A New Alliance

[Kehlan]

Chapter 1

The Predator Elder stood on the observation deck of his ship, looking out at the planet below.  The whole of the front of the room was one massive screen, making it seem as though there was nothing there at all between him and the world below, as though you could just step off the ship and into space.  It was a beautiful world, the Elder thought, an unspoilt, tropical world covered with mile after mile of lush, virgin jungle.  The hunting would be good.  It had been many years since his people had hunted here and the prey had had plenty of time to flourish and multiply.  A very long time ago, almost too long ago for him to remember, he had faced his Kainde Amedha Chiva here, the rite of passage that marked his entry into adulthood and the beginning of his life as a warrior.  Those who had been the elders then had miscalculated badly.  The hard meats had done well here, too well, and had spread across the planet in far greater numbers than anyone had realised.  Of all the young unblooded potential warriors to take part in that hunt, there had been twenty of them, he remembered, he had been the only one to come back alive – only just alive admittedly, but he had not only survived, he had brought back his first trophy, the skull of the hard meat queen.

Despite his advanced years, the elder was still impressive to behold.  Age had not weakened him and although he could no longer move with the same lightning speed he had possessed in his youth, he had gained knowledge and wisdom over the years.  There was still no-one on board who could defeat him and those who tried were lucky if they survived the experience.  Every morning without fail, he could be found practicing in the training rooms and sometimes, if his mood was good, he would deign to spar with the unblooded ones, training them and passing on vital skills to the next generation of warriors.

He was of average height for a Yautja, standing maybe seven and a half feet tall and his frame was toned and muscular.  His deep set eyes glowed a  warm amber hue, his skin was creamy in colour, mottled with darker colours, accentuated by the heated netting he wore.  His hair, if hair it could be called, hung down his back, almost to his waist, thick iron-grey appendages adorned with gold rings that told the story of just a few of his many battles.

A soft clicking sound brought the Elder’s attention back to the present and he turned his back on the view, to see two young warriors approaching him.  They came to a halt, remaining a respectful distance from him and bowed.  Seeing that they had brought his gauntlets, he held out his arms and waited.  Obeying the unspoken order, they stepped forward and fastened the gauntlets onto the Elder’s arms. 

Slowly the elder lowered his gaze to inspect the gauntlets that had just been placed on his wrists.  Highly polished and ornate, they shone with a muted bronze glow. With one clawed finger, the elder activated the computer embedded in the right gauntlet and checked it over.  He gave a click of satisfaction.  So far everything was in order.  Now to check the weapons.  Clenching his fist, he made a slight movement with his wrists and with a slight whisper of metal on metal, long, serrated blades came shooting out.  He clenched his fists again, retracting the blades, mandible flaring in what for him, was a smile.  Nodding his approval he dismissed the two young bloods.

He was  ready now.  The representatives of the Federation and the Klingons would be arriving soon and he would go on board their ship to begin negotiations.  Negotiations, the elder thought with a moment of disgust.  There had been a time when the Yautja people did not negotiate with their prey.  But the Oomans, to give them their old slang name, and the Klingons were no longer prey, had not been for many years now.  He was one of the very few warriors still alive who could actually claim to have hunted either species and he still had their skulls in his trophy room.  Those had been the good days, he thought.  He had not hunted for a long time – he was old now and no longer needed the thrill, and if he was honest it had got boring after a while.  Even so, and even knowing he was doing what was best for his people, it still seemed strange to be opening negotiations with beings he had once hunted.

Footsteps sounded, coming closer and the elder growled.  He had given orders that he was not to be disturbed.  Who was it that dared to disobey him?  The Yautja that entered was a tall, powerful looking individual.  Kihr’yende was an experienced warrior and the captain of the ship.  He was also the elder’s son and seeing him, the elder relaxed and allowed himself a slight smile.  Of all his offspring, he was most proud of this one, the oldest of his sons.

Kihr’yende approached his father and bowed before speaking. He was on duty and his word were formal, the words of a ship’s captain to the Clan Elder, not those of a son to his beloved father. “Honoured Elder, the ships approach and your shuttle is ready.”

