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Chapter Text

Long ago he would have seen the silver shape streaking through the dawn sky as a sign of hope, a sign of rescue, but not any more.  Now he viewed the shape that he knew to be an escape pod as nothing more then a sigh of trouble.  Not long before, when the sun had yet to start rising, he saw a brief flash in the sky.  It hadn't been very big nor bright thus causal star gazers probably wouldn't have taken notice, but he had.   Years of watching the sky for signs of intrusion, of danger, had honed his sight to pick up any change in the twinkling sky, no matter how slight.  It had to have been a large ship, a cruiser even, and this thing had to have been an escape pod fleeing the doomed ship.  Now this pod was obviously in trouble as well, for what reason he didn't know nor care, but what he did care about was that this pod was going to crash within a day's walk from the village. 

The village.  The folk there had saved his life when his own pod crash landed on this planet some twenty years ago.  Unfortunately they were a simple folk, with no need or know~how of the technology he needed to call for rescue.  He had tried to make his own SOS device back then, but the salvaged equipment proved to be useless, therefore he was trapped on this planet. 

With little else to do he thought he would at least do something for the village folk in turn.  He had both seen and heard how many of their people got snatched up by the wild predators of the forest and sea and tried to offer ideas on how to prevent it.  However they turned down his ideas, basically saying it would cause an unbalance to utilize them and no matter how good an argument he gave, they refused on that reason alone.  It just gave him another reason to consider using nothing but faith rather then good logic to be nothing short of idiocy. So he had taken matters into his own hands, hunting down and slaying any predators.  He created his own weapons out of the materials around him and what he could barter off the villagers.  The villagers eventually discovered his activities and when he refused to stop, they all but banished him from the village, allowing him in only to restock his food and water stores.  To him it only confirmed just how stupid they really were. 

Therefore he continued to patrol the forest around the village, taking out anything he perceived as dangerous to the villager's well~being and eventually started keeping an eye on the skies as well, knowing danger could come from above as well.  Before they threw him out of the village, they told him about a monster that lived on an island out in the sea, a monster that every few decades would awaken and demand 'royalties' form the populous.  He had yet to see this 'monster', but when he did he planned to kill it like the other predators.  There was a more immediate danger to take care of first however.  

After the pod disappeared out of his line of sight due to the canopy, he sprung into action.  He didn't know who or what was on that pod that was about to crash within his realm of 'influence', but didn't care either.  Whatever is on that pod, provided it survived the crash, will need to be eliminated, so he grabbed his coat, hat, crossbow and a quiver full of darts and took off into the forest in the direction he predicted the pod to finally come to rest. 

*** 

Roughly two hours after the crash. 

His friend was dead. 

No matter how much the evidence confirmed this, he still could not believe it.  Arthur was the first human to take the chance to get to know one of his kind, to see what was behind the black chitin shell, acid blood, and vicious reputation that his people were known for.  This human had educated him in things and ways that no Queen ever could, an experience that likely will never be repeated ever again.  It was a chance now likely forever lost to open human eyes to see what a Xenomorph sees, to feel what an Xenomorph feels.  Perhaps worse of all was that he was again alone, a forced solitude that threatened to drive him insane as Switcher had gone insane. 

The first time he found himself alone like this was when he had been first captured by the humans along with Switcher, an older member of his hive.  His mindset was younger then and easier to keep distracted, accepting the puzzles put before him as a game to keep him occupied and he created his own games.  Things changed quickly though when he first met Arthur, a human scientist that was determined to learn how to communicate with him.  It took a lot of time and effort, but No-Tongue found a way to communicate with Arthur, something Arthur referred to as 'telepathy', and a friendship between them emerged soon after.  After some close calls with an insane Switcher and an exploding ship they were able to escape together, but fate had another cruel card to play.  This was the result: a crash landing that took Arthur's life and No-Tongue was now trapped on a strange planet....alone. 

He didn't know how long he sat there, staring at Arthur's corpse, before he finally tore himself away from the sight and forced himself to leave the pod.  It had been a tight squeeze between the hull of the pod and the trunk of the tree it had impaled itself upon, but in short order No-Tongue freed himself from the wreckage and climbed down that massive trunk to the forest floor.  For a moment he savored the feel of feeling real ground again, but it was short lived.  He had no idea where to go, or what to do now beyond just survive, feeling that's what Arthur would want him to do.  So he started wandering the forest, going whichever way he felt he should go, content for now to just be in a natural setting again. 

*** 

The man sneered silently at the black shape that moved quieter then a cat through the forest, away from the crash site.  Of all the things that had to drop out of the sky!  An Alien!  This was the worse case scenario!  Naturally he had heard of such evil creatures back before he got stranded on this planet, only seen them in pictures until now though.  Still, he knew enough about them to know how dangerous they were, dangerous to the extreme right down to the very blood they bled.  If he was to kill this thing, he needed to do so quickly.  As quietly as he could, he aimed his crossbow. 

*** 

It had taken him a moment to realize something wasn't right: the forest was way too quiet.  At first No-Tongue though it was because of his presence in the forest, but a scent, both familiar and unfamiliar, permeated the air:  a human.  Was it another survivor from the ship? 

~Hello?~  No-Tongue sent broadly, his hopes rising of having company. 

Those hopes faded as quickly as the sudden pain in his left hind leg.  With a screech of pain he reached around and yanked out the bolt that had penetrated his hide, his acid blood already melting the metal it was made out of.  A quick look around revealed the source of the bolt: a middle aged human.  ~Stop!~ He cried, raising both arms in a gesture of surrender. ~I mean no harm!~  He was answered by another bolt: fortunately this one skipped off his hide without damaging him.  Realizing that this human either hadn't 'heard' him or chose to not believe him, but not willing to fight this human, No-Tongue ran.

Chapter Text

Curses!  Instead of hitting it's head the shot had veered badly and hit it in the leg instead.  Now the beast knew he was here!  Oddly it didn't jump to the attack, but instead seemed to raise it's arms in surrender.  A trick if he ever saw one, as he had heard how these damn things were crafty!  So instead he had quickly reloaded his crossbow and fired again, but luck was against him as it only bounced off it's tough hide.  In another odd reaction it turn and ran rather then counter attack. 

Going to fetch it's fellows no doubt! He thought as he took up the chase, reloading the cross bow as he ran.  He had to stop it before it summoned reinforcements.  Damn bastard is fast!  But hopefully the wound to it's leg will slow it down a bit. 

*** 

The pain in his hind leg was excruciating, but No-Tongue forced himself to ignore it and keep running, knowing all too well that mad human was not far behind.   Unfortunately soon the pain grew too much for him to bare and he was forced to run on just three legs, slowing his pace down considerably.  On top of that the loss of blood due to the wound was further weakening him, slowing him even more.  The fear that he was to met his end at the hands of his human started to creep into his mind. 

Then he heard the sound of hope, of salvation.  He heard the sound of water flowing and oh how it called to him like a friend he thought he had long lost. It was rather odd this feeling for something that had no feelings or thoughts of it's own, but this was no time to ponder about it.  No-Tongue headed as fast as his weakening limbs could carry him and quickly found the source of the sound at the base of a small cliff in the form of a fast flowing river.    Without hesitation or wondering if the river was deep enough he jumped; the water eagerly welcomed him into it's embrace.  The cool water soothed the pain in his leg as he used his tail to propel him down the river with the current, carrying him away from the human at a great speed. 

The combination of blood loss and exhaustion proved to be too much however and even with the water helping him escape, he felt his consciousness fading.  Gradually his tail slowed and stopped moving, leaving only the current itself to carry him downstream.  He was not concerned with this however, as he knew he wouldn't drown no matter how long he was underwater.  Thus he allowed unconsciousness to take him fully without a fight, hoping that where ever the river takes him that human, or anyone else that would want to kill him for that matter, wouldn't find him before he woke up. 

