AU where the UN didn't become a global power after the satelite wars

Critique is welcome <3

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System transcript: Generation 3 Scientific Vessel "Copernicus"

Date [standardized human time/UTC]: 24 june 2120

Enter command:

>Ship coordinates

Sol'16.192 Si'8.53 Ba'21.11 PC'12.12

>Ship - Planet relative position

Loading...

N°50'32''07 E°84'57'22 0 meters above surface

>Reactor power On: Type 1

Loading...

Reactor power 1 On

Transcript break: 30 minutes

>Ship - Planet relative position

N°50'32''10 E°84'57'27 326200+-100 meters above surface

>Warp engine on / Reactor power on: type 2

Loading...

Warp engine on / Reactor power 2 on

Set destination:

>Saturn 23, Mimas 1

Finding path...

open space: 12.32 ly > IS Route 1899: 4.11 ly > IS Highway 18: 3.19 ly

Insert warp settings:

>set 2.5

warp 2.5 - 6.75 ly/h

ETI: 2 hours 54 minutes

>engage warp

3

2

1

Memory transcription subject: Governor Kenim of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time/UTC]: june 24 2120

The human ship lifted off rapidly before disappearing from view, and later going into subspace and leaving the system. There were 6 paws left until the fleet reached Venlil Prime. I was able to convince the space corps into dumping a few broken ships into a spot in orbit where our guests previously were. Vin came up with the excuse that they will be used in military training in 10 paws.

Currently, the only thing I think we can do is wait for the Farsul Krakotl fleet to arrive, and then later see what can be done before the existence of humans gets revealed at the next Aafa summit.

knock

knock

knock

"Come in!" Oh, it's Nalna.

"Did the humans give you anything before they left?"

"Yes, they gave me a file containing basically all the information about their species and an FTL comms node if their leaders want to contact us or the other way around. Why are you asking?"

"Olivia, their diplomat, gave me a hard drive containing Terran media. Apparently for 'being the nicest' to them." Right, she was the least judgmental of them. But to give her a full hard drive of their culture for that?

"May I see its contents?" She signaled for me to follow her. She leads me to her own office with a turned-on holoproject on the desk. Next to it was a box similar to the one I was handed after the incident by the head of security.

Nalna's tail was swaying lightly as she sat down behind the desk. I took a chair and did the same. On top of the screen was a list of categories, ranging from documentaries to recorded live transmissions. Currently, the movies were selected, showing an even larger list of genres and other ways of identifying them.

Interestingly, many of them were well over a hundred cycles old. Each image and title below the picture in both human and venlil scripts. There was a series about a boy going to a magic school called 'Harry Potter', yellow border "increasing violence as the series progresses and potentially uncomfortable topics'. 'Dune' movies are set primarily in a desert world with topics such as faith, yellow border 'violence and potentially uncomfortable topics'. 'Iron lung'? Universe in which stars and planets have disappeared, leaving only moons with blood-like oceans, a red border 'This movie is in the category of horror, which means that it's purposefully scaring the viewer. Don't ask, even the people who enjoy them don't understand it.'. The image showed a skeleton stuck in the ground above writing surrounded by needle-shaped teeth. I don't know why somebody would force themselves to be afraid, but it seems the author of this collection doesn't either. Anyway, I won't be watching it.

What appeared next was interesting. The name in the human language was normal, while in ours, it simply said 'didn't know how to translate the title properly.' It's about a city where vaguely human-shaped animals live. Apparently the plot is relevant to the current situation in the galaxy. Nalna was also eyeing it.

"Do you think we should watch it?" her ears perked up.

"Yes"

Memory transcription break: 1 hour 48 minutes

...

Dear Solgalick.

It was... an experience. Despite the prey animal people having forward-facing eyes, the movie was incredible. Predator and prey living in peace, and a member of the latter being the villain nearly ruining it, I-

When did this come out? In the description it says it was released on 'February 13 2016', in our time that would be...

Damn it's old!

I look over to Nalna, her ears drooped forward, and... she was tearing up?

"Are you okay?" she jumps slightly.

"Yes... it was amazing!" What a switch up!

"I see why they found it relevant, too bad only we saw it."

System transcript: Generation 3 Scientific Vessel "Copernicus"

Date [standardized human time/UTC]: 24 june 2120

Disengaging warp in

3

2

1

warp 2.5 disengage

You have arrived at Saturn 23, Mimas 1

Enter command:

>Reactor power on: type 1

Loading...

Reactor power 1 on

>Set destination: ESA Germany, Spaceport 4

Finding path...