“Have they made contact yet?” As he asked the question, the elder moved across the room, picking up his cloak and throwing it across his shoulders, his claws nimbly fastening the chain that held it in place.   Deep red in colour, the heavy fabric fell in graceful folds to the ground, swaying in time with the movements of the elder.

“Yes sir,  a few minutes ago.”  Kihr’yende answered respectfully, “As we were informed they have sent two ships, the Bloodwing, under the command of Admiral Khalessa epetai Gorkon”  He pronounced the unfamiliar name slowly and carefully before continuing “representing the Klingon Empire.”

“Bloodwing” the elder mused, “A good name, it bodes well.  And the other ship?”

“The Endeavour, commanded by Fleet Captain Kehlan vestai Inigan.”  Again Kihr’yende was careful in his pronunciation of the alien name.  “As I understand it, she is also Klingon, but works for the Federation.”

The elder nodded his understanding.  “They have sent females to negotiate then” he commented thoughtfully, “I wonder if they understand the significance of that or if it is just coincidence.”  It was a rhetorical question, one to which he neither expected nor received an answer.  Yautja culture was shrouded in mystery to outsiders and the Federation had no way of knowing just how much power the females held over their male counterparts.  Saying ‘no’ to a female was not easy for a Yautja male and sometimes, it could be suicidal.  The elder shrugged, he would just have to deal with it.  They were prey he reminded himself, honoured prey maybe but still prey and he would not allow their femininity to distract him from his purpose. 

“It is time, Honoured One” Kihr’yende reminded his father, “The honour guard is waiting for you in the shuttle bay.”

“The honour guard will not be coming with us” The elder said.   At his son’s look of surprise, he continued, “I’m taking you and Da’rian.  No other escort is necessary.”

Despite his disapproval of his father’s decision, Kihr’yende did agree with his choice of Da’rian to accompany them.  The commander of the honour guard was not only a formidable warrior but a skilled diplomat as well.  “It shall be as you command.”

“Then we leave now” the elder said, and with those words he turned and walked through the door and into the corridor.  Kihr’yende followed and together, father and son headed towards the shuttle bay.  The mission was about to begin.

[Kehlan]

Chapter 2

by Khalessa

Sitting at her command desk, Admiral Khalessa Epetai Gorkon organized her thoughts as she continued to study the new contacts. In spite of her diligent research, she had found no likenesses, just descriptions. Descriptions of a tall race, very physically adept at the hunt, and relentless in their stalking.  She read on and ran a finger down the scar on her jaw as she read a rather old report form a commando team leader who had written “They are ugly, having unusually hinged jaws, which open from side to side, and their blood, is green.“  She half smiled, unusual for her as she made a note to herself on her private pad “Vulcan blood??!!”  Her dry chuckle sounded as she read the last written physical appearance report “They seem to not feel pain from bullets…and are hard to kill, but not impossible.”

She shook her head and put these fantastic "descriptions" down to the survivors of these encounters, and their fevered imaginations.

She sealed the notes so far, and went to her replicator "Exercise uniform, Code Id, Khalessa."

She slipped into it and prepared to go engage in her daily ritual, combat in the holodeck. Waiting for her, to escort her, her usual blood guard lined up. She glared at them and sighed muttering "Upstarts. I do not need protection on my own ship."

Stopping just short of the holodeck, she commanded "Wait here. I do NOT need you to hold my hand while I spar."

Stepping cautiously into the dim red backlit area, she prepared herself, having just logged into the Feklar program. Invented by herself years ago, to test a Klingons skills to the maximum limit.  At the time she had written the program, there was no better way to test a warriors skills in the federation data base.  Feklar, she had chosen because he was the very guard to the gates of the Klingon equivalent of the human demon, the devil. His home in the program replicated Gre’thor itself.