*** 

From the tracks he knew it had slowed down and was now favoring it's injured leg.  It will be only a matter of time before he caught up and finished the beast off, if blood loss didn't do it for him.  With a smile he emerged from the forest, only for his smile of confidence to disappear when he saw the edge of the cliff and the tracks ending at them. 

Cautiously he approached the edge and looked over it, trying to see if the beast was climbing down the cliff or possibly even waiting in ambush.  He saw no sign of the Alien: it was like it just ran off the cliff and disappeared into thin air. 

Or...disappeared into the water. 

He stared at the fast moving water below, following the fast moving current with his gaze until a turn in the canyon blocked his view and the realization that the Alien would be long gone by now.  A loud curse burst out of his lips as he stomped the ground in frustration, carrying on like this for a couple of minutes until he calmed down and started assessing the situation beyond the immediate. 

He knew the river would eventually end at the ocean, where, if it survived, it would run the risk of encountering some of the village folk.  With that in mind he became torn between hunting down this Alien and warning the village.  It was only brief however, as he realized at best they would just shrug at him uncaringly.  Damn fools and their 'if it happens it happens' attitude.  

His mind made up, he started walking along the cliff edge, looking for signs of the Alien. 

*** 

The sea was calm, the wind gentle and the fish were abundant.  In their moderate sized row boat they already had two recently caught large fish, enough to feed the family for the day.  However the leader of the boat, the male of the family, wanted to be sure he had caught enough to feed the family of a neighbor as well.  Their male had taken ill and was unable to hunt for food and Cho had volunteered to provide for them this day.  So with his two eldest daughters watching in anticipation, he looked out at the surface of the water, net in hand, waiting for the right moment. 

Seeing a shine in the water, the sign of a fish close to the water, he tossed his net. The weights that were tied at even intervals around the edges sank fast and at the right moment Cho pulled the rope that would close the net around the fish.  Pulling the main line now while assigning one of his daughters with the task of keeping the closing rope taunt, Cho briefly wondered why not only did this fish seem heavier then normal but wasn't struggling either.  He got his answer when he reached down into the water to grab the net and pulled out not a fist, but what looked like a skeletal tail: he nearly dropped it back into the ocean in shock. 

Did he net the carcass of a large deep fish?  This certainly remained him of one, but he wanted to be sure first before freeing it from his net and sending it back down to the depths of the ocean, as a fish in this state of decay was not healthy to eat.  Telling his daughters to hold the net firmly, he dove into the water to get a better look.  For a moment he treaded underwater, allowing his body to convert fully to aquatic mode, his grills replacing his lungs for the purpose of filtering oxygen and his eyes flattening to enable him to see underwater clearly.  When he was ready he looked at the thing caught in the net and nearly scrambled back out of the water in fear. 

It was no fish, that was for sure, for it's limbs were designed for life on land.  It's tail though, if you ignored the skeletal nature of it, was shaped similarly to his own and looked like it could swim rather well if it had to.  Yet it hung limply in the water, no sign of life in it at all.  Swimming closer to it, Cho saw the claws and teeth of a predator,  yet he had never seen one like this before.  Moving even closer, he inspected the creature more and found the telling wound in one of it's hindlegs.  The Corporal’s work no doubt.  With a shake of his head he told his daughter's what he found and a discussion ensued on what to do with the creature. 

They quickly concluded to take the creature back to the village and have the village Elder take a look at it, for he would know if this find bore any significance to their people.  It was a struggle to get the limp creature into the boat, but between the three of them they succeeded.  Cho decided to wait until after the village Elder gave his judgment before returning to fishing, feeling this find was more important.  As fast as they could, they rowed their boat back to the village.

Chapter Text

The village was made up of several widely spaced wood and thatch huts, those closest to the ocean up on pillars to keep the water from swamping the hut when the tide came in.  Fishing boats of various sizes dotted the shoreline and containment pens anchored in stragitic places along the shore.  Cho could see various village folk going about their usual tasks, many of whom stopped briefly to click a greeting to him as he approached the shore.  Off to one side he saw one of his wives tending to the containment pen that held their newest batch of tads and he couldn't help but smile: this latest batch looked particularly strong and he had high hopes that at least two of them will survive to adulthood. 

Interest grew quickly when the other villagers started noticing Cho's unusual catch.  While one of them went to request the Elder's presence, a couple of the other males helped Cho lift the unusual creature out of his boat and into the village proper.  Shortly after the Elder arrived, parting the increasing crowd with just his presence alone. 

The Elder resembled the rest of his people, though his blue~green skin had started to turn a mottled grey and one blue eye was now clouded with blindness.  Using a staff to help him walk, he approached the creature Cho had brought up from the sea and stroked his chin thoughtfully.  Some of the villagers were restless, having never seen a creature that looked so dangerous this close before.  A young female, one of the healers of the village, started inspecting the wound on it's leg, only to get a nasty surprise. 

It's blood is like the breath of the Raknork she screeched, holding her now acid burnt finger for all to see.  The restlessness in the crowd grew with that announcement and it took a moment for the Elder to calm them.   The Elder had noticed that the small squirt of acid burnt all that it had contacted it, save for the hide of the creature itself.  It was immune to the burning effects of it's blood, he told them and if it's own blood doesn't bring it harm, what about the breath of the Raknork? 

It was too small to face the Raknork some of the villagers said.  It looked dead already, other's said. 

The Elder then revealed that if it bled, it was still living.  The others looked doubtful, but at the Elder's instruction had the creature transported to an empty hut and had it's wound bound with some of the rare leaves of a plant that was acid resistant.  They will keep watch over it he had decided, until it awakened. 

He knew he was taking a big risk, as this creature could be just a normal predator that somehow got placed on there world: he suspected that it had come from the sky on the bright shooting star he had seen last night.   If it was just a normal predator they would have to drive it back into the forest where it would most belong, though that thought filled him with the sense of guilt.  He could tell the creature had already encountered the Corporal and no doubt that human was looking for it to ensure it was dead. 

All life deserved to live as they were made to live, was his people's belief.  For a predator to kill one of his people was as natural as dying of natural causes or getting killed as a result of an act of nature.  What the Corporal was doing, was nothing short of senseless murder, no matter how 'good' his intentions he says they are. 

On top of all that, there was something about this creature that was a bit eerie.  It seemed familiar to him, though he knew he had never seen the creature before in his life.  He decided he will have to meditate on it and see what the visions reveal. 

*** 

He saw nothing. Heard nothing.  And yet he knew they were near.  All around him. 

He screeched, warning them to stay away, but their unseen forms still advanced upon him menacingly, leering grins appearing and mocking laughter starting to sound.  His dangerous tail swept about around him in an attempt to frighten them off, but the laughter only got louder, the grins growing broader.  Turning about, he looked for a means of escape.  There was a gap among the surrounding circle of grins, so he took it, running as fast as his legs could take him.  Behind him, the laughter turned into howls of excitement: the chase was on. 

There was nothing but...nothing...in front of him, an endless expanse of black space.  A void of emptiness where random shapes formed and dissipated.  As he ran some of those shapes took on a more familiar form.  They were the forms of human marines, armed to the teeth with the teeth with the latest Xeno killing weaponry, which they happily started firing at him. He ducked and rolled, swerved and jumped, zigged and zagged to avoid the deadly projectiles.  He struck out with his tail at a couple of the closer ones, but to his disbelief it had passed right through them, not harming them, not slowing the rate at which they fired at him. 

Then a familiar face appeared in front him. It was Arthur!  He was here to save him!  With a happy heart he bounded toward his friend, but when he was but a few feet away the form of Switcher, the mad Xeno, ripped through Arthur's smiling face.  He screeched to a halt, his hopes shattered and now there were Xeno's surrounding him, their secondary jaws opening and closing in a threatening manner. 

Traitor.   Said Switcher hatefully and the other's quickly took up a chorus. 

Traitor.  Traitor.  Traitor.   

Traitor not one of us.   Switcher hissed, advancing on him. 

Death to Traitor.   Sang the others, drawing closer as well, their jaws salvadating with the eagerness for a kill.  Death to Traitor.  