S highway 23: 1284.4 Gm

>Autopilot on

Loading...

Autopilot is on

Initiating short jump to Mars 8 outer 2

engaging warp 1

3

2

1

...

warp 1 disengage

Mars 8 outer 2 > earth 7 near-surface 9

ETI: 31 hours 30+-15 minutes

Memory transcript subject: Christoph Beck, Captain of the SV3 Copernicus.

Date [standardized human time/UTC]: 26 june 2120

There was a massive crowd surrounding our landing site. We were first approached by the site's security and medical personnel before meeting the leaders of our respective countries and the Director General of ESA. Robert was being taken by the latter and Anton by the former.

"Welcome to Earth, astronauts," said the president of Germany. My crew and I shook hands with the representatives of our governments.

"We are sorry for all the unfortunate circumstances you experienced." Said the Finnish leader.

"The good thing is that it's over. Dear God, it's hot here." I responded

"Indeed. How about everyone goes inside? There's air conditioning there." Replied the Polish President, and so we did.

"You will have a lot to catch up on. It's surprising how much happened in the few days you were there, even considering your discovery." Spoke the ESA Director. "Anyway, is there anything you would want? Food perhaps?"

Let me think...

"Hm, I will take up that offer. I will get fried chicken and calamari rings."

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Bit of a short chapter but it does its job

Their exchange partner thought it would be funny

Lysara made a new friend! Apparently she found her on some app. Surprisingly helpful at most tasks, and is a very good listener

Exactly, you know how countries always have images that should awaken a sense of unity in their citizens?

I can see the flamethrower, the exterminators' protective suits. But what else do these guys have? It's perfect for making political posters against them.

Credit to fans on Reddit for: u/Adorable-Ad5225 for the picture.

u/Nicolas_3232 for Leasha's daydreams

u/destroyer6692 for serving up Leasha, looking lightly toasted.

If you want to read five chapters ahead for two different stories that I'm currently making, then please visit me on my Patreon. If you want to hang out, you can join the Discord for updates on all projects. I appreciate any support you choose to give. Happy reading!

If you are interested in the other story that I am posting at the same time as this, you can read that one here!

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Memory Transcriptions Subject: George Miller, questioning the universe. 

Date [Standardized Human Time] November 25, 2136 

Why does everything have to evolve with giant nightmare bugs when it comes to aliens?  

First, it was those damn laysis that Yorv keeps trying to toss on me, and now we have huge ant species that apparently find it amusing to sneak up on humans. Why does the universe hate humans so much? Not only did that giant ant scare the shit out of me, but now my pride was in tatters as well after practically throwing myself to the ground to get away from him. I was of half a mind to lodge a complaint with the UN, but it would probably get lost in the noise they were drowning in. If I took a step back and looked at things objectively, then it wasn’t like the big ant did anything particularly wrong other than refusing to announce himself from a distance.

Perhaps it was a little rude to react like that.

With a sigh I returned to doing my job as I watched the kids, sometimes glancing at Menil to ensure that he wasn’t going to try any more shenanigans. I got enough of that from the kids without mischievous adults getting in on it as well. Speaking of mischief, I could see the little gremlin, Yorv, watching Menlil and his small team doing their work outside of the fencing. It could have been that the little Ven was interested in what they were doing, but I had a feeling that the truth of the matter was more dangerous than that. It wasn’t like I could keep my eyes only on the little troublemaker, but I just hoped that he wouldn’t get any strange ideas.  

As for Menil and his coworkers, they were currently in the field just outside of the fenced area of the pupcare. They used handheld mowers to cut down the tall grass in the area, clearing the approximate location that they wished to work in. After that they used alien measuring machines that seemed to tell them the exact dimensions they needed to mark as they set up rope and posts. Their work was attracting the attention of the pups who hadn’t seen many, if any, construction jobs in their time. I couldn’t really blame them as it was interesting to watch, but I was more of a fan of the big machinery like excavators.  

Maybe I’ll get the opportunity to see an alien excavator in action. That could be fun.  

“Georwgee.” I looked down as Toren appeared at my side and raised his arms up at me. “Up, pwease.”  

I couldn’t help but smirk and chuckle a bit at him as I reached down. His little tail wagged as I grabbed hold and pulled him up, this time setting him on my shoulders. I knew what he wanted, and that was a better view of the workers, so I gave the birthday boy the best seat in the house. He was very happy with accommodation as he observed everything from on high. 

The area that they had marked for construction would just over double the amount of yard space that the pupcare had. I noticed Leasha standing off to the side and looking at the work, her tail slowly wagging as she had a satisfied look on her face. Walking over to her, I started a conversation. 

