg up and brought it down into an axe kick, cleaving her shoulder and pushing her to the floor with a pained yell.

Cracking was heard when his boot made contact with her torso, and Mark was sure that he had broken her collarbone.

It was over, just like that. In the span of a few seconds, he had flipped the fight and proven his overwhelming dominance on the female.

Silence refined supreme, as he walked back to the elder, retrieving his sword.

From behind their masks, Mark was sure that many were shocked at his brutal beat down, but it was a long time coming, and he had delivered on her promise.

He stood next to body of the unconscious female, nudging her arm a little with his foot. "That is disappointing, considering she should have been one this clan's best fighters. It seems as if you have overestimated her capabilities matron. I am sure that you would have faired better."

His tone turned cold, "Now finish the payment. 50 million credits, now."

"You... you have cheated!" 'Is she that delusional? No. She is batshit insane! Crazy bitch!'

"I have done no such thing, you know it as well as everyone present. Pay your end of the bargain. Do it or face the consequences."

She looked ready to argue when a new, unexpected individual arrived: "You will do as the honored elite tells you least you value your clan."

Mark turned his head to look at the approaching hunter.

He wore very advanced armor, and his garb was that of an arbitrator, that of a head arbitrator, one in charge of offworld colonies to be precise.

He strode forward so that he stood next to him, but what shocked Mark was that this arbitrator was a part of his clan: the armor was much the same as his, and the rings on his tendrils confirmed it.

"The Fire Skull clan does not easily forget such offenses. Finalize the deal." his presence was imperative, and Mark was impressed with the way that he carried himself.

'This guy might just be my guardian angel...

They walked out of the clan's territory and into that of the jungle.

Mark was getting to know the honorable arbitrator after giving his farewells to Ihrool.

"I am Bah'dagr, arbitrator of the Fire Skull clan. You are the elite hunter Mark Johnson correct? It is an honor to meet you." the shorter male said, extending his arm for a handshake, which he returned.

He was a peculiar hunter: he was quite young for having such a high rank, and his english was spot on, perfect actually, and his skin carried an interesting pattern of red toned stripes.

Mark soon found himself to be quite enraptured with his fellow hunter, and soon they began to converse on more friendly terms.

They shared information about each other, always being respectful and humble, something that the hybrid held in very high esteem.

"My bearer is the primal huntress Mhei r'ka-Guan. She was the one that raised me to be what I am." he told him.

Mark felt his breath hitch in his lungs... he wasn't expecting that.

"Oh..." Bah'dagr looked at him, "She has spoken very highly of you elite Mark. She compliments your drive and proficiency, and she respects you dearly."

'What... what am I feeling...'

He... he felt something... something...

First off, I wanted to thank he was the one to give me the inspiration to write this.

Then message that I had written on my status, and my delay of updates was due to the unfortunate passing of my grandmother, who died on monday at the great age of 92 years old.

I wanted to thank you all once more for helping me build this story from the ground up. It truly means a lot to me.

Please comment, I am especially curious to know what your thoughts are on the last bit of the chapter, so let me now of your theories or ideas.