Traitor not worthy to be of hive.   Switcher taunted, his jaws inches from his face. 

Death to Traitor.  Death to Traitor.  

Switchers primary jaws parted, his secondary jaws retracted and ready to strike: he found to his horror that he could not move, he was helpless. 

Then Switchers jaws shot forward. 

No-Tongue jolted awake, emitting a screech of denial and fright.  For a moment he lay there, afraid to move or acknowledge the information his various senses were feeding him.  When he was convinced that nightmare had been just that, a nightmare, he slowly tested his limbs.  His body was sore, his left hind leg even more so due to the wound, and he felt weak from blood loss, not to mention hungry: he couldn't remember when he had his last meal for that matter.  Now...where was he? 

Where ever he was, it didn't 'look' like he was a prisoner.  The hut he was in made of local wood and grass, the furnishings simple but functional and he had been laid upon a soft nest of grass and leaves, with a blanket made of some animals hide draped over him.   More interesting though was the creature that was kneeling beside him, studying carefully. 

It was bipedal and obviously sentient, roughly five feet tall with a tail nearly as long: that tail was shaped like his own, but much more 'fleshed out' as some would say.  The head looked like a vague mix of human and lizard, with a sharply tapered head crest and the eyes were large and glassy: occasionally a membrane flicked across them.  It's shoulders were sloped downward, it's hips looked to be the same, and the partly webbed hands told him it lived aquatically, for at least some of the time.  The legs were digitigrade, with four digit toes that reminded him of one of the tasty amphibians he liked to eat back on his birth planet. 

If he had the ability to see color, he would see that the creature was a pale blue~green in color, with darker patches along it's back and crest and iridescent spots within those patches and had blue eyes. 

They stared at each other for a moment, then the creature made some clicking noises, which reminded No-Tongue uncomfortably of what he was told Predator speech sounded like.  In addition to that though, he felt 'something' mentally, like someone was trying to talk to him like he had with Arthur and members with his hive.  Tilting his head to once side, he asked: ~Did you just say something?~  

The creature gave a chirp of surprise and feel over backwards.  He'll take that as a 'yes'.... 

Chapter Text

No-Tongue watched as the creature righted itself and stared at him with a look of surprise on it’s face.  Keeping his head tilted in a gesture of expectancy, he waited to see if it would try to talk to him again.  He didn’t need to wait very long. 

~You speak of the mind.~ It said clearly this time, though No-Tongue noticed it had something of an accent.  The version of mind speech he used must not be it’s first ‘language’. 

~Yes.~  No-Tongue confirmed.  ~All my people do.~  

~But you’re mind tongue is same as Corporal’s.~  It stated. 

~Who is ‘Corporal’?~  He asked. 

~The one that hurt you.~  It pointed at his bandaged leg. 

~Oooohhhh…’him’.~  No-Tongue said, understanding now.  ~He’s just like most humans I’ve met….shoot first, ask questions later.  Most times don’t even bother asking questions at all.~  

~He the first we seen.~  The creature said.  ~Are all like him?~  No-Tongue notice it had a faint note of disgust, even dread, in it’s voice. 

~I can only confirm that when it comes to my people.~ No-Tongue said sadly. 

It looked truly disgusted now.  ~They kill fellow sentient like you needlessly?~  It asked. 

~Very few of them even consider us above the level of ‘animal’.~  No-Tongue explained. ~Doesn't help that, to my knowledge, I’m only one that can actually communicate with them on their level.  Rest have simple mind sets:  hunt for hosts, kill threats, serve the Queen, etc.~  

~Your people much like insects then, like ants.~ 

~I’ve heard of us being compared that way yes.~  No-Tongue said.  By now he was tired of talking about what ‘he’ was, especially considering that dream he just had.  ~So where am I and who are you?~  

~You are in our village.~ It replied. ~I'm Tio, first Daughter to group male Cho.  Elder asked Cho to ask me to watch over you. It was Cho that pulled you from ocean.~  Then the subject went right back to about him again.  ~Did you come from shooting star in sky?~  She asked. 

­~Shooting star?~  No-Tongue asked, puzzled for a moment.  ~Oh!  You must mean the escape pod.~  She shrugged, clearly not understanding what an ‘escape pod’ was and No-Tongue didn’t really feel like explaining.  ~Yes, I came from the shooting star.­~ 

~Oh then Elder was right!~ She said excitedly. ~He said you must have come from star as you first seen like Corporal is.  Corporal came from a star too.~ 

~How long has he been here?~  No-Tongue asked curiously. 

~Not sure.  He come before I left tad stage.  Tads not know much beyond nursery pool.  That was…twenty cycles ago I think, very long time ago.~ 

The Xeno nodded, believing it was safe to assume that a ‘cycle’ equaled a year on this planet.  Twenty years with no rescue…that was sure to drive a social creature like a human mad.  ~Did you help him as you helped me when he arrived from the stars?~  

She nodded.  ~Cho said he was bad hurt, nearly passed.  He grateful for help, but soon got bad ideas to use to repay us.~  She shook her head sadly. 

~What sort of bad ideas?~  

~Don’t know. Cho would know better.  I should tell him you awake.  Oh how rude of me to not ask how you feel…~  her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. 

~It’s alright.  I’m a bit stiff and weak, but I’ll live.  Could use some food though.~  

~I get you some food.~  She said, nodding enthusiastically.  ~I get Cho too.  He answer questions better then I.  He know your mind speech better as well.~ 

~If you ask me you did very good answering my questions regardless.­­~ No-Tongue said, offering the Xeno equivalent of a smile. 

Another blush.  ~Thank you!  I’ll be back quick with Cho and food.  Oh!  You have name?~ 

~Not one you’d likely be able to pronounce.~  He said with a Xeno chuckle.  ~However, ‘No-Tongue’ is usually what I go by.~ 

~A pleasure to met you then, No-Tongue.~  She smiled. ~I be back quick.~ 

The creature rose and dashed off, leaving No-Tongue to ponder his new situation alone for a moment.  From what he’d seen so far, he liked it here. 

*** 

Cho had just come back from fishing when Tio came running up to him to tell him the creature had awakened.  Like his daughter, he too was surprised it was capable of intelligent thought and speech: it looked liked a creature that survived solely on instinct.  Looks can be deceiving.   He reminded himself.  The Raknork looked like a instinct living creature as well and he most definitely was a very intelligent being from what they could tell. 

A shudder past through him at the thought of that evil creature.  He was just out of tad stage last time the Raknork awakened and made his demands.  He had killed his father and his wives in retaliation for not satisfying them quick enough, forcing his eldest sister to take his place as head male sooner then she should have: she didn’t survive very long as a male as a result, nor did his three other older sisters.   Fortunately by the time the cycle reached him he was at the common, and safest, age and level of maturity to turn male: his long reign of ten years so far was proof of that.  With most Mizok living up to around one hundred years, he had plenty of time left as long as nothing bad happened to him. 

Thinking of Raknork, Tio had said observantly, to which Cho nodded.  He told her he prayed the Raknork won’t awaken again anytime soon, to which Tio reminded him that the Elder suggested they may have a champion to fight him this time.  Cho said that this remained to be seen and that it wouldn’t be right to force this ‘No-Tongue’ to fight for them.  It would be their guest’s decision, not theirs, whether or not he would fight for them. Tio nodded in agreement, stating he was right.  She also told him that he was hungry and that she had told him Cho would be able to answer his questions better.  Cho said he would bring him a couple fish and talk to him and told her to go inform the Elder of his awakening.  Tio bowed and ran off to do just that. 

Fortunately Cho’s second fishing trip had proved very fruitful, so he had plenty of fish to spare.

Chapter Text

No-Tongue was wondering around the small hut, favoring his injured leg.  Like his kin, Xenos where not ones to let a simple limb injury keep them down: he had heard stories from his Queen about how warriors who had multiple limbs blown off or otherwise ruined keep going until they were either finished off or died from blood loss.  There was no small amount of pride in him knowing that his species was so persistent even in the face of doom. 