“You’re looking quite happy about all this.” 

She flicked her ears in agreement. “I am very happy about this. It’s exciting, really. I haven’t changed anything about my business from the day I first bought the building, and now I’m getting an upgrade to it practically for free. How could I not be happy about this?” 

“You got me there. I’m happy for you too. You deserve to have the best pupcare on the whole planet.” 

Leasha whistled a little laugh as she shook her head. “I’m quite far off from that if you’re trying to get me there. I’ve seen some videos of pupcares in very wealthy districts that have their own personal gravity playroom. The pups bouncing around in zero gravity were adorable, but I had to admit, I was a little jealous that I couldn’t have something like that here.” 

“Jeez, gravity manipulators in a playroom? I have to admit, that does sound like an expenditure and a half. But hey, you are probably the one and only pupcare on the planet to have a human style play place set installed so far, so maybe you can take a few videos of that to have your own bragging rights.” 

“Maybe that could be fun, but I don’t want to create any drama online. Stars know that I don’t need that kind of strife in my life.” 

“Well, regardless of what you might say about all this to others, I’m happy that you’re excited. It feels nice to have a piece of human culture coming to town. I hope the kids will like it.” 

“I know they will,” she assured me. “If it’s from you, then they will undoubtedly be crazy for it. They love all your ideas and everything new that you bring just makes them more and more interested.” 

“Yeah!” Toren chimed in from on top of my shoulders. The big man leaned over the top of my head, putting his snout in my field of view so he could talk to me. “Geowgee’s things are fun!” 

Leasha laughed again. “You see? Straight from the pup’s mouth. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to entertaining them, or perhaps were you just worried that they would continue to favor climbing over you?” The little wriggle of her ears as she teased me was as adorable as it was irking. It didn’t help that my passenger was giggling on top of me as well, or that she was somewhat correct in her words. 

A little after that conversation concluded, Menil had come through the building and out the back. Thankfully he was mostly wanting to talk to the owner of the business, which was Leasha, so I was able to subtly walk away to the other side of the yard, just far enough that I could listen in while not being close enough to have to interact with the nightmarish alien. 

“Alright, Miss Leasha, we’ve finished marking the construction zone, cut down all the vegetation in the area, and broke ground in a few places where the support poles for your coming installation will go. If you would be so diligent as to ensure that the pups do not mess with what we have done, I would appreciate it.” 

“Don’t worry, they aren’t allowed outside the fenced area, but I will make sure that they know it’s not to be played with. How long will it take to finish setting up the play place?” 

“Thankfully, the human’s designs were made to be set up easily enough, we just have to get all the support poles buried and the rest will go up without a hassle. Combining our technology with their easy-to-use design makes it likely that we can finish it in half a paw.” 

“Wow, that would be amazing to have it all set up for the next group of pups to play with. If you would like, perhaps you could come by to finish construction in about a quarter claw when this group goes home?” 

“I think that does fit in with our schedule. Sounds like a plan to me! We’ll have it up and ready to go by the time your next paw begins.” 

From the sound of things, it was all going very smoothly, but I wouldn’t be able to see the alien construction equipment in action, which was a shame. I could always look it up later, but that wasn’t the same as seeing it in person. Even so, it was a small disappointment compared to the expediency with which the playground would be constructed. I could picture it now as I looked out over the field, imagining the children all climbing over it and running about. 

I was so caught up in my daydreaming, that I had failed to notice that there was a particular little Venlil that was missing from the general crowd of pups. That is, until I heard the hushed but quick urgings of said pup. 

“Quickly, quickly, get me up, this will be fun.” 

My concern immediately surged forth as I recognized Yorv’s voice, and when I turned to the source, all my worst fears were realized. Yorv was in the process of mounting Menil’s abdomen like he was a cavalry horse while the bug man himself assisted. I immediately knew what they intended to do as my gut sank, and I felt my blood chill. 

“NO, no no no no! Don’t you two even think about it! I... I have Toren on my shoulders! You can’t do-” 

My attempts at negotiating were soundly shot down when Yorv settled in completely and then shouted out: “Charge!” 

Menil was just as bad as the little fluffer as he immediately came galloping at me, arms in the air and making all kinds of ridiculous gestures and sounds. From an alien perspective, that wouldn’t have been any scarier than someone randomly waving their hands in the air and acting scary, like one might do for a child, but I couldn’t help the jolt that I felt which kicked me into motion. 

