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_ Long Haul _

The next year passed without incident, mostly. Defiant Blade passed the time the usual way, doing research and learning more about her new home, improving her language skills by getting involved in online discussions -- and getting into frequent arguments because so many of the people in those conversations turned out to be assholes -- and chatting with the occasional game streamer. Every now and then, she took her ship out to different locations and familiarized herself with potential combat zones.

More regularly, she used the ship to travel somewhere with a river or lake and attend to needs such as bathing and replenishing the ship's water supply. When necessary, she hunted wild animals for food. She didn't enjoy it but the rations she looted from Yautja ships only lasted so long, especially when there was a dry spell between Hunts.

Sometimes she wondered if the inactivity was due to the past couple of expeditions never returning. Well, those plus the other major excursions that had ended with the Yautja becoming the prey. She searched for more info on alien encounters, found far too many conspiracy theories and other bullshit, but finally tracked down a few bits of news about earlier Hunts, one in a jungle about fifty years ago and another in Los Angeles a decade later. There were probably some that hadn't gotten into the news and others that had been successful, leaving little more than strings of unsolved ritualistic-appearing murders.

Perhaps the Hunts on Earth just came in waves as the Yautja lost interest in one planet and turned their eyes toward another before swinging back around.

Can't let myself grow complacent in case they start coming more frequently. She continued training, learning more fighting styles, and even using the ship's fabricator to manufacture parts for weapons she designed herself. One had been inspired by an episode of Burn Notice she'd seen recently, which revolved around a sniper rifle. She'd remembered the last Yautja she'd fought, the one who'd almost killed her, and a lightbulb had appeared over her head.

She'd studied schematics on human-made sniper rifles and her people's plasma guns and figured out how to combine the two. Now, all she needed was a sorry sack of shit to test it out on. If it proved effective, it would not only keep her farther away from her targets and therefore safer, but it would also make her more effective at stopping their Hunts. She'd set up a target range in the hollowed-out rock formation she'd turned into her base and the gun had worked perfectly, but blowing away actual Yautja with it would be so much more satisfying.

In the meantime, her usual routine continued, though with a few added developments. She'd taken a liking to a particular streamer named Beer Virus and made a point of being present when he went live. And she had latched on to the idea of earning money to buy a few trinkets here and there. Specifically, one of the dildos she'd found a while back. She wasn't sure if the Yautja were as horny as humans during their teenage years, but she'd noticed her thoughts gravitating in that direction often enough to want to look for a solution.

One curiosity she'd found was streamers and YouTubers making "reaction" videos. There was no way she could get involved in something like that as herself, but she toyed with the idea of creating a human-looking avatar once she'd learned that some of them earned money from it. She never quite got her mind around the idea of people watching someone watch a video, even though she found herself doing just that fairly often. Still, if it was a way to bring in some money, it was worth trying.

Not that she could walk into a store and spend any of it. Well, maybe on Halloween. At least then she could pass her actual physical features off as an elaborate costume. But once she'd learned about PayPal and Patreon and Ko-fi, whole new options opened up. There was still the problem of picking up something once she'd ordered and paid for it, but at least one hurdle had been passed.

She decided to forget about creating a human avatar and just came up with a persona that was closer to the truth. Some streamers had gimmicks -- characters they played just for their shows -- so why not appear as herself while pretending to be a character she was playing? She toyed briefly with the idea of calling herself "Illegal Alien" as a joke, but decided to use the real name she'd chosen for herself on the way to Earth. None of the Yautja she'd hunted had ever heard her name, and she'd killed all of them on the spot, anyway. If any others were aware of her at all, they probably just called her "Bad Blood."

Presenting herself as a perona brought up the problem of no one being able to see her face, but she looked monstrous by human standards and wouldn't be able to match many of their expressions. Certainly not the way they smiled. Best to just keep her bio-helmet on when she was on-camera.

But it could be done. She discovered The Mandalorian one day and noticed immediately that she could always figure out what he was thinking even though his face was almost always hidden. She studied his body language intently and decided to give it a try once she'd set a few other things up. When she wasn't squeeing over the Child every time it appeared on the screen, anyhow.

Her voice didn't sound like a human's, so she decided to build a modulator to complete the illusion of a human pretending to be an alien. She pondered what sort of voice it should be and finally tweaked the settings until it sounded a bit like Angela Bassett with a flanging effect. The woman's voice had struck her as particularly strong. That appealed to her.