As she entered the now transformed holosuite, Khalessa dropped into attack mode.  She knew he waited, and he was able to do damage unlike other holosuite programs.  It was so, because that was the only way to truly test a warriors capabilities, including her..  She heard the miniscule scrape of a claw on the hot rocks, and a hiss of breath as the creature leaped for her.

Blocking a blow from the Feklar, she roared in defiance and shouted “You foretold your attack Feklar, I could smell you.”  The first blow she blocked has rocked her down to her booted feet.  The red hide of the demon seemed to glow as its ferocity increased, and Khalessa laughed in defiance “Upset already are you?”  Though it towered over by a head, she met it again and had her batleth knocked from her hands.

She kicked out in a round house kick knocking the demon into a running lava pool, to spin to face yet another attack.  She went into a shoulder roll to recover her Batleth then came to face the second demon even as it leaped from the top of a steamy rock.

She blocked it’s attack by bringing her batleth up hard.  She buried the weapons  left tong deep in the creature's ribcage and exerted herself. She lifted it with a feral roar of approval as it also hit the pool. One more to go in this first stage, and then to the more difficult level.

She had just dispatched it when the holosuite faded showing the black walls with the yellow intersecting lines. Cursing in a variety of languages, she stopped when the overhead com declared "Admiral to the bridge, we are within range of the Yautja craft."

Khalessa grunted, only slightly mollified, and asked "Any word from Captain Kehlan?"

On communications, learning a new station, K' Vin grunted “Captain Kehlan has just decloaked.  She is off our port bow.  Khalessa put her hand on the older warriors shoulder and peered at the readout and nodded. She looked at K’Vin and said quietly “I know you prefer engineering, K’Vin, but to be my second, you must know all levels of this ship, and its capabilities.  You proved yourself superior in engineering, and will do so here.  I expect nothing less…”

K’Vin bared his fangs in a toothy smile “My Lady, The Yautja ship is now here also.  It remains cloaked.”

Khalessa nodded and looked at the warrior she had chosen to be her personal steward when her house was constructed on Qo’noS “Thank you K’Vin.”

She quickly entered her ready room to exchange exercise gear to change to her best battle armor, newly designed to fit her House. It was the usual design for females, but the seams were thinly lined with red, making her uniform a startling conformation, yet non conformation, to Klingon Warrior gear.

Her glance fell on a dagger gifted to her by K’Vin and admiringly ran her hand over its fine blade as she had recalled how the older warrior had saved her life and why she had chosen to add him to her small household. She slid it into the sheath at her waist instead of her ceremonial, yet serviceable, mek’leth.

As she entered the bridge again, she placed her batleth in the stand by her command chair, and asked "Ensign Sparrow, Have there been any attempts at personal contact?"

Her liaison with the federation shook his head 'My Lady, no, and it is cloaked by a device as good if not better than this ships."

Khalessa blinked "Then, to show we mean no attack, de cloak. Face them squarely, head on, but under no circumstances are you to arm any weapons."

A new voice declared softly "You know much about them for someone who just started studying them."

Khalessa started, a rare occurrence for her, and turned just her head. A tall slender dark skinned woman smiled "I am the...expert sent to assist you, and Captain Kehlan in your first contacts."

Khalessa compressed her lips and narrowed her eyes "I had no contacts regarding your being assigned to this vessel. Identify yourself."

The rather handsome human female moved forward “I arrived with the last minute shuttle with the crew the federation assigned to your ship.  I was a last minute choice Admiral.  Here is are my orders.”

She saluted in the Klingon way, and bowed her head as she reported in officially "I am Lt Commander Alexa Woods."
She added with an odd quirk to her smile "My family...my ancestress whose name I share, has knowledge of them.

Khalessa nodded "So be it, but you should know, that I reserve judgment on how much you know until..."

Alexa saluted briefly "Understood Admiral, but I do have photographs, actually, line drawings of the Yautja race, or as they used to be called years ago on earth, Predators."

That got Khalessa's attention. She nodded and glanced at QaS "I will be in my ready room. Attend me Lt Commander Woods. We need to talk."