~You really shouldn’t be walking on that just yet.~ He heard someone he presumed to be Cho say. 

~My kind are known for persistence and stubbornness.~   No-Tongue replied, looking up at Cho.  ~I'm not going to let a little leg wound keep me bed ridden.~   There were obvious differences between Tio and Cho No-Tongue noticed.  For one Cho was a full foot taller and he had a pair of small fins on his shoulder blades.  Most interesting was that his head crest had a couple of bumps on that reminded him somewhat of a Queen’s crests: he found that to be a little bit unsettling for some reason. 

~So I’ve noticed.~  Cho said, putting down a basket that had a couple of large fish in it in front of him. 

No-Tongue studied the fish being offered. He never had fish before, but that’s not what was making him hesitant: it was wondering how he was going to go about eating it.  If he had been a ‘normal’ Xeno he would have used his tongue to pick up the fish, but seeing he lacked the infamous tongue his species was known for, he had to either pick them up with his mouth or his hands instead.   He opted for the latter, which required him to sit down, making him look something like a big, seriously malformed, black dog.  Fortunately, No-Tongue was used to eating with his hands, having learned how to do so from Arthur and only used the other method when he was eating in the absence of company.  

~Tio said you could answer my questions better.~  No-Tongue said as he took a bite out of a fish. One good thing about telepathy was that you couldn’t be scowled for talking with your mouth full. 

~I can.~ Cho confirmed. ~Depending on what the questions are.~ 

~I was told the Corporal had ‘ideas’ you people didn’t approve of.  What were they?~  

Cho visibly sighed, No-Tongue sensing disgust and sorrow.  ~He wanted to start up measures to protect us from the land bound predators of our lands.~ He explained. ~Things like traps, snares and wasteful hunting.~ 

~What’s wrong with that?~   No-Tongue asked, not seeing how they wouldn’t like the idea of less of their kind getting taking by predators. 

~It is not our way.~  Cho said. ~If one of our own is taken by a predator we accepted it as nature’s way.   Only the fittest Mizok would be able to elude the predators, thus ensuring only the best survive to spread their traits to the next generation.~ 

~Survival of the fittest.~   No-Tongue said, Cho nodding in agreement.  ~That does seem to be something humans have forgotten about…~ 

~But now he’s taken matters into his own hands.~ Cho continued.  ~He is killing every predator, even some of the harmless ones, he comes across.  He is throwing the natural balance of the forest that borders our village off and the forest is suffering.~ 

~You can’t kill off some of the prey to help rebalance it?~  

 ~We can eat land meat, but not often as the land chemicals in it will cause problems with our bodies if we eat it too often.  So it is an occasional treat if anything else and killing animals without using the bodies is wasteful.~ 

Unfortunately you might as well just stamp ‘environmental disaster’ on my people’s foreheads.   No-Tongue thought with a faint frown, knowing how indiscriminate his kind tended to kill.  It wouldn’t be that way if they were never taken off their homeworld.  ~Unfortunately my people aren’t much better as a whole.~   He admitted. 

~But you are different from your people.  Tio told me so.~ 

~Yes, but I am just ‘one’ Xenomorph.~  No-Tongue said with a shake of his head. ~And a drone at that.  If a Queen were to ever show up I’d be forced to obey her.  Nothing is stronger then a Queen’s will.~  

He noticed Cho was looking at his strangely and he tilted his head in curiosity.  ~Somehow I doubt that would be the case if a ‘Queen’ was to show up.~  Cho said.  ~You have a strong will of your own.~ 

~Not as strong as a Queen’s.~   No-Tongue insisted, then decided to drop the subject all together.  ­~Thank you for the fish, I’ll try my hand at fishing perhaps, since we are naturally decent swimmers.  But I think, when my leg heals enough, I’ll get most of my food from the forest, to help ‘balance things out’.~  

Cho frowned.  ~Be careful of the Corporal…~  He warned. ~He roams the forest daily.~ 

~Don’t worry, now that I know what he is about, I can easily avoid him.  Besides, with their toys humans are essentially helpless against my people.~  Xeno pride showed there and the frown on Cho’s face told him he disliked what he just heard.  Not much he could do about it however. 

You can put some human into a Xeno…but you can never take the Xeno out of a Xeno…. 

*** 

He had found no sign at all of the Alien along the river, which meant it had to have been washed out completely into the ocean itself.  Blast it!  That means it could be anywhere now!  Which means there was little chance he would find it before one of the Mizok did and if that happened, those poor people would be slaughtered without question by the beast. 

Tapping his crossbow on his leg, he looked down the ridge to the Mizok village below.  For the time being it looked like the best thing he could do for them was to warn them about the threat.  Chances are they won’t listen to him like all the other times….

Chapter Text

Cho had finally left the hut after speaking to their guest a while more, learning about his past and how he had arrived on their world.  The some of the things he was told was disturbing, but the fact that a true friendship had emerged in such a situation and that No-Tongue had chosen that friendship over his own kind spoke highly of him.  Perhaps once No-Tongue's leg had healed, he could led them to the crash site so that they could retrieve his friends body and give him a proper burial, though Cho doubted No-Tongue would truly understand the reasoning behind it.  That was not his decision to make though: that would be No-Tongue and the Elder's decision when it came time to make it.  He was heading to the Elder's now, to tell him what their quest told himself and his daughter Tio, but he was not to get that far... 

A faint sense of alarm suddenly spread through the mental consciousness of the village and Cho quickly discovered why:  the Corporal was here.  It wasn't time for him to restock...why was he here?  Cho's thoughts immediately remembered No-Tongue, remembering that their quest had already encountered the Corporal once and from what he had told Cho most humans believed the only good Xeno was a dead one.  Therefore, there was little question about why the human had come here.  Still, for No-Tongue's sake it would be best to play ignorant of their quest's presence in the village. 

~You are early for your supply run.~  Cho said to the human as he arrived in the village center.  ~We do not have your next bunch of supplies ready yet.~ 

"I am not here for restock Cho."  The Corporal said and Cho felt the tension amongst the villagers rise, a few gills flaring in annoyance. 

~You know you are not to be here but for those times~  Cho said sternly.  ~I suggest you leave.~ 

"I will, but not until I give you a warning of a great threat." 

~All your so called 'threats' are baseless.~ 

"Stop being naive and listen!"  The Corporal snapped.  "On that shooting star that fell last night was a monster that is responsible for countless deaths.  It's kind kills mercilessly and indiscriminately, using any living being as a host for it's offspring and delivering a painful sudden death to them all!  If it is not stopped it will mean the end of your people." 

Cho thought a moment over how he was to rebuke this human without revealing that No-Tongue was in the village.  Everything the Corporal had said matched what No-Tongue told him himself about his kind, but since No-Tongue was different from his kin Cho had no reason to believe he was a threat to them. ~You say these things, yet have no proof.~ Cho said coolly.  ~Going by how baseless your past warnings were, we must assume this one is just as such.  If such a creature was to come here we will judge for ourselves how dangerous it is.~ 

The Corporal was flabbergasted. "You're a bunch of morons." He said hotly. "This monster would kill you the moment it was aware of your presence.  That or cocoon you to a tree or wall to prepare you to be a host for it's seed." 

~And we only have your word on this.~ Cho pointed out.  ~We have no reason to believe you Corporal.~ 

"Don't call me Corporal!"  The man snapped.  "I am your guardian and you will address me as such!" 

There was dead silence for a moment, then a chorus of trilling, the Mizok's way of laughing, filled the air. 

~You are not a guardian of anything.~ One female said. ~You are a destroyer!~ 

~If you want to be our guardian...prove it.  Hunt the Raknork.~  Said another. ~That one has been proven to be dangerous to all!~ 

The Corporal looked a little shaken for once and seemed to struggle to counter the villager's words.  Finally he gave up and in a huff stormed out of the village. 