It took a bit of doing, but she figured out how to create an identity and set up a YouTube channel and a PayPal account. Then she pointed the comm system camera at herself and started watching random videos. Converting her vids into the proper file type took longer than she would've preferred, but she got there eventually. Having already become somewhat well-known in the chat on Beer Virus's streams, she discovered that she already had a built-in audience, as small as it was in the beginning.

YouTube's copyright policy was a lot harder to figure out and became a huge pain in the fucking ass. The "ten minute rule" she'd seen so many reactors adhering to seemed to apply at some times but not others, and the ad revenue wasn't enough to be worth the time and effort. It didn't take long for her to decide the fair-use time limit was a bunch of shit. She eventually stopped trying to monetize her videos and relied on Ko-fi and PayPal.me, which were more direct, anyway.

One day, a viewer commented on her physique, so she decided to try something new. She pointed the camera at herself, took off everything except her bio-helmet, and streamed her training sessions. Then she found those videos blocked because of nudity.

Fucking seriously? She snarled at the latest notification. Blending into human society is almost harder than killing Yautja, for fuck's sake.

She shrugged and decided to put on just enough armor to cover her tits and pussy and keep trying.

It wasn't like she had much else to do, anyway.

---

"Hey, beautiful." Beer Virus's voice came from the speakers on the comm station while she streamed her morning workout. His real name, he'd told her in a private chat not too long ago, was Carson Dominguez. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just learning a new martial art." She watched the guy on the monitor perform a sort of cartwheel-flip and tried to mimic it. She landed slightly off-balance and stumbled. "Capoeira. Seems unnecessarily showy, but at least it's fun."

"That was pretty impressive." He laughed softly. "You're cranking my teenage hormones into overdrive."

"It's always good to be appreciated." She couldn't imagine why he was attracted to her, but it was nice to hear him say so. Carson had once said he was attracted to masculine women, and Defiant Blade certainly fit that description. She hadn't even given it any thought until she'd started comparing the average human female's body to hers. The realization had prompted a shrug from her and nothing more. She hadn't exactly been looking to get laid when she'd first arrived on this planet.

Still … what she'd seen on his streams and videos had caught her eye despite her inability to understand why. Especially when he took his shirt off because of how hot the weather was last summer.

What the fuck? If I ever manage to get hold of a dildo, I'm going to fantasize about fucking a human when I use it? Is that how it's going to play out? She didn't know whether to laugh or shudder. I really have gone native, haven't I?

But then, it wasn't like she had any other options. She sure as hell wasn't going to hook up with a Yautja. The only time she even thought of them, it was always in the context of hunting them, killing them, taking their heads, flaying them, and adding their skulls to her collection.

So. Either bang a human or just take care of it myself for the rest of my life. She'd begun to realize over the past few months that some kind of companionship would be welcome whether it involved sex or not. The coming centuries would be lonely as fuck if she didn't reach out to someone.

"I like your new outfit, by the way," Carson said, pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts.

"Thank you. It's certainly easier to move around in than the armor." She'd used the fabricator recently to make a sort of chainmail halter and loincloth and save the armor for its intended purpose.

"Well, I'm all for anything that reveals a little more."

He's only saying that because he thinks I'm human, but it's still weird. Not that I'm complaining. She practiced the move a few more times and went on to a few others once she was able to stick the landing. Just for the hell of it, she said, "Exactly how much more would you like me to reveal?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing all of it, but I'll leave that up to you. I'm content to just enjoy what I can already see." He laughed softly. "I gotta admit, I like the whole mysterious thing you've got going on, the way you never take that helmet off."

"I hope that doesn't lessen your enjoyment." Though actually seeing my face would probably turn him right off.

"Not at all. It's kind of a turn-on, to be honest. Kinda like the thing we were talking about a few days ago, with the Mandos never taking their helmets off."

"Yes, you mentioned one scene in particular." Blade tried a few more moves and then shifted into the more familiar tai chi that she used to wind down at the end of her morning exercises.

"Yep, the first-season finale, when the Armorer dismantled five Stormtroopers in about twenty seconds with nothing but a hammer and a set of tongs." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Had no idea what she looked like under that helmet and didn't care at all. Had to find that scene on YouTube, set it to loop, and I can't even count the number of times I jerked off to it."

Blade burst into laughter. Then she imagined what it must've looked like and almost stumbled again. Gotta get my hands on a dildo soon. Holy shit.