As they entered Alexa looked over the room, an eclectic mix of human and Klingon. She stopped before the portrait, in old fashioned oils, of an aristocratic woman. She whispered "Azetbur herself."

Khalessa looked at her new officer and with no small amount of pride nodded “Indeed.  Azetbur is my ancestress.”
Lt Woods looked at the portrait “There is a startling likeness.  Is this also her legendary qut’luch?  Made from the thigh of…”

Khalessa interrupted her “It was her great great grandmothers dagger, who made it.  Azetbur passed it onto me.  Enough of my family ties.  Alexa Woods, what exactly do you know about them?  About the Yautja?”

Alexa met her new commanding officers gaze levelly, and replied "You have my notes, in their entirety. I catalogued and sent the information in my family's collection, and those of others who have encountered them." She commented in a low voice "They are rarely defeated."

Khalessa looked at the line drawings in the ancient sketch book, and looked at her "Impressive. A warrior race, possibly superior to us, so, my next question, is this. WHY do they seek this alliance with the federation, and with Klingon's, when they prefer to hunt us?"

She stood up, pushing away from her desk, and went out onto the bridge “Get me a direct line to Captain Kehlan, tell her She is needed on the Bloodwing.”

She glanced at Jordan, her chief of personnel, and asked “Opinions?”

Jordan stood at attention, her hands behind her back as she stated “I am not sure what I think at this point Admiral.  I do hate making observations on an as yet unmet species.”

Khalessa turned back to the screen and said slowly “Ship wide transmission…It is time to speak to the crew, and put it through to Kehlan’s vessel also.”
She chose her words with care, and no little skill, and forethought “This is Admiral Khalessa Epetai Gorkon, to the personnel of both vessels o this mission.  We are about to contact a race rarely encountered by Federation, let alone Klingon warriors, without killing done.  At this point it is unknown why they seek a meeting of alliance, but our joint mission is to meet, and open negotiations with the Yautja.

I know this is our first mission, of this joint Klingon Crew, and Human, indeed with many federation races represented, and it has caused strain.  It will now end because of this mission.  This ship, the Bloodwing, is here to accomplish a mission, and failure in said mission is not an option.”

Lt K’Vin,  open hailing frequencies, to the Yautja.

K’Vin did as ordered and put it on the forward screen.

Khalessa snapped a proper Klingon salute, with the utmost dignity, she moved forward slightly aware of the silent tension of her well mixed, well trained human and Klingon crew as she began a carefully thought out speech “I am Admiral Khalessa Epetai Gorkon, I command this joint mission for the Federation/Klingon alliance you seek.  With me is my assistant commander of this Mission, Captain Kehlan who is preparing to beam over now.  If you receive this, please respond in the same good will in which the message was sent…”

[Kehlan]

Chapter 3

By Kehlan

The predator elder handed the spear to the human woman and stepped back. Swinging round to face his ship, the action sending his waist length dreadlocks flying in an arc around his head, he stalked back on board, the doors closing behind him.  The ship rose silently into the air, upwards and out of orbit, into the cold depths of space, leaving the woman alone in the icy, frozen wasteland that was Antarctica…

Uninterested in the credits and the seemingly unending lists of makeup artists, lighting engineers etc, Kehlan reached over and stopped the recording.  She’d watched the old movie in the name of research but much to her surprise, she’d enjoyed it.  Made almost four hundred years ago, the movie had been presented as fiction and audiences of the time would never have realized it was based on true events.  It was heavily dramatised, she knew, and probably bore little or no resemblance to what had actually happened.  She gave a snort of disgust as she thought about the commandoes in the first of the three films.  “Amateurs!”

The comm. system activated with a shrill whistle. “Captain, a message has just come through from the Bloodwing.”  The voice was that of Kehlan’s first officer and marines commander , Lt Colonel Philip Speares or Minty as he was more informally called, although rarely to his face.  “The Yautja ship is coming into range and Admiral Gorkon asks that you beam across at 16:00 hours.”

Kehlan glanced at the time, 14:50.  She had just over an hour left to finish her preparations.  “Thank you Colonel.  Tell Khalessa I will be there.”