~Awww....poor little human got his big fat ego busted for once.~   Cho heard No-Tongue say after the Corporal was well out of sight.  He turned and saw the Xeno limping toward him.  

~You heard our conversation?~  Cho asked, ignoring the consending tone of their quest. 

~Unless you speak to someone on a 'private line' I would have heard you from quite a distance away.  The distance I can send you a message though, is crap in comparison.~  The Xeno replied with a motion that seemed to be a shrug. ~To be honest, I was really tempted to run out there and show him just how wrong he was.  At least when it comes to me.~ 

~He probably would have started shooting if you did that.~ Cho said warningly. ~He tends to react quickly to surprises.~ 

~Point taken.  What was that 'Raknork' thing you guys were talking about?~ 

The villagers around them shrank away at the mention of that name, even though they had only just moments ago used it against the Corporal.  Even Cho shuddered. ~It's a true monster.~  Cho explained. ~One that suddenly appeared a very long time ago.  It is a selfish being, only caring about what it wanted and making demands of us, with the threat of death to those that didn't comply.  It killed my mother and father last time it was awake.~ 

~'Last time it was awake'?~  No-Tongue echoed. 

~It sleeps for many cycles at a time.~  A new voice said and all Mizok backed away a few steps in respect as the Elder approached.  ~That would be considered a blessing, but when it awakens it is grumpy, mean, cruel and hungry.  It is as tall as a very young tree with a length that matches that of the oldest trees.  The scales upon it's body shine with the colors of a sunset, flies upon wings made of stretched hide and it's breath burns all that come into contact with it.~ 

No-Tongue visibly frowned, but did not seem afraid: from what the Xeno had told him his kind didn't seem to know the emotion of fear.  ~You don't fight back against it?~   He asked. 

~Look at us.~  The Elder swept his arm around at the villagers.  ~Do you see even one that is a warrior?  We are a peaceful folk and those that talk of fighting back have been quickly killed by the Raknork.  It is determined to keep things the way they are and somehow it always knows when there is a threat to it's lively hood.~ 

~Would it consider me a threat?~ 

~Perhaps...since your hide is immune to your blood and your blood is like the Raknork's breath.~ 

The Xeno lowered his head, obviously in thought. ~You don't expect me to fight it do you?~   He finally asked it. 

There was another period of silence, all the villagers, Cho included, looking at the Elder for the response. 

~We wish to be rid of the monster, but it wouldn't be right to ask that of you.~  The Elder finally replied.  ~It is your choice whether or not to face it on our behalf.  For now, rest and recover your strength.  If you chose not to stay in our company it will not be held against you, in the meantime we shall keep watch over the skies above the isle the Raknork makes it's lair and give you good warning should it come.  There is no need for you to suffer our fate...if you chose not to.~

Chapter Text

It had been several days since he was laughed out of town by the Mizok and it still stung.  He was expecting them not to believe him yes, but not laugh at him. How dare they!  All these years of protecting them from predators and he gets laugh at and not given the respect he deserved!  Perhaps he had been so good at his job that they felt they no longer needed him. 

No, that was wrong.  There were still threats to the village folk he needed to eliminate, that Alien for one and this so-called Raknork as well.  Honestly, considering he had yet to see any sigh of this ‘Raknork’ he was starting to feel it was simply a scary bed time story to keep the kids in line.  Yeah that had to be it. 

The Alien though, he had seen that with his own two eyes so he knew it was real.  It was somewhere on this planet, he was sure of it, and he seriously doubted it drowned or perished from blood loss: those bugs are tougher to get rid of then cockroaches.  He could only hope it didn’t settle in far away and started a hive already and every day like today he patrolled the forest for signs of the Alien. 

Suddenly something jumped upon his back, forcing him to fall forward and land flat on his face: a brief gasp was all he was able to utter before he got a face full of dirt.  There was an unmistakable hiss above him and he knew he had been caught by surprise by the Alien.  Fear now griped him, as he was helpless with the monster on top of him like this, and he knew the Alien would smell it on him.  Dear gods this was the end…he had failed the village folk. 

There was a soft snapping sound and by reflex he screamed in terror as he felt like he was being crushed under the weight of the beast and he felt something around his waist.  Gods help me!  Did it just break my back!?  There was another hiss, stuttered this time, and just as suddenly as it appeared the weight on his back disappeared: the Alien was gone. 

For a few minutes he could only lay there, truly believing his back was broken and that the Alien had cruelly left him at the mercy of the forest wildlife.  Eventually he did realize he was alright and he stood up, confused as to what had just happened.  Then his pants feel down. 

Damn Alien had stolen his belt…. 

*** 

A few weeks later… 

No-Tongue basked in the sun on the beach, watching the younger Mizok play in the shallows while the older Mizok fished.  With his leg now healed he can do as he wished, though he preferred to help out with the community when he could.  Usually his help entailed assisting with the fishing, as his greater strength helped bring in some of the larger catches. Sometimes he would go fishing alone, seeking out fish the Mizok only rarely caught, if at all.  A couple of times he brought in a large deep fish, which was considered a delicacy to the Mizok so he happily shared the spoils.  Other times he helped with the repair and building of the huts in the village, lending his strength and sometimes the special ‘goo’ his kind produced to cement their victims to the hive walls. He was careful to only use this ‘goo’ on the inside of the huts however, for the Corporal with his weekly visits would surely notice the new ‘building material’ straight off if it was used on the outside.  

Speaking of the Corporal, No-Tongue had been having a lot of fun with that human.  He played jokes on him, sometimes simple slapstick type and other times they were a bit crueler.  His favorite one so far though was the very first one: when he stole the man’s belt.  The expression on the man’s face when he realized he wasn’t as hunt he was obviously thinking he was had been pure gold.  He and Cho still shared chuckled over that one, though it took a lot of explaining for the Mizok to get what was funny about it, as Mizok didn’t wear clothing at all.  He had yet to find the man’s ‘base’ though: oh the fun he could have when he found it and he was already cooking up some ideas.  The Elder cautioned him not to over do things however, as the Corporal had been notably more paranoid with each visit: the last thing anyone wanted was for him to kill a Mizok by accident when thinking it was No-Tongue. 

Overall though, No-Tongue loved it here.  He felt like he was a part of a something bigger, in a hive once more.  There wasn’t a definite communal mind here like with a proper hive, but it was close enough that No-Tongue no longer felt like he was completely alone.  Arthur, he now realized, was nothing more then a distraction from the reality of being separated from a community mindset.  While it was welcome at the time, there was the chance that eventually No-Tongue would have still lost his sanity, like Switcher did.  With the Mizok he no longer felt the risk was there and could look forward to living the rest of his life here, comfortably.  The only downside was that on the day of the Corporal’s visit, he had to make himself scarce. Speaking of which…wasn’t today…? 

~No-Tongue.~  One of the older Mizok said to him, breaking his line of thought.  ~The Corporal will be here any minute.  Best you hide.~ 

No-Tongue made a hiss of acknowledgement and rose to his feet.  Where should he go this time?  Looking out at the ocean before him he decided to take a swim.  He heard the children call to him, asking for him to play with them as he splashed into the water.  He kindly told them he couldn’t right now, but promised to later.  With a flick of his tail he was off into deeper water. 

He had been swimming for only a few minutes when he was discovered by a pod of dolphin like animals: not in appearance, but rather in behavior.  Inspired by the playful antics and having met them before, he joined them in their games of ‘follow the leader’ and leaping and twisting out of the water.  It was quite a lot of fun and he ended up losing track of where he was, so when the pod finally had enough and swam away he did not know exactly where he was in relation to the village.  Thinking he couldn’t have gotten to far away he scanned for landfall and found it not far away.  He made for it, knowing the Corporal will have gotten his supplies and left by now, but upon exiting the water and climbing onto the beach he realized he had traveled a lot farther then he thought he did and with sickening realization he knew where he had to be. 

The isle the Raknork itself slumbered.