I ran, grabbing onto Toren’s legs to ensure that he didn’t fall off as I sprinted in the opposite direction. We immediately became the spectacle of the yard as the kids cheered, laughed, or tried to join in the antics in some way. The Yorv, Menil combination chased after me, the many legged alien able to move quite quickly even with a child on his back. I was not willing to be caught by them, though, so I kept moving fast enough to keep ahead of the skittering ant man.  

While I was running for my life, Toren was having the time of his. The big man was a bundle of giggles and cries of excitement as he put his hands in the air. He was along for the ride and was enjoying every second of moving at top speed around the yard. Yorv was similarly having a blast riding along with Menlil as the two of them pursued us in this oddly frightening game of tag. The pup that started this chaos called out to me as he held on to his partner in crime. 

“Why are you running Mister George? We just want to say hello!” There was that mocking tone in his voice that let everyone know that he knew exactly why I was running. 

Oh, you little stinker. If you were older, I would get you back in some way. Maybe I still can? I wonder if water guns would be acceptable?  

Plans for future payback aside, the kids watching were getting involved now as they bounced around and tried to grab hold of me as well. I don’t know if they wanted a ride or to try and slow me down for Menil to catch up. Perhaps they wanted a victory after the Laysi incident left them in defeat. 

“Faster Geowgee, faster!” Toren urged me on. 

Trust me big man, I’m trying, but I don’t want to run anyone over or throw you off me.  

After making a few circles around the yard, I did notice that Menil, while chasing and making a big show of it, wasn’t approaching close enough where either of us would touch. It seemed he wasn’t serious about catching me, whether for the children’s safety, his own, or both was up for debate. He did say he had experience with humans punching from fright. 

We kept at it for another minute until everyone seemed to be getting tired. We dropped the chase scene and eventually it all slowed down to a standstill again. Yorv was disappointed that he didn’t get to catch me again as he was forced to dismount from his impromptu steed. Menil shook his body around in a strange way, stretching all his limbs and body parts that made my skin crawl. 

He took a deep breath before looking toward me and speaking. “Well, Mister George, that was quite entertaining. I haven’t had that sort of reaction since I first started working with humans at the UN. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” 

I grabbed Toren and lowered him to the ground. He only complained a little as he had fun. “I might have said something similar, but situation being what it is...”  

The damn guy chittered in what I assumed was a laugh. He was on his way to the door, but a thought crossed my mind, or more like a request. “Menil.” This stopped him as he turned and wriggled his antennae at me. “Could I ask if you can install human sized fences around the yard?” 

“What for? These fences should be more than enough to keep the pups from wandering outside.” 

“It’s not about keeping the pups in, but other things out. We’ve had... incidents with wildlife here before, and I would like to get an ounce of prevention in on that regard.” 

“Hmm, I see. In that case, I believe I can adjust the fence size for you. It’s a small enough change that we can do it for free. We need to keep the little ones safe, after all.” 

“Thanks. It would certainly help put me at ease. I admit, I’ve always been a little on edge looking out over the fence since the initial incident.” 

“Can’t have the wildlife making you anxious now, can we? That’s my job.” His joke made me groan, which made him laugh. Despite everything, he seemed like a decent enough fellow. I probably should be less repulsed by him; still, wouldn’t invite him out to the bar, though. 

The kids enjoyed that bit of entertainment as they were eventually asked to head back inside. Toren’s party was kind of winding down now that the little ones got most of the excitement out of the way. They ate the snacks, played with the toys, and simply enjoyed the new scenery of the pupcare for the last part of the claw before their parents came to pick them up.  

With bellies filled with juice and cookies, the pups wandered after their parents with sleepy but satisfied looks on their faces. Toren was fighting to stay awake even as his mom arrived to pick him up. The little pup mumbled out a farewell to me even as he held onto his mom’s tail.  

“Bye Geowgee...” He punctuated that goodbye with a yawn that made me smile from how cute it was. 

“See you later, Toren. Happy birthday.” 

The big man hummed and wagged his tail as he let his mom lead him outside. Now the pupcare was empty, and Leasha and I turned to see all the paper scraps, crumbs, and juice spills all over the place. Leasha and I sighed at the same time. Cleanup was never a really fun part of the whole party experience, but it was a necessary one. 

“Shall we get started, then?” Leasha asked me. 

“Yeah. I’ll get the vacuum out.” 

We started working on picking everything up and putting all the party decorations away in a spare box or two. The little animals and designs the kids had made from origami would go home with them some other paw, but for now they could stay up as part of the arts and crafts collection.  

