Kweide

For the Yautja, the trip was easy. They were tucked away in safe and dreamless cryo sleep for the entirety of it and that meant they did not have to deal with the cramped quarters outside their chambers. Particularly, nothing could aggravate the smaller male beyond his usual feelings of annoyance. 

Which always happened to be high around his cohort in the cryo chamber beside him.

The smaller male rested peacefully, unaware of what was happening outside until the harsh landing of the ship turned the autopilot system off. 

Blaring sounds, silent to those outside the ship, echoed through his chamber as the fog receded and he began to stir. "AUTOPILOT DISENGAGING! AUTOPILOT DISENGAGING!" He blinked once, twice, three times before he was mostly conscious. The hunt was not off to a great start. That much was true. 

His limbs felt heavy and his head clouded with the remnants of sleep as he began to flex his feeble limbs. He was so weakened from the gas that when another jarring bump sent him forward he helplessly slammed into the top of his chamber. "Pauk!" He reached upwards and flung off the lid holding him inside.   

"Kweide!" He turned his head to see H'chakde in front of the data panel, hurriedly trying to take back control of the ship from whatever malfunction that had affected them. Somehow, something had gone wrong in the system.

Before Kweide could ask any questions the ship came to a crashing halt, soil and trees flying past over their viewing glass as they both were slammed to the ground, not that Kweide had had the opportunity to leave it. He mumbled a weary curse before pulling himself out of the chamber completely and onto his feet. 

The ship had landed intact. For the most part.  Despite his arm protesting, he reckoned he had landed intact too.

H'chakde was busily flipping through the ship's control panel before he halted and pressed the large button near the top right corner. "What are you doing?" Kweide turned to stare at the Yautja with confusion, hidden behind his helmet he could not convey his emotions to their full extent, but a tilt of the head would have to suffice.

"Our crash has attracted attention," H'chakde replied. It seemed the humans they needed might have come to them. 

As the bigger male stepped outside the ship Kweide let out a click of annoyance. He had wanted the capture to be less eye-grabbing than it was but he could do nothing about that now. Whatever was outside would have to do. 

A high pitched yell echoed out and he watched as H'chakde barrelled off towards it. He hadn't cloaked. How had the buffoon he often hunted with survived his youth? Well, Kweide would never quite understand that.

  He quickly pressed his cloaking system and left the spacecraft to assess the situation. Humans were deceitful creatures and they possessed an intellect higher than any creature on their planet. If you paired that with room for adaptability they became far more dangerous than almost any other creature.

Kweide would not give them that chance to adapt. For this to work he had to be efficient, not like the charging Yautja ahead of him that was breaking everything in his path. Though, perhaps there was a strategy in that. Humans could assume a large forest creature took two of their own. He was sure it was not uncommon. 

He clicked in disapproval as he flipped through the heat signatures, it was easy to follow and even easier to pass them. The humans had not gone far at all yet and he knew H'chakde wasn't even being challenged by the bumbling run they were doing.

It wouldn't be good if they got to others of their kind though. Regardless of whatever fun the other Yautja might be seeking, they had to be cut off quickly. 

Taking a vantage point in the trees, Kweide watched them scramble through the underbrush. They were both clumsy, tripping momentarily over lifted logs and stones, but one was far more fit than the other. Despite it trailing behind the first one, the second was quickly gaining speed in a veered off direction.

He calculated his options, corraling them between H'chakde and himself seemed like the best option, but who would he grab? Even as they grew closer he was still debating right until the last second. He knew his pick.

Kweide threw his net, a loose one because of the human's delicate skin, and covered his ears. The human began emitting a painfully high pitched screech that was far too noticeable to let it continue doing. He jumped down and grabbed it tightly around its midsection, silencing it with a heavy thwack to the back of its head. 

Despite the strike, it breathed evenly and the heart still pulsed strongly. Satisfied, he slung the net over his shoulder and ignored the cries of its outraged companion.

The other human who continued screeching even threw a metal object that bounced uselessly off his armor. What was it trying to accomplish?

 He glanced down at his armor and then at the other human, it was also far more aggressive and foolhardy. Meaning it wasn't worth the struggle to tame.  

Compared to its physically weaker and meeker companion it was far too wild. He'd much rather stick with the weak scrap of meat hanging behind him for a servant. It was nothing to be proud of but it would train easy. 

H'chakde could believe he was getting the better one all he wanted, but in Kweide's eyes, he was certain he was wrong. 

The truth of his observations remained to be seen. For now, it was time to go back.

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The Elder was silent when they dropped the two humans in front of him. His amber gaze remained locked on the small bodies by his feet. "It is odd that they are asleep so deeply. Tell me, how did you get them this way?"  

They both looked at one another, would they be in trouble already? Knowing Kweide could be slightly more pragmatic, he made the first move to speak. "We knocked them out. " 

 "So you hurt them?"  Elder Lar'ja paused his investigation to stare at them blankly. That lack of emotion was dangerous.

"No Elder, we were not provided with means of sedation. So we had to make due. " 

Elder Lar'ja seemed to debate their words as he checked the humans' pulses and tilted their faces individually in his hands. When he touched Kweide's servant he paused as he held her face in his palm.  Kweide watched him closely.  "This will be allowed. But do not test your limits."  He gave them both a nod.

 H'chakde let loose a quiet chitter of relief but it was cut off by the elder's scornful stare.

 He dropped the servant's face.  "You've caught them, but your challenge has only just begun.  Do not get ahead of yourselves." Elder Lar'ja remarked. After another moment of inspection, he dismissed them both.

Kweide thought quietly on what he had said. They were being punished. Whatever was to come was not to be taken lightly and he could not afford to fail. He glanced down at the human in his net, hoping above all that it would not cause issues.

The two Yautja carted the humans to quartine for sterilization and inspection. A quick check would give them enough base information to get acquainted with the unfamiliar parts of the caught humans. 

"SCAN COMPLETE" They turned their heads as the humans slid out of the medical tubes. The basics were listed on the screen since the technology did not recognize most of the data it had gathered. 

They were both female and in the prime age range for a strong human. The difference? One was slightly less healthy than the other but not dangerously so. It seemed Kweide had it cut out for him too. 

After they were placed on slabs, Kweide watched as H'chakde began searching through his servant's carry pack. Curious items but none that interested Kweide enough to speak.

The ruffling sounds of H'chakde in the bag continued for a while and then a cry of aggression rang through the room. They both turned their heads immediately. 

The smaller angry human, H'chakde's, began to charge at him, fury showed in its cries of rage and harsh movements.

Kweide moved out of its way, whatever it wished to do to H'chakde was no business of his own.