Chapter Text

For a moment No-Tongue could only stand there frozen in shock, if not a little bit of fear.  He had purposely avoided all mention, all thoughts about the Raknork but now they all came crashing down on him.  Despite their assurances he had a choice in the matter, he knew the Mizok were expecting him to take care of this Raknork problem for them.  It didn’t help he couldn’t get a clear picture in his head of what the thing looked like, as he had never seen anything that even resembled what the Elder described before. 

Before him was an immense forest and some where in there was the Raknork.  No-Tongue knew the best thing he could do right now was to just turn around and swim as fast as he could back to the village.  What was it that the Elder said though?  That it slept for years at a time.   So it would be asleep right now right?  So what’s the harm with a little peek?  For a few moments a battle of two decisions raged in No-Tongue’s head and finally it was curiosity, not caution, that won out. 

You’re a Xenomorph.  His mind told him. A fearless killer and protector of your hive.  Think of the honor that would be bestowed upon you if you slew this beast!  Queens from all over would want you for their consort! 

Why the heck was he thinking like that?  He was just a drone and drones couldn’t become viable mates for a Queen. It just wasn’t possible!  Not that any Queen would let him near Her hive in the first place, the traitor that he was to his own kind. 

This kill could be your ticket to redemption.  Something deep in mind persisted.  

No!  No-Tongue rejected.  The Mizok is my family now, they are my hive, I exist to protect them now.  That is my purpose. 

Then what better way to protect them then to eliminate this Raknork? 

He couldn’t argue against that, no matter how hard he tried.  Soon he was entertaining thoughts on killing the damn thing in it’s sleep.  Not very honorable, but since when was a Xeno honorable?  Besides, all the Mizok needed to know was that he killed it right? 

As he thought things over his body was on automatic, pushing it’s way through the undergrowth.  He barely registered just how quiet this isle was: no birds, no animals, just lots and lots of trees and bush.  His awareness came back fully when a large cave came into view. 

For a moment he paused and stared at the opening.  It was huge: but did that mean the Raknork was just as big?  You came this far you idiot.  He told himself.  Might as well go all the way. 

Caution now took over.  If he was to kill this thing in it’s sleep, he had to be quiet, not that wasn’t a difficult thing to do for a Xeno:  stealth was second nature to them!  The cave had a very musty smell to it, as well as a hint of decay and an acidic burn smell.  Yep, this had to be the Raknork’s den if it’s breath was the same as No-Tongue’s own blood like the Elder described.  The deeper he went in, the stronger those scents became and the rumbling sound of something very big breathing started becoming apparent.   

Getting an idea, No-Tongue took to the walls and started traveling on the ceiling.  Since this thing was a flying beast, there was doubt it would suspect an attack from above, meaning it would be looking at the ground first if somehow it woke up before he struck.  Secure in his logic, No-Tongue picked up the pace a little bit and soon the cavern opened up into a large chamber.  At first he saw nothing, though all his other senses were screaming that something big, very big was in here.  Then he remembered he was on the ceiling and looked toward the floor. 

He nearly lost his grip to the shock. 

Dear gods…it’s larger then a Queen…  He thought, his mouth a gape.  Curled up upon a bed of what he quickly identified to be the bones of various victims, was a very large reptilian beast.  It had a triangular head mounted on a long neck and heavily muscled body, with a long thick tail attached to the rear.  He could see six limbs in total on it: four normal legs, though one looked to be severed at the wrist, and two other appendages that he guessed were it’s wings.  The head was crowned with a crest of horns that would make a Queen jealous and down the whole length of it’s spine was a triple row of spines: the whole body was covered with thick scales. 

This won’t be the quick and easily kill I thought it would be…  No-Tongue thought, awestruck by the thing below him.  No wonder the Mizok were so helpless against it and he doubted the Corporals puny crossbow could dent those scales.  He began to reevaluate his plans: he knew his kind were strong enough to punch through concrete and even steel if given enough time, but this thing was a ‘living’ thing and wouldn’t likely stay still long enough for him to beat it to death.  Precise strikes is what he’ll need. 

Suddenly, the beast’s nostrils flared and it’s eyes opened.  No-Tongue flattened himself against the ceiling, wondering if the thing knew he was there, or was just doing a subconscious check of it’s surroundings as it slumbered.  His hopes of the latter were dashed as the Raknork rose it’s head, chips of bone falling off the necks underside and looked up in his direction. 

Intruder.  identify yourself or face my rath.  It spoke, No-Tongue not only hearing but feeling it’s deep rumbling voice in his very body. 

~Uh…~ No-Tongue wasn’t sure if it could hear mind speech but what other choice did he have? ~Just a curious visitor…that’s all…didn’t mean to wake you up.~ 

Your voice is not the same as the fish folk.  The Raknork said, it’s tone almost curious.  Your scent is different from them as well.  What are you? 

~A lone strandee from another world.~ No-Tongue replied honestly. 

A deep contemplative rumbling could be heard.  So the gods still are dumping innocent souls upon this miserable world.  It said, it’s gaze looking toward the ground: there was what looked like a sad expression on it’s face. 

No-Tongue found this interesting: Raknork seemed sympathetic toward those that got stuck here.  ~You’re a strandee as well?~ He asked. 

The beast’s gaze focused back in his direction, though No-Tongue now noticed it’s eyes were constantly scanning the general area where he was perched, meaning the Raknork couldn’t actually ‘see’ him, just knew where he was generally.  As long as he didn’t move and kept it talking…maybe…just maybe he could talk it out of terrorizing the Mizok.  

Yes.  It replied. Was ripped from my home by a unnatural force of nature, with no way to return.  Was in my prime when it happened, lost out my chance to ensure my line continued.  Again it looked sad.  Wandered this world for months looking for a way back, but only found the fish folk, who were trapped here as well. 

Now there was a tidbit the Elder or Cho didn’t let him in on.  The Mizok were strandee’s as well?  Only apparently in their case a whole village was moved here.  But why?  What forces of nature were causing these displacements?  And did this mean the explosion in the core of the ship he and Arthur were on could be blamed on the same phenomenon?  He’ll have to run this by the Elder the next chance he got: if the Raknork didn’t end up killing him first.  ~Yet instead of working with the Mizok…you chose to terrorize them instead.~ 

The Raknorks eyes narrowed.  They are inferior beings.  It growled.  As you are.  The strong rule over the weak.  That is the way of things.  Nothing here is bigger and stronger then me. 

Any sympathy No-Tongue had for the beast was now gone. With a screech No-Tongue leaped from his spot on the ceiling and toward the Raknork’s head.  Now able to see him, the beast moved to dodge the attack, but No-Tongue scored blow on it’s cheek with his tail, a line of crimson now flowing from the wound.  He landed at the beast’s feet and scampered away toward the mouth of the cave, only to stop and turn to face the Raknork, his tail whipping about madly behind him and drool dripping from his jaws. 

It was a stupid thing to do, for there had still been a chance to talk the beast down, but it had insulted him!  Xenos were not weak!  Xenos made mincemeat out of just about anything that came there way, especially if they didn’t have any nasty guns and explosives with them.  ~You don’t have to be big to be stronger then someone else!~ No-Tongue said with an accompanying screech.  

The Raknork looked a bit stunned, obviously had never had something so small inflict injury upon it.  But that shock quickly faded and it’s lips peeled back to reveal dozens of sharp dagger-like fangs.  It’s growl shook the ground around it and it rose to it’s feet, wings spreading slightly.  It was an intimidating sight, but No-Tongue stood his ground.  Infidel! It roared. You will pay!  It’s head shot forward, it’s jaws opening wide and a thick spray of a clear liquid shot forth. 

No-Tongue knew what that had to be, but stood his ground as the spray washed all over him….

Chapter Text

The stench of acid burning into the surrounding rock was overwhelming, but No-Tongue wasn't bothered by that. What did bother him was the tingling feeling all over his body where the beast's acid contacted his body. Not because it hurt, it was more annoying then anything else, but it worried him that it may just eat through his tough carapace and kill him, or at least render him unable to defend himself any further. As quickly as it started though, the tingling filling stopped and wasn't followed by pain: he had survived the acid intact. Now even more confident he could win this, he grinned up at the Raknork, who looked simply dumbfounded.