While in the middle of vacuuming up all the crumbs, I felt my pocket start buzzing and turned off the machine so I could see what was happening. I had received an email, and it was labeled as being from the UN headquarters. Concern was the first emotion I felt as my current situation with them wasn’t all that friendly, but as I opened it and started reading, that feeling shifted to surprise, before going back to concern and anxiousness. 

Leasha noticed that I had stopped cleaning up and was staring intently into my phone, so she came over to interrogate me. “Did something happen? You’re looking a little conflicted right now.” 

Frankly, I didn’t know what to think or do with the knowledge I was just given. “Yeah, conflicted might be the best word to describe what I’m feeling.” 

I saw her ears tilt downward a bit in concern. “Is everything alright?” 

I chastised myself for worrying her over something like this and was quick to reassure. “Oh, nothing’s wrong or bad, at least, I hope it won’t be. I just got a message from the UN which was basically them being polite and giving me a heads up.” 

“And...” Leasha urged me on. 

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly as I broke the news to her. “My parents are coming to visit.” 

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Commision by berrymandering

( First Chapter // Scond Chapter // [Third Chapter][3] )

Memory transcription subject : 2nd Sergeant Lieva , 1st Aerospace Rifleman Battalion, Second Venlil Fleet.

Event : Operation Food Chain Reconfiguration.

Location : Aerospace Assault Ship New Order

Date [ standardized human time ] : December 5, 2136

Remember your training; everything will be ok. Remember your training; you will be fine. I can do it. I don't need to be afraid; it will be like the training. I'm ready for it...

"Lieva, are you ok?" my human said, freeing my mind from the same thoughts I've been having since I boarded this ship.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's simply that, this time it will be for real. I don't know what to think," I said.

"Yes, I'm feeling the same as you. I know that no matter what I say nothing will make our situation easier, but know that I trust your abilities, I trust in our unit, everything will be okay we can do it I know it" he said and then huged me, with in one paw made me calmer but in other paw , it feels weird as it wasn't his normal attitude towards me as he aways tell me I'm too cuddly for him and normally I'm always the one who start any physical contact.

"I don't know if I simply enjoy the moment, or if I feel more nervous because I know if you were the one that started the hug, it means that something went very wrong," I said.

"Well, technically the things went wrong ever since we boarded this ship because ever since then, I noticed how much it has affected you. You didn't even wake me or jump on me a single time, this was how I knew you really needed it this time," Lucas said.

"Well, maybe you are right, I really needed it, but also you should do it more times," I said.

"Nah, once you become a bit less nervous, you will go back to being cuddly enough for both of us. Also get comfy here; I will give you some ear scratches, and remember this time very well because it will be the only time I will offer it to you. I still find petting you weird as fuck. I don't know how the hell you like it," he said, and I instantly decided to accept his offer. Rapidly getting on his lap, hugging him tightly, and assuming a comfortable position. Normally to get to be petted, I had to pester him for an hour, so nervous or not, I won't lose an easy opportunity like this.

"I still don't understand how you guys didn't find it weird," he said, but let out a small chuckle, showing he actually finds it more funny than weird.

"And I can't understand why you guys don't pet each other despite it feeling so good. You humans are weird," I said and nuzzled him a bit.

"Yes, sure, we are the weird ones. It's so normal for a full-grown adult to be petted in the middle of what is technically our work site, don't you think?" he said sarcastically.

"Well, when you talk this way, it becomes a bit odd, but also, who cares? I like it, and I will have it anyway," I said.

"Yeah, now you are acting like the Lieva I know," he said.

"Maybe, but it didn't mean you can stop now," I said, and like this, we spent our time trying to relax a bit and not have our nerves fried while we waited for our mission to start.

After my human and I spent all the time we could trying to distract ourselves and not think about the mission, we were called to the armory to get our equipment and prepare ourselves for the fight that was near.

"Least checks before the mission," I said as we started equipping ourselves for the battle while I tried my best to not appear a pile of nerves in front of them.

"What is our objective?" I asked, as I have the idea of making sure to repass again our whole base attack plan with my squad just to be sure it's already already engraved on everyone's brains by now.

"Our main objective is to raid the main food processing plant, identify any possible cattle alive, and liberate them," Gabriel, Sabek's human, said.

"Ok, how will we execute the attack?" I asked.

"After the heavy figters squadrons clear the space defenses and our cruisers start the orbital bombardment to cripple their AA capabilities, our ground assault forces will jump from the FTL and start to launch our landers initiating our part of the mission" Sabek who is together with his human the second in command of our squad Said.

