Girls’ Trip - Chapter 4: Truly Worthy Prey (Part 1)

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Wil Ukinix

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Jun 21, 2022, 10:06:18 AM6/21/22
to Amity Outpost – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG

(OOC: Previously on “Girls’ Trip”...

In the distance Rodrigo saw a flash of light.  He instinctively fired his phaser in defense, but it was short-lived - a bolt of energy hit him in his chest, causing him to be forcefully pushed back several metres into the tree that Rivi and Tani were crouching behind.  Air escaped his lungs, before his eyes closed over and he collapsed like a ragdoll onto the forest floor, dead.

Vataix: Lieutenant!

 

Tani looked over from Rodrigo’s face to Rivi, a horrified expression changing to panic.

 

Lekasa: ~~ By the Four, Rivi! What do we do? ~~

 

There was another blast from whoever the enemy was, which caused another huge explosion of sparks above Rivi and Tani.

 

Vataix: ~~ Run! ~~

 

The two women bolted through the forest, hoping to make their way back to the safety of their camp.  )

 

((Site of fresh trophy - Tropical forest, Fana 6519-G))

 

“Truly Worthy Prey?”

oO Pah! Oo

What good was “truly worthy prey” if there was nothing but photons to show for it?

 

Technology from the other side of the galaxy had changed the course of most Hirogen tribes forever.  For most Hirogen, holo-emitters had been seen as the way for their own species to survive, and preserve their most important cultural tradition - “The Hunt”.  After the Voyager’s transit through their nomadic species’ large and ever fluid space it was apparent that the Hirogen’s advanced technological prowess was not the advantage it once was, and soon other civilisations would close that gap, putting the Hirogen way of life, their very *being*, at risk.  In Ravarj’s mind, it was the Hirogen’s very sudden risk averse approach that he felt put the Hirogen at risk in the first place.  But others did not see it that way.

 

When the Hirogen encountered Voyager over 20 years earlier, they had ended up in a war which had turned into a stalemate.  Their Captain offered the holo-technology as a prize for a truce.

oO A prize for a *truce*? When did we lose our way! Oo


For the Hirogen, holo-emitters had become the norm.  Large space stations had been built, and filled with the technology.  Hirogen switched from being nomadic, to gorging on the teat of photonic prey programmed to feel pain, to make them more desperate, more defensive, and more prized.  For two decades, Ravarj himself had become *addicted* to the “pretend” prey that could simply be recycled and re-hunted over, and over, and over again - with the added bonus that the prey’s memory could be *restored* after their death, to make them more adaptable, and even more worthy of The Hunt.

 

And since the introduction of holo-technology, the Hirogen’s prized subspace relay network had become mostly quiet.  The only news breaking on the otherwise dormant communications network was information of holographic characters inciting successful *rebellions*.  To think! Photons, moulded only for the purposes of being hunted and killed, becoming the hunters?

*Heresy*.

 

For Ravarj, hunting the same pretend Alpha Quadrant prey, over and over and over again, had become tiresome.  His frustrations had become his epiphany - he needed to return to the old ways.  He left the space station hunting ground he had called home for twenty years, and became a true Alpha once again.  But it was to be in isolation.  No Beta or hunting party to call his own - just himself, and The Hunt.

 

Since that time it had been slim pickings, hunts had been few and far between.  But his lean trophy collection had been worth the effort.  More than that, they were a symbol not only of reward for his patience and persistence, but a beacon of what the Hirogen must once again become.

 

If only other Hirogen would see it that way.  Not even the recent news of the arrival of the Federation space station on the subspace communications network awoke the Hirogen from their photonic anaesthetic slumber.  But it had awoken Ravarj.

 

He'd identified the warm planet with the oceans, green forests, and yellow sand with streaks of glittering orange as a potential new hunting ground waiting to happen, especially with the Federation’s new space station only light years away from it.  

 

And his old hunting instincts did not fail him. The sensor traps he had hidden around the planet had alerted him to the presence of a small vessel entering the planet’s atmosphere.

 

For Ravarj, the tripped sensors had reminded him that The Hunt was not a relic of the past.  It was alive and well.  He had set a course, and masked his entry into the planet’s atmosphere.

And now, crouched down on one knee next to the gold Starfleet officer prey he had chosen to kill early, he held the combadge between his thumb and forefinger, admiring its colour and shape.  But more than that, it wasn’t photonic.  It was *real*.

 

Ravarj: ::Quietly to himself:: Of my small collection of trophies, these will be my most prized.

He quickly slipped the miniature trophy into a small pouch on his belt, before looking ahead at where the sun-haired female prey had just escaped.  He smiled a little.

 

oO Let them have their distance.  It will make The Hunt more satisfying, their death more spectacular. Oo

 

He rolled the lifeless body of the trophy onto its back.  He grabbed its chin, then moved it from left, to right, and left again.  He partially lamented he didn’t allow this trophy to last longer.  He had initially wanted to kill one of the sun-haired prey first, the one wearing a floral dress that matched her hair in color, and then savor the challenge of hunting the Starfleet officer.  But the rush of the thought of killing a *real*, non-photonic Starfleet officer was too much to ignore.

 

oO The sun-haired prey can wait. Oo

 

From his belt he grabbed a small subspace marker, and with its sharp end gently pierced it into the trophy’s dead chest.  He then stood up, his tall frame dwarfing the prey that had been there only thirty seconds earlier.  After a smell of the air, he lifted his tetryon rifle to look at its equipped sensor display.

 

oO The prey are making their way along a valley’s edge.  I will intercept them at the bottom. Oo

 

He took one more look at his rifle, before slinging it onto his back.

 

oO I choose to kill this prey at close range. Oo

He pulled the scythe-like knife from a holster on his belt, and studied it.

oO Oh yes.  The prey will feel this.  They will know their first wounds.  And I will study them closely. Oo

 

He made his way past the still smoking and smouldering tree where the sun-haired female prey had taken cover, before making his way left of the valley’s edge.  He knew where the pair were likely headed next.  He would enjoy surprising them.


TBC…



Ravarj

Hirogen Alpha

Tribe Ravarj

V239511WU0 

 

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