Impossible…It muttered.

~My peoples blood is like your breath~ No-Tongue said, still grinning. ~Therefore I am immune to it. The most you did was give me a deep cleaning bath. Tell me…~ He turned to show his profile. ~Do I look squeaky clean?~

TheRaknork gave a roar of rage fired another round of acid at him. This one was in a more concentrated stream and the force of the impact knocked the Xeno over. No-Tongue felt the tingling again, but this time in places the first acid attack hadn't reached. Beyond that the acid attack no longer affected him at all. ~Whatsa matter? Couldn't believe it the first time?~ He taunted as he righted himself. ~Don't tell me that's all you got.~

Truly enraged now, the beast charged him, albeit a little awkwardly due to lacking it's left forepaw. No-Tongue to dodged it's snapping jaws by leaping at the wall, those sharp fangs barely missing his tail. He then pushed off the wall and landed on the beasts head. Instinctively the Raknork started shaking it's head, preventing No-Tongue from lining up a good shot at it's eyes with his tail. He did managed to get a few stinging blows to the things face before it finally balanced on it's hindlegs for a moment so it could knock him off with his remaining forepaw. No-Tongue landed on his feet cat-like, but had to move out of the way quickly when that forepaw came at him, sharp talons meaning to poke some holes into him.

For the next few minutes No-Tongue dodged and ducked the Raknork'sattacks, getting in a few blows on those attacking limbs in the meantime: the beast wisely did not attempt to bite him again. Eventually the Raknork stopped it's attacks, realizing that it was the only one getting hurt here. -You ready to negotiate?-No-Tongue asked, relaxing his body but keeping on guard for further attacks.

There is nothing to negotiate. The Raknork sneered. You may best me yet, little gnat, but not before I punish the ones that sent you. For their treachery, I will fest on fish folk flesh!

~The Mizok didn't send me! I came here by acci…~ No-Tongue's cry of protest was cut short when the Raknork's tail knocked him off his feet as the beast spin around and retreated back into the main chamber. No it wasn't retreating, No-Tongue quickly realized as he righted himself, it was taking another route out! Fearing for the lives of his new family, he ran after the Raknork as fast as his legs would take him.

He chased the beast into another tunnel, one that was winding and ascending. No-Tongue used every trick he could think of to gain ground on the beast, like alternating between the ceiling and floor and leaping to the inner wall on a turn. He was almost close enough to grab the beast's tail when the tunnel straightened, leaving him now with only pure speed to use to close the remaining gap between them, and his sonar alerted him to a wide open space ahead of them, along with a cliff edge: bastard was going to take flight.

The Raknork paused only for a second to spread it's wings to their full spread, a precious second No-Tongue needed to close the remaining distance. It was almost as if the Raknork knew he was right behind him as that tail suddenly moved out of reach just before it leapt from the cliff. Not stopping to think about it, No-Tongue sped head long at the cliff edge and leapt at the last possible moment. Time seemed to slow as No-Tongue reached with all his might for the end of the Raknork's tail.

And then he was flying.

So this is what it feels like to fly… No-Tongue thought, having only barely managed to grab a hold of the very tip of the beast's tail and was now watching the forest below him speed by. He shook the awe from him though, knowing that his grip was precarious and a good tail shake would dislodge him. If he let go with one hand though he would surely fall anyway, unless…

Without further thought No-Tongue clamped his jaws onto the tail end, his sharp teeth finding purchase where his hands could not. Obviously the pain this caused alerted the Raknork to the stowaway and that tail started lashing about wildly. Despite the grip his jaws had he nearly found himself plummeting to his death, as by now they were high enough from the ground where the fall surely would have killed him. Finally the tail lashing slowed and No-Tongue risked moving up the tail, using the combination of hands and jaws. Every time he bit down with his jaws for purchase brought on another bought of tail lashing, but eventually he was high enough on the tail to allow his hindlegs and tail to help with the griping and he didn't need to bite as much. Plus the spines along the beast's dorsal side proved to be excellent hand holds and didn't cause pain when No-Tongue bit them. By the time they were halfway across the ocean, No-Tongue had successfully reached the beast's back.

Gnat! He heard the Raknork roar and then the beast dove, forcing No-Tongue to grab onto the dorsal spines and hang on for dear life, for the on rushing wind nearly knocked him off. The beast followed up with a dizzying array of turns, stoops, rolls, and dives, all in the attempt to knock the persistent Xeno off.

No-Tongue was glad he didn't get motion sickness…

Chapter Text

Cho had just returned from a fishing trip when one of his younger daughters pointed to something in the sky and asked him what it was. He had to squint for a moment to find what she was referring to, but once he spotted it he immediately recognized it, his heart filled with dread. The Raknork was awake! He yelled to this people in warning and many of his fellow Mizok fled into forest. Other's however didn't, one being one of Cho's wives whom had tads in the nursery pool: her instincts would make it next to impossible to leave them.

Cho was about to retreat into the forest himself when he noticed the Raknork starting to fly oddly. It was diving, swooping and turning, like it was trying to get something off it's back. It was too far away to tell if anything was harassing the beast though, but one thing was for certain: No-Tongue was no where to be found.

***

The Corporal hadn't gone very far when a Mizok rushed past him, looking like she was in a bit of a fright. "What's wrong with you?" He said irritably, having not forgotten the humiliation of having been laughed at by her people.

~The Raknork is coming!~ Came the response, the female not even stopping in her stride.

It took a moment for it to sink in and when it did a big smile formed on his face. The beast the Mizok had been so afraid of was finally showing itself. Now was his chance to prove his worth to the fish folk once and for all. After stashing his supplies he quickly ran back to the village, his crossbow armed and ready. When he got to the village however, he stopped in his tracks in pure shock. The beast was huge and far larger then his crossbow could damage. He also knew it for what it was, though he had always been taught they were only a myth.

A…dr…dragon… He thought in disbelief as he watched stoop and dive, acting rather agitated. The scene a bit too much for him, he fell to his knees and started laughing hysterically.

***

He had made it to the back of the beast, but what was he to do now? No-Tongue knew he had to keep it from reaching the village and while he knew the Raknork's wild flying was delaying it it would be only a matter of time before it decided to ignore the 'pest' on it's back. No, he had to keep it's attention on him. It would be tricky however, with the wind rushing past him he wouldn't have as much power in his strikes as normal and while he knew he could strike through solid rock and even steel, he didn't know how hard this thing's scales were.

Won't know unless I try. He thought as he coiled his tail. No-Tongue snapped his tail forward, striking the beast's hide. One scale shattered while a couple others cracked and he heard the Raknork cry in alarm. The alien was nearly thrown off when the Raknork went into a violent barrel roll, but this only prompted No-Tongue to strike at it's back a few more times.

This will take too long. No-Tongue decided, noting that while he was making the beast's armor a patchwork suit, the wind made it next to impossible to strike in the same place twice, thus not causing any real damage. I need to get him to stop flying. It was then he noticed something for the first time: while the body of the beast was armored, the membranes of it's wings were thin and vulnerable. With a Xeno smile he lashed out with this tail, ripping a large gash in the membrane of the right wing. Now the Raknorks cry of alarm was mixed with pain and even fear.

Stop you fool or you'll kill us both! It bellowed.

~Oh I'm not worried…I'm sure you'll break my fall…~ No-Tongue replied as he lashed out again, cutting another gash in the same wing. Then he did the same to the other wing and by now he noticed the Raknork's flight speed had lessened, though the rate of flapping had increased. It seemed the Raknork was struggling to just stay up in the air now. Now that there was less wind in his face, he had more control over where his tail actually hit and he struck at the most vulnerable part of the Raknork: the wing arm. There was a satisfying cracking sound when his barbed tail hit and an even more satisfying bellow of pain from the beast. That wing was now bent in the wrong place almost at a 90 degree angle upward and No-Tongue now felt the sensation of falling as they both plummeted out of the sky.