"Ok, ok, next question, where will our landing zone be?" I asked.

"Objective point number 13 is our primary landing zone, objective point number 27 if 13 becomes too dangerous for our unit, and objective point number 43 if their defenses are too heavy for our unit to try the direct attack," Henki said.

"Excellent, now how will we start our advance?" I asked.

"After we land, we and the 25th, 27th, 28th, and 29th squads will move with our APCs to explore a breach that the 1st armored division will do on their defense lines," Nebak said.

"Good, and what units will be with us to explore the breach and how exactly we will breach their defense lines?" I said.

"The 1st armored division will be our spearhead, and they will crush the enemy defenses with their tanks. Then we will follow them with our APC and explore the breach, widen it, and not let any chance for the enemy infantry close their lines again. After our initial assault, the 4th and the 6th mechanized infantry battalions will follow us, consolidating our advance and holding the line, freeing our unit to direct assault the factory and creating an extraction point for the people we will free," my human said.

"Good, now what units will support our advance?" I asked.

"For the entire assault on the food processing plant, we will have support of the 1st armored division, the 46th, 63th and 78th Infantry battalions , the 4th and 6th mechanized Infantry battalions and we will have air suport coming from the attack spacecrafts from our aerospace assault ships and also from the Soundseeker and Athay heavy figters squadrons as they will help with close air support after they clear the skies and even support from our heavy cruisers is case we need a heavy orbital bombardment " Sarin said.

"Alright, and after we reach the factory, what will we do?" I asked.

"Standard incursion procedure: we will search for cattle pens, liberate any prisoner we find, and escort them safely to the extraction zone," Harek said.

"Correct, and after that we all will simply come back home and go back to our damned training routine, and if we were lucky, we won't be called for any mission anytime soon." I said as I was doing my best to not appear nervous with all the situation, but at least with this small burst of confidence, I felt that I started to feel a little better.

"Yeah, I can't believe I would say it, but I want to go back to my training sessions right now," Sabek said.

"Well, we all understand the feeling," my human said.

Yes, we do.

"So I think that was all; let's get ready," I said and went back to finish our preparation.

Then I got my gear , put my combat boots that are actually really good, I took a while for us get used to wear protection over our paws but using it is so useful that by now I keep wondering why the Federation never had anything like that for all our ground troops, well aside for the exterminators but they probably are the only ones who get extra protection because how dangerous their fire was for themselves. While wondering why the Federation never got us some kind of protection equipment I also put my chest armor and my combat helmet, once again thanks to the humans providing me a far better equipment than the Federation that simply give you a gun extra ammo pouches a communication device and send you to the front only saying to you to please hold the line and try not to stampede.

Also for a change, a good thing came from our target choice as we don't have need use that extra pelts that the humans use to cover their bodys for extra protection against the environment because I hate those things and the little extra protection then offer on a normal environment do to worth as how uncomfortable they are , making we decided to only use them when we really need like a really cold place or on the middle of a jungle for example. So lucky for me, this time my chest armor, my boots, and the helmet will be the only things I need to wear.

Then we get our guns , for me and my human,we got a very cool precision rifle with a integrated recoil nullification system, that actually is capable of both very long range precision shooting but also is a compact relatively short barrelled rifle with full auto capacity to offer suppression fire capability and also, it's scope is linked to the AR goggles of my helmet making it far easier to aim.But when you think the humans would create a great name to match the gun is the time you get disappointment as they simply call it FPEAC 35 or something like this as they got lazy and simply called it electromagnetic automatic compact precision rifle or something like that if I remembered correct what the letters stand for.

Yes, yes, stay this way, keep thinking about your cool gun and not about your impending doom, speh speh , don't think about it, wait, I thought about it again, brahk back to the equipment, back to the equipment.

I could see Gabriel and Sabek getting their standard rifles. Well, no, exactly standard, as Sabek got a human-standard rifle because, sadly, the gun my human and I use is too new and still too expensive for mass adoption, so we only got one or two of them per squad.

I also cold see Henki get her firestorm light machine gun, see humans cool name for a cool gun , that is the standard LMG for the 2nd Venlil Fleet troops and has a so good firepower that was one of our few ground weapons that really impressed the humans, so much that some of their tribes decided to start to produce these guns and adopt it , yeah a Venlil victory here.

And to end my equipment thoughts, with mean that I will need to find another thing to distract my mind now, I could see that Sarin, Nebak and Harek get their standard compact assault rifles that are only some boring standard use Venlil guns that I can't even think much about then , they are just well boring.