“Will do, Captain” Speares said cheerfully.  The burly Welshman had served with Kehlan for a long time, since she had first come aboard the Endeavour as the ship’s first officer during the Dominion war. Outwardly easygoing and a bit of a joker at times, he was nevertheless a fine officer and there was no-one, apart from her husband, that she would rather have at her side in battle.

Breaking off the communication, Kehlan rifled through the pile of padds on her desk picking out the ones she wanted.  Getting to her feet she left her ready room and headed out onto the bridge.

Colonel Speares, sitting in the captain’s chair, started to get up when he saw his captain coming onto the bridge but she waved a hand, telling him to stay where he was.  She was just passing through on her way to her quarters.

Someone must have already been using the turbolift because Kehlan had to wait a minute or two for it to arrive.  Glancing around the bridge as she waited, she surveyed her crew.  With the ship about to make first contact with a race as dangerous as the Yautja, all the senior officers were on duty.   They were a mixed bunch.  Next to Colonel Speares was Rhiana, her Romulan second officer.  In his usual place at the back of the bridge was S’ian, her Vulcan head of Science.  He was talking quietly with Lt Morgana Baker, a Terran of English/Ukrainian descent.  Even her chief engineer was on the bridge, a large Klingon named Qeytok.  All of them had served with Kehlan a very long time.

Kehlan smiled  to herself as she looked at them.  It was her opinion, biased though it might be, that they were the best crew in the whole of Starfleet.  No captain could ever ask for better.

The turbolift doors finally swished open and Kehlan stepped inside, the doors shutting again behind her.  “Deck eight” she instructed the ship’s computer and the lift began to move.  The journey lasted only a few seconds before the doors opened again onto the deck where most of the senior officer’s quarters were located.  Moving down the corridor at a brisk pace, Kehlan quickly reached her quarters and went inside.  Crossing the room, she went straight to the replicator, and helped herself to a large mug of raktajino – a strong coffee-like beverage that was very popular in the Klingon empire.  Taking a mouthful of the scalding hot drink, she sighed in appreciation and making herself comfortable on the large sofa, she continued to review the available data on the Yautja race, keeping an eye on the passage of time as she did so.

Their visits to Earth were well documented but they had hunted on Qo’noS as well, Kehlan knew.  Half human, half Klingon, she was a child of two worlds and both her peoples had fallen victim to the predators, although she thought wryly, the Klingons would dispute her use of the word ‘victim’.  Ancient Klingon legends told how in the very hottest summers, hunters had come from the sky and great battles had been fought.  Of course, it was always the Klingons who won those glorious battles. Come to think of it, it was the same with the Terran stories – the alien visitors were bigger, stronger, faster.  They had better technology, better weapons, better everything in fact.  But inevitably, in every story they were eventually defeated.  Kehlan smiled at the thought.  Scriptwriters had a lot to answer for!

Kehlan had plenty of questions about this mission and hopefully soon she would begin to get some answers.  Why had the Yautja decided to negotiate?  Why now, after all these years?  It had been over three hundred years since the last known visit of the predators to Earth and much longer for Qo’noS.  The dates coincided, she noticed, with the development of warp drive.  Did the Yautja prefer not to hunt space-going races?  Whatever the reason, in all that time, nothing had been heard of the Yautja.  They had just disappeared into legend and myth – until a few weeks ago. 

Why had she been chosen to represent the Federation, Kehlan wondered?  She was a ship’s captain – a Fleet Captain admittedly but still only a captain, not an admiral or a diplomat.  Actually, she suspected, her rank was exactly the reason Starfleet had picked her – as Fleet Captain her rank was high enough that it would not give offence to the Yautja, yet low enough that if anything went wrong she would not be missed too much.  The Yautja had a fearsome reputation and she was expendable.  Dismissing the thought as overly cynical, she got up and walked into her bedroom.  It was time to get ready for the meeting.