***

Weird things were happening to the Raknork and more and more Mizok were gathering to watch. First sizable holes appeared in both wings, then one wing snapped upward unnaturally. The Mizok watched as the beast that had terrorized them for so long started to plummet. The Raknork was trying to defiantly fight it's descent, it's remaining wing flapping furiously. It managed to get itself over land, which caused the Mizok to scatter once again, before crashing somewhere in the forest.

Before that though Cho thought he saw something odd on the Raknork's back, if only for a second before it disappeared. It happened too quick to identify what it was, but it looked green…

Chapter Text

Everything had gone black when they hit the forest, so when No-Tongue regained consciousness he found himself in a tree. Why do I always end up in a tree? He thought as he tested his limbs and finding nothing wrong other then a few new scratches on his hide. The Raknork didn't fare nearly as well and No-Tongue could see that from his high perch.

It was laying on it's side, one wing trapped underneath it's bulk and torn to shreds: the other looked like a smashed kite that was draped over it's body. One hind leg was bent at an awkward angle, no doubt broken. Two horns on it's head were broken off, a trickle of blood was flowing out of the corner of it's mouth and nostrils, and it's breathing looked labored. No-Tongue decided to get a closer look, so he climbed down the tree and cautiously approached.

The beast made an effort to get up when it saw him approaching, only to fall to the ground again. Done in by a gnat…. It rumbled before coughing up a bit of blood.

~Well if you hadn't been so full of yourself and terrorized those weaker then you this wouldn't have happened.~ No-Tongue told it.

I did it to survive…

~Survive? You got to be kidding me. You're big enough to hunt for yourself and the Mizok would have helped you willingly if you hadn't started bullying them.~ No-Tongue snapped. ~You got what you deserved.~

It didn't respond to that, so No-Tongue took a chance and jumped onto it's snout. It's large orbs opened weakly to regard him. So are you going to finish me or not?It asked.

~Debating that.~ No-Tongue replied. ~I should just leave you to die slowly.~

Have you no sense of mercy?

~Actually…no…my kind don't know the meaning the word.~ No-Tongue gave the beast a grin. ~However, you would be my first real kill…~ Without warning, No-Tongue shot his tail forward, sending it's barbed tip right through one of the Raknork's eyes and into it's brain. The beast jolted sharply before going completely limp.

No-Tongue pulled his tail out of the skull, feeling a weird sensation throughout his body. It was a sense of elation and with it increased strength. He screamed a cry of celebration that spread deep into the forest.

***

Cho and many of the other Mizok's shuddered at the piercing sound that came from the forest. They never heard anything like it before and the wondered what creature made it: they were certain it wasn't the Raknork. For a long time tease anticipation filled the village, dozens of eyes watching the edge of the forest. Finally something moved from within the forest and the Mizok stepped back warily. What emerged was familiar, yet unfamiliar.

~No-Tongue?~ Cho asked the arrival, which was dragging a very large horn. ~Is that you?~

~Who else could I be? The toothfairy?~ No-Tongue quipped.

~We weren't sure…~ Cho confessed. ~You're green now…~

~Green?~ No-Tongue was confused. ~Cho, I have no concept of color, as I can't 'see' in color. Please explain.~

~Before you were a very dark color, dark as the night sky, but now your color is shared by the leaves of trees.~

~The acid…~ No-Tongue concluded. ~The Raknork hit me with his breath and I felt a tingling all over. I guess this is what the tingling meant.~

~What about the Raknork itself.~ One of the other villagers asked. ~We saw it crash in the forest.~

At that No-Tongue gestured to the horn he brought back with him. ~It is dead.~ He said simply. ~It will no longer threaten you.~

For a moment there was stunned silence, then a chorus of cheers.

***

Things had settled down nicely in the following weeks after the Raknork's death. The Corporal, whom previously had been a major headache for both the Mizok and No-Tongue, seemed to have completely snapped after seeing the Raknork. He kept calling No-Tongue a 'dog' and wanted him to play fetch, along with a bunch of other annoying new habits, such as yanking on a random Mizok's tail: the Mizok really hated that.

They didn't have to put up with the Corporal's antics for long however. Apparently, he got the insane idea that he could fly and jumped off a nearby cliff. The Mizok mourned him out of respect, though No-Tongue had a more of a 'good riddance' mentality about the man's death. Either way, No-Tongue's life with the Mizok was now totally peaceful. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and the Mizok never questioned him. He still helped the Mizok with their day to day tasks however, pulling his own weight in the community.

A cycle later, No-Tongue was still living with the Mizok as one of them. By now he had witnessed a couple of the female Mizok's 'transform' into males and now there were enough females for another to do the same, but there was no sign of any of them starting the process. The Mizok believed it was just a matter of time.

Then one day, No-Tongue felt 'itchy'. An odd sensation he hadn't felt since he shed his skin soon after bursting out of his host as a chestbuster. Unable to control himself, he started scratching himself with his claws and rubbing his hide up against rocks and other rough surfaces. Then one night while the village slept, he seemed to 'zone out'. When he became aware of his surroundings again, he jumped back in shock: there was another alien in his hut!

Yet this alien didn't move and upon closer examination he concluded that it was his old shed carapace. This puzzled him: drones like himself only shed their carapace once in their lives that he knew of, so why did this happen? As he moved around his hut, he realized things seemed a bit smaller, like he had grown bigger. Now he was getting worried and started looking over himself the best he could. His legs were about the same, though his forepaws were more hand shaped. He noted his tail was now even longer, the barbed tip larger and he still had that broader 'spade' form on his tail, though it was more 'filled' now. The rest of his body he couldn't see for himself, so he was forced to wait unit morning….

Cho thought it unusual that No-Tongue didn't come out of his hut to greet everyone as he usually did first thing. Instead the alien seemed almost afraid to come out, so he went in to see if there was anything wrong. At first he feared his friend was dead after seeing the unresponsive shed carapace, but then he saw movement in the darkest part of the hut. ~No-Tongue?~ He asked, slightly cautious.

~It's me.~ Came a reassuring response. ~But something's…happened to me…~ Cho watched as a larger No-Tongue crept into the light and had to take a step back in surprise.

~You're bigger…~ Cho said. ~And different…~

~How am I different?~ No-Tongue asked. ~I can't see my head and body for myself.~

~Your body is not much different.~ Cho said as he walked around the alien, looking him over. ~Your head though…especially the back, it's broader and flatter. You have 'hooks' along the edges of it now.~ Cho paused briefly. ~Actually you remind me of one of us now; you look a lot like a Mizok.~

No-Tongue thought this over. Could it be that his original host was a Mizok and the scraps of DNA his kind kept from their host allowed him to change like the Mizok do in mid life? While the mystery of why he got along with the Mizok so well and what his host was seemed to be solved now, there was a nagging worry in the back of his mind.

Mizok change their gender in mid life to ensure there's a proper ratio of male and female and it was he that changed instead of one of them this time around. He was a drone before, so what was he now? Hesitantly he felt his head with one of his paws and confirmed Cho's description of the change there. The change that happened though, while similar to the crest of a male Mizok, reminded him of something else.

~My crest is like a royal guards now…~ He said finally, worry in his voice.

~A higher caste of your species?~ Cho asked.

~Yes. They are the second largest of my kind, only the Queen is bigger. But they are usually born like this…not transformed later like me.~

~If they are just 'guards' then what's the worry?~

Again No-Tongue paused. As far as he knew he was the only Alien on the planet, so there 'shouldn't' be anything to worry about. ~Nothing to worry about, unless a Queen or perhaps another royal guard ends up here.~ He said.

~Why, what will happen if one them show up.~

No-Tongue gave Cho a look, certain he had told his friend of this before. He felt a slight annoyance at his naivety. ~If a Queen comes, I will be forced to serve her. If another royal comes, one of us may become a Queen.~