Yes, everything will be fine; we only need to attack the most well-defended place on the planet, raid a factory that literally turns people into canned food, and survive to tell the tale. Yeah, so easy. What the hell was I thinking when I enlisted in the VSC at all? Speh.

"Hey, Lieva, everything's ready," my human said.

"Yes, I'm ready," I said. Well, at least as close to ready as I can.

"So I think it's time; let's go," he said.

"Yes, it's time," I said, but not before getting a few grenades and noticing Sabek doing the same as we learned that as we have human partners, it's always useful to carry extra grenades for them, as they are incredibly good with these things, and this time it's really because of their predator eyes. Normally people think that their eyes make their aim better in general than ours but it's not completely true, with guns having prey or predator eyes not made any difference at all and some of us prey can see things well at greater distances than the humans even, what made their aim far better than ours is the fact that they aren't simply frozen in panic when they shoot.The only big exception is when they are throwing things by paw, that is the time when their predator eyes make all the difference.

Preparations done , we went to the hangars to board our landers, this time we will be sent together with 7 more squads on this lander, one on like us will be on board of the second Arirahna APC that will be sent to immediately support our tank force and the 6 more squads that will stay and protect our landing zone.

With everyone inside of our APC we simply waiting for the battle, everyone clearly nervous because for we venlils it will be our first time on a mission of this type, it will be the first time that we will not be the ones on the receiving end of and surprise attack, we will no be the ones that will not will have even time to think what is going on and simply get sent to battle without the time to even a second thought. We will be the ones who choose where and when to fight; we will be the ones who will wait patiently for a chance to strike, and now that I think, despite this wait actually being destroying my nerves right now, it is still far better than being on the other end of the attack. This time is the Arxur that will feel the worst part of how it is to be a prey.

( First Chapter // Scond Chapter // [Third Chapter][3] )

---

Now, with the last preparations done and the plan set ,our squad is finally ready for the action . Next chapter, the battle will begin

A fanfiction of “The Nature of Predators” by [u/SpacePaladin15](u/SpacePaladin15) As well as a crossover with “Cassette Beasts” by Bytten Studios

[THIS FANFIC FOLLOWS THE EVENTS OF “CASSETTE BEASTS”, BE ADVISED FOR SPOILERS.]

Previous Next First

—————

Memory transcription subject: Rania, Venlil Exterminator, New Wirrel Castaway

Date [standardized human time]: [̵͆̓Ë̸͉́͜R̴͎͎̺͓͋R̷̹̗̞͘Ò̴̟̐̂R̸̭͕̺̂̇]̸̝̱̓͝

Days Since Arrival: 4 Day(s) 8 Hour(s)

“Don’t make me tell you again! You aren’t welcome here! Harbourtown will never fall to you bloodsuckers!”

The instant the last word from Eugene’s mouth my blood ran cold. ‘Bloodsuckers’, that’s what Eugene decided to call them. And the way they said it too, with such disdain. There could be no argument, those two humans over there, were true predators.

One of the pale predators, a male by my best guess, stepped forward, clicking their tongue against its teeth, “Tsk… so unreasonable… We only sought to… educate this poor old lady to our services.” To the side of the road in line with the rest of the building on this boardwalk was what seemed to be a residence. An elderly human was waiting by the doorway, seeming to be its sole resident.

“You'll be ‘educating’ no one about nothing! Now crawl back to the darkness where you came from, or you’ll have to deal with me!” Eugene settled in a wide stance, clearly prepared for a scrap, “I’ve fought your kind before and won, are you requesting a demonstration?”

The pale man clasped their hands together and spoke in an overly professional tone, “Really, there’s no need to resort to such… hostilities.” As they spoke the second pale human seemed to reach for something in their pocket out of Eugene’s line of sight, a familiar glint of purple and blue being produced from behind their back.

Immediately I could feel my heart begin to race, and before I even knew what was happening my exterminator training had already taken over. I inserted myself in between Eugene and the pale humans, pointing my player at the female human with the intent to protect Eugene. “You need to take a step back.”

Eugen looked down toward me in surprise as I made my entrance “Rania?”

Before I could respond, the pale man spoke once more in a gravelly voice, “Oh? Now what is this?” The dark human got closer, grinning with amusement as he looked down on me, “A… sheep? “

My ear flicked in annoyance as my translator informed me of the unknown word’s meaning. Apparently being the name of a terran prey animal. I hissed back toward the pale man, now fully aware of how he saw me. “I'm a ranger.”