Opening her wardrobe, she wasted several minutes trying to decide what to wear.  She really hated the formal white dress uniform that Starfleet had decreed to be the appropriate garb for meeting visiting dignitaries – admittedly it was very smart but it was not at all practical and if she had to fight then it would hamper her freedom of movement.  The Yautja were a warrior race and were not likely to be impressed by the white gabardine jacket and the black trousers with the fancy gold braid down each leg.  It seemed to Kehlan that her battle armour was far more suitable.  The decision made, she began to get changed and after a few moments she stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance.  The heavy leather armour fitted her well, clinging to her curves and displaying a generous amount of cleavage.  She’d always wondered about that – what was the point in armour that had a great big hole in the front? You might as well just wear a sign saying “Aim here!”  Maybe that was the point, she thought whimsically, the enemy was supposed to be so dazzled by the female warrior’s bust that they would be unable to fight her!  Apart from that one flaw, the armour was practical and surprisingly comfortable.

Satisfied, she picked up her d’k’tahg and fastened it to her belt before leaving her quarters and heading to the transporter room.  Greeting the duty ensign, a young Bajoran fresh from Starfleet Academy, Kehlan stepped up onto the transporter pad.  “Beam me over to the Bloodwing” she instructed, “You have the coordinates?”
“Yes captain” the ensign said crisply, “Ready to transport.”
Kehlan gave a nod of acknowledgement.  “Energise!”

[Kehlan]

Chapter 4

By Khalessa

In her best tones of command that froze others in fear, and intimidated her enemies, Khalessa hissed "WHERE is Captain Kehlan?"

Jordan swallowed uncomfortably, and looked at her booted feet "My Lady, she is not on the Endeavour, or the BloodWing, and the transporter signature clearly indicates it was sent here...only she never arrived."

Khalessa stood slowly, and almost menacingly, acutely aware of a tightening of the muscles along her jaw as she ground her teeth "I am going to the Endeavour, and personally run the checks."

She sharply ordered "QaS have my shuttle readied. I will pilot it myself. If there is a transporter problem, I will not use it." She walked double time to her shuttle's landing bay and boarded, then flew it to the closely aligned Endeavour.

The second she stepped off, the shrill pipe of a ship welcoming an admiral aboard sounded and she waved a hand to stop it. She looked at the security team "I want to examine the transporter myself. I brought my engineer K' vin to back me up."

She stalked into the main transporter room, her eyes black with suppressed rage "Begin."

K' vin obeyed taking readings, and logging them directly to BloodWing. As he worked Khalessa paced. She wondered what had happened. Transporters were the safest ship to ship travel.

She stopped as K' vin reported "My Lady, the transporter has not malfunctioned. It has shown her transporting to the BloodWing."

Khalessa ran a sharp fingernail along the scar on her jaw and she said in a dangerously soft voice "Then the computer records are falsified. She is not on my ship. Until I am satisfied about her whereabouts, there will be no unauthorized traffic into the transporter, or other vital areas of either Endeavour, or BloodWing. I think this is sabotage and I have a traitor to weed out."

She turned carefully aware of the uneasy shuffling of the Endeavour's officers who had come with her and said "I will find out what happened and the methods I use are Klingon. A traitor is not to be allowed to live."

She scowled "I want to start with questioning transporter room staff, those on duty, and off duty as well, I want them in Captain Kehlan's ready room so we may solve this mystery."

Taking notice of a worried appearing crew, who came to stiff attention as she passed, Khalessa halted mid step and addressed a jr officer "I do not know your name ensign, so I will address you by your rank. I want you to relay this order to the transporter room crew, and the bridge officers to meet me in the Captains Ready room."

She rolled her eyes at the nervous ensign "I do not bite heads off contrary to popular rumor. I am here to investigate your captains disappearance, and the fact that a traitors involved...well..."

As she entered the ready room, she hid her smile. It spoke volumes of Kehlan and her character, and she noted with pride the addition of House Gorkon's plaque she had sent her friend, in a place by House Inigan, and she approved.

