Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Dek woke up, the first thing on his mind was how cold it was. After a few beats passed, his mind had whirred enough to life to conclude he was no longer on Genna, as what he felt didn't match anything he knew of the planet's climate. That realization led to a flow of thoughts:

Thia and her sister were after the Kalisk. Instead of seeing it die, they wanted to capture it alive. As synthetics, they served humans, so their labor was because humans wanted the Kalisk alive. Humans couldn't survive Genna, hence sending the synthetics for the job - and returning to wherever the humans were.

But then, he hadn't heard much about humans living in frigid climates. They seemed to enjoy proliferating as much as possible, so they certainly colonized colder areas. However, that didn't feel like the right place for the headquarters of whoever was controlling these synthetics. No, something else was going on here.

Upon finally finding the strength to open his eyes, Dek found himself trapped inside a capsule within a room. Thia - intact and repaired - and an identical synthetic to her - obviously Tessa - were standing around in the room, speaking in a language he didn't understand. Their gaze turned in uneasy synchronization a moment after he spotted them, as if they were telepathically alerted to his status.

"Allow me to give you a welcome to the Weyland-Yutani Corp, Dek," Thia said, with an eerie smile that made her indistinguishable from the stranger next to her. "Of course, we're still in transit, but you basically have already joined us."

"As property, of course," Tessa said.

Thia gave only a brief side-eye glance to her sister, before correcting herself. "Yes. As of today, you will be joining the scarce live Yautja specimens Weyland-Yutani owns."

"And according to the scans we conducted while you slept, you are truly a special Yautja. Humanity will be gaining a lot from your brain alone."

Dek's eyes had gone back and forth between the two synthetics as they spoke. Before Thia could speak again, he was already staring at her. He'd already known, since her warning prior to his battle with the Kalisk, that she had been using him. She had betrayed him. Yet she had tried to give him a chance to escape. Was that only a momentary mercy that he failed to capitalize on? Once he was captured, did she no longer care? His eyes begged for clarity, as he found it oddly difficult to speak.

He had no concept of human inventions to chemically gag victims, but he could at least tell something had been done to him. His lack of control of himself, and the physical restraints in the capsule, clued him in as much. Besides, they were speaking so confidently of his imprisonment right to his face, so they must've known something he didn't.

"This is truly an honor on par with hunting the Kalish," Thia said, her smile changing yet Dek's lack of knowledge of human facial expressions making it difficult to parse meaning. Was she keeping up an act around her sister? Did some part of her - despite her loyalty - feel guilt and sadness at his condition? Could he expect assistance from her, or was he well and truly doomed?

Did this mean he really was the useless runt that Kwei should've purged?

Kwei... Dek would never get his vengeance now. Could never return to Yautja Prime and their father, even if he wanted to try his luck at returning without the Kalisk.

"I am looking forward to continuing to work with you, Dek," Thia continued, still with that complicated and unknowable smile on her face. Tessa's arm stretched to something above the capsule, then brought down the glass hatch to fully lock him in. Thia's voice was muffled but still audible as she finished, "As equal tools of humanity."

Dek shivered. He told himself it was due to the fast onset of frost around him; now that the process of icy hibernation was being kick-started, he finally recognized this device as similar to the ones Yautja used to preserve captured prey. That's why the synthetic sisters were so calm and confident around him - he was being preserved. The next time he woke up, he would be with their human masters, his freedom forever out of reach.

The sweat and tears that had pooled over him were the first to freeze.