"I guess you have a type," she said.

"I sure do. I just love badass women."

"Nice to know that I'm in your niche." She shifted into krav maga without noticing for a few seconds.

"Nice." His breathing quickened a little and she heard a sound that took a few seconds for her to identify.

Was … was that his pants unzipping? She almost lost her balance again. Nice, indeed.

"I was going to wrap this up, but if that sound was what I think it was, I'll keep going for a while."

"Please do. And if you think that sound was me whipping it out, that's exactly what it was." He laughed again. "I'm hoping you'd consider taking off everything else from the neck down and recording some … uh, private videos for me. Keep the helmet on if you want so you can keep your secret identity intact."

She glanced into the camera and cocked her head. "You'd actually masturbate to that?"

"Absolutely."

"Aw. Thank you." She resumed her workout. "Maybe you could record that and send me a copy?"

Why the hell did I ask him that? She hadn't even realized her brain had been putting that sentence together until it came out of her voice modulator.

"Ohh, I'd be happy to."

Her pulse increased for a moment and she took a few slow breaths.

I've got to get a dildo.

---

A few more weeks passed before the next surprise -- an email from someone who claimed to know her. Oddly, the first thought crossing her mind was that a Yautja had tracked her down and was baiting her, but she'd written her own VPN before starting any of her online activities and sent every stream or video out through a different sequence of drones to make each one appear to come from a different part of the world far from here.

When she read the email, she discovered it was from Daryna Adekunle, one of the humans she'd saved from a Hunt in that jungle a year ago. Daryna's daughter had found Defiant Blade's channel and shown it to her mom, who had then recognized the alien who'd prevented her security team's slaughter.

A chance to make another connection and be a little less alone? Hell yeah. Blade replied to the email, the two exchanged a few more, and her new friend asked to meet her in person sometime.

Could be a trap. If their government is anything like the ones I've seen in movies and TV series, they might want to dissect me. But if I can scout the area before going in and be sure she's alone …

Deciding it was worth the risk, she agreed and waited for Daryna to choose a time and place. The info came in a few hours later and Blade launched and headed for the middle-of-nowhere location off a highway passing through Utah. She arrived in the early afternoon, scanned the place thoroughly, and found only a camper van parked over a mile from the nearest road, two human life signs, and an assortment of desert animals.

She double-checked her ship's sound suppressors and other stealth systems before making her approach, landed farther away from the road, and then walked to the van. She found Daryna and her daughter sitting in the van's open side doorway, moved over to stand directly ahead of them, and disengaged her cloak while she was still a quarter-mile away to avoid startling them.

Their eyes pointed toward her immediately and she waved. They grinned and waved back, and she crossed the remaining distance between them.

"Hello," she said once she was only a few feet away.

"Hi. It's good to see you again." Daryna stood and held her hand out. Blade shook it and sat on the ground in front of them to appear less threatening. Daryna motioned at the girl and said, "This is my daughter, Ekundayo."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Defiant Blade. One of my gamer friends calls me DB."

"Hi!" Ekundayo laughed. "I can't believe I've met a real alien!"

"I assume you both have a lot of questions."

"Before I get to those," Daryna said, "I want to thank you again for saving our lives last year."

"There's no need for thanks. I was merely hunting those who would hunt humans, though now that I have a few friends on this planet, it's becoming more about protecting them than indulging my hatred of my own people."

"Either way, I'm grateful." Daryna motioned at a cooler in the back of the van. "Would you like anything to eat or drink? I mean, if Earth food is compatible with your metabolism?"

"It is. Thank you, but I have supplies on my ship."

"Okay, but if you want anything, just ask. It's the least I can do in return." Daryna took a quick breath. "Well, I guess my first question would be, what brought you to Earth? You kind of answered it already, but …"

"You'd like details. Of course." Blade gave her a quick rundown of her first year of life, her escape, and the past year or so on Earth. Both humans gaped at her when she finished.

"I'm so sorry you went through all that." Daryna shook her head slowly, probably still processing all of it. "This 'hunting' thing has been going on for a long time?"

"I'm not sure how long, but before I left, I found records of Hunts taking place here over the past several centuries. They seem to think humans are dangerous enough to present a challenge." Blade growled softly. "I was against it just to spite them, but now that I've made some friends, I want the Hunts to be stopped permanently. I'm hoping someone found the bodies and technology I left behind."