It seemed to her, that she sat in the ready room waiting far too long to begin her investigation. She grunted then looked up "Lt Colonel Speares, I want ship to ship, broadcast so all may hear. I am personally conducting an investigation into the disappearance of Captain Kehlan, and if I send for you, any of you, you will obey. The most important mission of my career is at stake, and I do not fail...ever." She said "I have a reputation for ruthlessness when I investigate certain...matters and it is not a rumor. If those summoned do not arrive within a reasonable time I will send my blood guard to find them."

He nodded and briskly tabbed his communicator relaying Khalessa's orders and half nodded as the Officer in charge of protocol entered quickly followed by a steward bearing a mug that steamed and exuded a most inviting smell.

The Steward, an Orion set it carefully and ceremoniously in front of Khalessa who looked up, her eyes narrowing, almost amused at the fearful mien of the server "I do appreciate the sentiment, mess man, but while this affair is carried out I will not touch this. I would appreciate hot tea, earl gray."

He hurried to the nearby replicator, and made the order.

Khalessa took the mug back and approved "Well, where are the transporter crew, and that young ensign I sent after them?

[Kehlan]

Chapter 5

By Kehlan
Heat.  Intense, suffocating heat.  Humidity.  Kehlan stood on the surface of the planet, looking around her, wondering where she was.  This wasn’t the transporter room of the Bloodwing.  Obviously, Kehlan reflected, something had gone wrong with the transport.  She had realised as soon as the beam took hold of her that there was a problem but by then it had been too late to do anything about it. 

Kehlan reached up and touched her combadge.  “Kehlan to Endeavour.”  Nothing.  Not even static.  She tried again. “Kehlan to Bloodwing.”  Still nothing.

She stood in a small clearing, surrounded by lush tropical growth that reminded her very much of the jungles of Earth.  Except, this was not Earth but some other jungle on a planet so far away it was not even part of the Federation and the dangers here were unknown.  Suddenly, despite the intensity of the heat and the sweat that was already starting to soak her body, Kehlan was glad she had chosen the battle armour.  She only wished she had her batleth, or even better – a disruptor.  Her ceremonial d’k’tahg, while a worthy weapon, was not likely to be of much use against whatever lurked in that jungle.

Kehlan froze as a blood-curdling roar filled the air.  What in the name of Gre’thor was that?  Her hunter’s instincts aroused, she began to move towards the sound.  As quietly and cautiously as possible, she moved through the undergrowth.  She was alone on this world and if something else was out there then she needed to know about it if she was going to stay alive long enough to find a way back to her ship.
Kehlan stopped for a moment, listening carefully as the sound was repeated.  It was louder now and she knew she could not be far away from it.  She would have to be very careful if she wanted to remain undetected.  As she got closer, she could hear other noises, that she recognised as the sounds of battle.  Carefully, Kehlan continued to move forward until the noises were so clear that she knew she was almost there.  She could see a clearing beginning to open up in front of her.  And exercising extreme caution now, she approached, finding herself a vantage point in the bushes, where she could remain hidden and still observe what was happening.

A lone being, that if the descriptions Kehlan had read were anything to go by, could only be a Yautja, stood in the clearing, fighting for his life against the most terrifying creature Kehlan had ever seen.  The Yautja was big but its enemy was bigger.  The creature had to be at least eight feet tall, glistening black in colour with long gangly limbs and a barbed tail. Its head consisted of a strange, elongated skull that was all the more frightening for the lack of visible eyes.  Watching the fight, Kehlan was forcefully reminded of the third of the three movies she had watched only a short time ago.  Its makers had been more accurate than they knew in the way they had portrayed the two alien races but even so, they had not quite captured the sheer terrifying essence of the battle of these two titans.  Sights, sounds, smells… the very ground was shaking as they crashed through the undergrowth, coming dangerously close at one point to Kehlan’s hiding place. The alien creature – well, she couldn’t really call it that, she was alien herself, Kehlan thought, but she knew of no other name for it - seemed to be losing the battle and after a moment, the Yautja gave a roar of triumph as its enemy fell.

