The twin suns of Yaut Prime seared my eyelids, jolting me from the deepest sleep I'd ever known. I bolted upright, heart racing as I realized my error. Late. I was late for training.

Dha'je-te's disapproving click confirmed my fears. "You oversleep like a pup, yet claim to be a blooded warrior?" She tossed my training garb at me. "Join your siblings. Twenty miles around the obstacle course. Perhaps that will teach you the value of punctuality."

I swallowed my protests. Three months old or not, I was Yautja now. Excuses were for the weak.

The training grounds sweltered under the merciless suns. My 'siblings' - unblooded pups twice my size but half my age - eyed me with a mix of curiosity and disdain. Their mandibles clicked in amusement as I took my place at the starting line.

"Think the little hybrid can keep up?" one sneered.

I bared my teeth in response. "Try to keep up yourself."

The course was brutal. Two miles of razor-wire, plasma-fields, and treacherous terrain - repeated ten times over. My muscles screamed in protest, but I pushed through the pain. I would not show weakness. Not here. Not now.

By the fifth lap, half the pups had dropped out. By the tenth, only three of us remained. The largest - Kal'daka, I'd heard him called - matched me stride for stride. His eyes burned with determination and something darker. Hatred, perhaps. Or fear.

As we approached the final stretch, Kal'daka's elbow shot out, catching me in the ribs. I stumbled, nearly losing my footing on the treacherous incline.

"Oops," he growled, mandibles spread in a mocking grin.

Rage boiled within me. The Xenomorph part of my nature roared to life, demanding blood. But I was more than just my instincts. I was Yautja. And Yautja did not break the rules of a challenge.

I surged forward, calling upon reserves of strength I didn't know I possessed. My hybrid physiology gave me an edge in endurance, and I used it now. As we crossed the finish line, I was half a body-length ahead.

Kal'daka roared in frustration, but before he could retaliate, a commotion from the landing pad caught everyone's attention. A ship was touching down, sleek and deadly. The insignia of the Shadow Blade Clan emblazoned on its hull.

"The hunting party returns," one of the trainers growled. "Go. Clean yourselves. You'll want to be presentable."

As we made our way back to the living quarters, whispers raced through the compound. This was the group that had been off-world when I was born. The ones who thought Dha'je-te dead.

Curiosity gnawed at me as I scrubbed the grime from my scales. What would they make of me? More importantly, how would they react to my mother's miraculous return?

I rejoined the gathering crowd just as the ship's ramp lowered. A massive figure emerged - a female Yautja with skin the color of spilled blood. Her eyes scanned the crowd, widening as they fell upon Dha'je-te.

With a roar of pure joy, she charged forward. My mother barely had time to brace herself before being swept up in a bone-crushing embrace. The red-skinned female spun her around, mandibles clicking in rapid-fire Yautja that was too fast for me to follow.

"I thought you dead, sister-mate!" she finally said in a language I could understand. "When your ship didn't return..."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dha'je-te's hand came to rest on the other female's shoulder. "It's a long story, Vay'nika. One best told over a cup of c'ntlip."

Vay'nika nodded, then froze as her gaze fell upon me. Her eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring as she took in my scent. A low, menacing growl built in her chest.

"What. Is. That?" she snarled, reaching for her weapon.

I tensed, ready to defend myself, but Dha'je-te stepped between us. "She is my daughter," she said firmly. "Blooded warrior of our clan."

Vay'nika's mandibles spread wide in shock. "Impossible! She's... she's..."

"Complicated," my mother finished. "As I said, it's a long story."

Before Vay'nika could respond, a hush fell over the crowd. Another figure emerged from the ship, his very presence commanding respect and fear in equal measure.

He was the largest Yautja I'd ever seen, his black hide crisscrossed with crimson stripes that seemed to writhe in the harsh sunlight. Power radiated from him like heat from the twin suns. This, then, was the leader of the Shadow Blade Clan. This was...

"Father," I breathed, the word slipping out before I could stop it.

His head snapped towards me, eyes blazing with fury. In two massive strides, he closed the distance between us. His hand shot out, massive fingers wrapping around my throat and lifting me off the ground.

"You dare?" he roared, shaking me like a rag doll. "You dare claim kinship with me, abomination?"

I didn't fight back. Couldn't fight back. Not just because of the iron grip on my windpipe, but because of the programming buried deep in my hybrid DNA. This was my sire. The progenitor of the Yautja part of me. To raise a hand against him would be to deny my very nature.

Instead, I went limp in his grasp. I tilted my head back, exposing my throat in the ultimate gesture of Yautja submission.

"Forgive me... Clan Leader," I choked out. "I meant no... disrespect."

For a long moment, he held me there, suspended between life and death. I could see the war raging in his eyes - fury battling against curiosity, disgust warring with a flicker of... recognition?

Finally, he dropped me. I crumpled to the ground, gasping for air.

"Explain," he growled, turning to Dha'je-te. "Now."

My mother stepped forward, her posture a careful balance of respect and defiance. "Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private, my mate?"

The Clan Leader's eyes swept over the gathered crowd, lingering on the mix of fear and fascination on their faces. He gave a curt nod.

"The council chambers. One hour." His gaze fell upon me once more, filled with disgust and something I couldn't quite name. "Bring... it... with you."

As he stalked away, the crowd parted before him like prey before a predator. Vay'nika followed, shooting confused glances between Dha'je-te and me.

My mother helped me to my feet, her touch uncharacteristically gentle. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

I nodded, rubbing my bruised throat. "I'll live." I hesitated, then added, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble."

Dha'je-te's mandibles clicked in what might have been amusement. "Trouble seems to follow you like a shadow, little one. But you handled yourself well. Your father... he is not an easy male to impress."

"He's not impressed," I muttered. "He wants me dead."

"Perhaps," she conceded. "But you're still breathing, aren't you? That's more than most who have angered him can say."

As we made our way towards the council chambers, my mind raced. I had come to Yaut Prime seeking belonging, only to find myself embroiled in conspiracy and cosmic danger. And now this - a father who saw me as an abomination, a clan divided by my very existence.

But I was Aria, daughter of Dha'je-te, blooded warrior of the Shadow Blade Clan. I had faced down Xenomorphs and Yautja alike. I would not falter now.

Whatever came next, I would face it head-on. For my mother, for my clan, and for the uncertain future that stretched out before me like the stars themselves.

The council chambers loomed before us, a testament to Yautja engineering and intimidation. As the massive doors swung open, I steeled myself for the confrontation to come. My father - the Clan Leader - awaited within. And with him, the fate of not just myself, but potentially the entire Shadow Blade Clan.

I straightened my spine, ignoring the lingering pain in my throat. Whatever judgment awaited me, I would face it as a true warrior. Not just Yautja, not just human, not just Xenomorph, but something new. Something that might just be exactly what this clan needed, whether they knew it or not.

The doors closed behind us with a resounding thud. My fate, and the fate of all I had come to care for, hung in the balance. But I was ready. Let the challenge come. I would meet it head-on, as I had every other obstacle in my short, tumultuous life.

For I was Aria, hybrid daughter of two worlds and child of a third. And I would not be broken.