"We did. We were there to explore some recently-discovered ruins and the expedition's sponsors were very interested in the, uh, aftermath of your battle." Daryna took a slow breath and seemed to gather her thoughts. "I'm told that there are people in the military and government who already know about the … uh … aliens …"

"Yautja." Blade had to force herself not to snarl or hiss it. "They've 'visited' a fair number of planets to hunt the indigenous life forms. Earth seemed to be one of their favorite hunting grounds, so that's why I chose it as my new home. I wanted to show them what being hunted feels like and figured there would be plenty of opportunities here."

Daryna nodded. "The people who questioned us about the encounter last year told me the first Hunt they knew of happened about fifty years ago. Some sort of military action. The team was led by someone named Dutch, I think. I'm guessing the Yautja targeted them because they were a heavily-armed military force."

"Yes. The Yautja are drawn to conflict. They observe and single out the deadliest native life forms." Blade couldn't hold in a contemptuous growl. "They claim to be looking for an honorable fight, but they chose a planet with technology that's centuries behind theirs. They're far stronger and more durable than humans. They can shrug off multiple bullet wounds and are resistant to radiation and other environmental dangers. It is nowhere near a fair or honorable fight. When a human manages to kill the hunter, it's usually a matter of just getting lucky."

"Dutch and a local girl were the only survivors, from what I heard. The Yautja had a self-destruct device that destroyed his body and equipment, so there was no evidence. Just the survivors' report. The next encounter they knew of was about a decade later."

"Yes, in LA. The hunter stalked a team led by a police detective named Mike Harrigan. There was a whole hunting party there, but each of them operated alone in a different location. Harrigan killed his hunter and the others gave him an antique pistol from the nineteenth century as a sign of respect before leaving."

"Yeah. Reports said Harrigan was found stumbling down the street later that night in a kind of stupor. He was covered with dust and dirt and had multiple bruises and cuts. Had a serious case of PTSD ever since."

"I'm not surprised. As a species, none of you had ever found solid evidence of alien life before. An encounter like that would be enough of a shock, but to find out one of them is trying to kill you, and watching it butcher people who are your responsibility …" Blade sighed. An idea began to come together and she wished it had occurred to her months ago. "That's one of the reasons I want the Hunts to stop. Humanity isn't ready to face an enemy like that. Maybe if they can reverse-engineer Yautja weapons and spacecraft and mass-produce them …"

"Assuming they don't use them to kill each other."

"Exactly. Maybe if I could speak to someone in a position to help. Preferably multiple people in different nations who are reasonable. If they could be convinced to work together, there could come a day when this planet is more trouble than it's worth and they stop using it as a hunting ground. Then, perhaps, humanity can oppose the Yautja on other planets and stop the Hunts there."

"That's a tall order." Daryna shrugged and smiled slightly. "But it's a worthy goal. Hell, I'd be satisfied with just exploring space and seeing the wonders that are out there, but if we can save some innocent lives along the way, that'd make it an even more worthwhile effort."

"That's what I'm hoping. Each time a large hunting party lands on Earth and each Yautja chooses a different location, I'd only be able to tackle one of them at a time. I probably could hunt down one or two of them before the rest take their trophies and leave. Possibly three. But too many other deaths wouldn't be prevented without a team of humans trained and equipped to fight them."

"I can ask around, then, and see if I know someone who knows someone willing to work with you."

"I would appreciate that. I made this planet my home, so helping to defend it is the least I can do in return."

From there, the conversation wandered around to less pressing matters, each of them asking and answering questions until Daryna and Ekundayo needed to return to their motel room. Defiant Blade returned to her base in Monument Valley and settled back into her routine for another couple of weeks.

One day, another email from Daryna came in -- a location for a dead-drop they'd arranged. One of the topics she'd mentioned offhandedly was her quest to acquire a dildo. Daryna had been perplexed at first, but seemed to understand quickly enough. She'd offered to buy one if Blade sent her the money and leave it in a place where one of her drones could pick it up.

Blade had then designed and built a handful of drones for carrying small parcels. She nicknamed them "Cargobobs." Once she had enough revenue from her streams, she'd picked out the toy she wanted, sent the money and a link to her friend, and waited. She sent a Cargobob to the location, found the package where Daryna had left it, and carried it back home in the drone's grips.

She opened the box and found what she'd requested plus a few extra things Daryna had thrown in. She sent a quick thank-you email and tried out her new acquisition.

While thinking about Carson.