At the edge of the clearing, hidden by the lush undergrowth, Kehlan assessed the situation.  The clearing was littered with the bodies of many more of the creatures as well as several Yautja.  It looked like it had been a hard fight, hard enough in fact that the warrior was the only one to survive it.  An experienced hunter herself, Kehlan’s approach had been silent and the Yautja had his back to her, as yet unaware of her presence.  Her hand resting lightly on her d’k’tahg, she took the opportunity to get her first proper look at one of the beings she had been sent to negotiate with.

The hunter, like all of his kind was big and powerfully built and Kehlan estimated he had to be a little over seven feet tall.  His skin was a creamy colour with mottled dark patches and his hair, braided into dreadlocks hung down just below his shoulders.  He wore armour, stained with luminous green blood from the injuries he had received in the battle he had just fought.  How severe those injuries were, Kehlan had no way of knowing, but they looked pretty bad.  Kehlan was surprised to note that he had no mask, no netting and none of the high tech weapons the Yautja were understood to use.  In fact, in comparison with the reports she had read about the Yautja, his weapons seemed almost primitive.  He was obviously young though, probably not much more than a teenager.  It was possible, Kehlan thought, that the more high tech weapons had to be earned, but even so, the lack of netting seemed strange.  The Yautja were a reptilian race and without the heating system built into the netting, they suffered badly in the cold.

Knowing that she could not remain hidden for long, Kehlan stepped out into the clearing.  Sensing Kehlan’s presence, the Yautja turned towards her and for the first time she saw his face.  His features were dominated by four tusks that moved as he gave a low growl, exposing a row of razor sharp inner teeth.  His amber eyes stared at Kehlan curiously as he tried to decide if the newcomer was any threat to him.

Carefully keeping her stance relaxed and non-aggressive, Kehlan slowly held out her hands, showing the Yautja that they were empty and that she had no intentions of attacking him.  Not that she wouldn’t mind sparring with him or another of his race at a later date, she was a Klingon warrior after all.  But she was here to forge an alliance with the Yautja, not to start a war.

The young warrior took several steps towards Kehlan until he was standing right in front of her.  Throwing back his head suddenly and, mandibles flaring wide, he let out a roar, the sound reverberating and echoing through the clearing.  At the same time he made a slight motion with his fists.  Half deafened by the power of his roar, Kehlan did not hear the slight whispering of metal on metal as long serrated blades came shooting out of his gauntlets.  It was all Kehlan could do to remain still, to hold her ground, knowing instinctively that to run would be a fatal mistake.

Not afraid, but wary, Kehlan stared up at him, looking into those warm amber eyes as he stared back at her.  For long moments, neither moved.  Then, with a suddenness that made Kehlan jump, he made that slight movement of his wrists again and the blades retracted.  Stepping back, he turned away from Kehlan and moved over to the fallen alien creature. Squatting down on his haunches, he pulled out a knife from his belt and began to work on the creature.

Wondering what he was doing Kehlan moved closer – a little too close.  The Yautja looked up at her and snarled, saying something in his own language.  Kehlan could not understand the words, the translator in her com badge didn’t seem to be working, but the meaning was clear.  He was warning her off.   Her reaction was not quite quick enough for his liking and he made a hissing sound of disapproval, suddenly gesturing towards the ground at her feet.  Kehlan followed his gaze and realised, in embarrassment at her stupidity, what he had been trying to tell her.  She had very nearly stepped in a pool of the alien creature’s acidic blood.  There was no way her boot leather would stand up to that stuff, Kehlan knew.  The young hunter’s swift intervention had prevented a nasty injury.

Ignoring her again, the hunter returned to his work and Kehlan realised that he was removing the creature’s skull and part of its spinal cord.  His movements were swift and sure, he knew exactly what to do and how to do it and Kehlan watched in fascination as he finished the job.

The young warrior was about to put the skull away, into a net bag when something caught his attention and he froze, listening carefully.  Kehlan too had noticed something.  The normal background sounds of the jungle had changed.  Something had frightened the birds into taking flight and whatever it was, was coming this way.