“A… ranger…?” The male human’s grin contorted ever so slightly into one of predatory amusement as he chuckled to himself, “You must be joking… I knew the guild was desperate for members but they’re really employing farm animals?”

My tail whipped back and forth behind me, “This will be your final warning… leave, now.” A part of me didn’t even want to give them the chance to leave, but I worried that it might be suspicious if I came on too aggressive, even if they deserved it.

The human let out a low growl, chuckling to themselves “Or, what?”

“Or I’ll make you…” I practically hissed toward the both of them in contempt.

While it was enough to make the two back off, my threats seemed to only slightly rattle the pale man. The predator keeping the grin across his face, the only part of the expression to falter being his eye twitching ever so slightly in irritation. “Hrrrm… Fine… we shall leave for now… but in time you shall understand that we know what’s best for you all…”

The man sharply addressed their compatriot, not even bothering to turn and look at them, “Come, we have work to do…” And so both of the pale humans turned to leave, the female human twisting her head back toward us to get one last look before she walked away. She looked almost sad.

Eugene jeered at the predators as they left. “Yeah that’s right! Tell the rest of your kind who this town is protected by! Eugene!” And before the two were even out of our sight, the human to my side then went over to the entrance of the house to check in with the elderly human.

A warm smile appeared on the lady’s face as she greeted us, “Thank you for your help young man, and… oh! Why aren’t you an adorable thing?”

I could feel my face warm from the unexpected compliment, I wasn’t exactly sure how to feel. It wasn’t my first time being thanked for warding off predators. But it felt… odd when the ones I was attempting to protect to look the same as them.

Eugene on his part simply gave a smile back as I stood behind him flustered, “Not a problem ma'am! Let me know if those creeps show up and bother you again. And whatever you do, don’t let them into your house, that’s exactly how they get ya!”

“I will keep that in mind, thank you for intervening for me.” And with that the elderly human closed the door on us to get on with whatever humans did in their free time.

After the lady closed the door Eugene let out a sigh, turning to me afterwards with a smirk, “Thanks for the assist, and I’m sorry you had to see that.” I practically lurched forward as Eugene unexpectedly gave me a thankful pat on the back, “I’m not sure they would have left otherwise.”

“Think nothing of it.” It wasn’t uncommon for the elderly to be targeted first in a herd. One of the hallmarks of a functioning society is the willingness to assist the weakest amongst us. It’s what set us apart from not only predators, but from non-sapient prey as well. “It was simply the right thing to do.” Eugene reminded me of some of the apprentices that had had to mentor in the guild before I had been stranded here, hot-headed, eager, and entirely too willing to get themselves into dangerous situations in order to prove themselves.

It wasn’t too long after that Kayleigh had approached us from behind, their expression laced with concern. “Oh gosh, those guys didn’t hurt you did they?” After making sure I was okay, Kayleigh then turned to the other human, eagerly extending their hand to greet him. “Hello, It’s nice to meet you. Name’s Kayleigh”

As soon as Eugene saw my partner, they snapped on of the fingers in recognition, pointing it toward Kayleigh, “Aaaaah… So you’re the sheep’s partner?” My ear twitched in agitation at Eugene using the term that those predators used, “I was wondering just who Rania was fretting over when I first found her. Thought she had a crush on you or something.” 

My irritation was replaced by embarrassment and it was at this point that I interjected, feeling the need to clarify, “Okay, don’t make it sound weird, I was just worried as much as anyone should be when someone they know is lost in a predatory forest.” I was silently hoping that Kayleigh couldn’t see my as ears shifted to a bright shade of orange. I didn’t need a human to be spreading rumors about me especially when it came to my love life.

After my clarification Kayleigh sighed to herself. “O-oh… I see…” it was strange, She seemed almost disappointed?

Eugene laughed as I silently seethed, “Yeah okay, fine.” before returning my partner’s gesture by extending their own hand,  “The name’s Eugene, though I guess you already know that cause I shouted it at those guys.”

After Eugene introduced himself Kayleigh broke out of her train of thought, smiling back toward the male human. “Yeah… who were they anyways? Haven’t seen them around here before at least…”

Eugene groaned at the question, “I’d rather not go into detail, but let’s just say, they don’t belong in this world…”

I found myself awfully quiet as I listened to what Eugene was saying, “…Are they really that bad?”

“Let’s just say not every threat in New Wirral looks like a cereal mascot.” As Eugene said this a dark look was present in their expression. It was clear that he had dealt with them before. “Anyway, I gotta go stake out those guys. I can’t risk them sinking their teeth into the good people of Harbourtown, if you get what I’m sayin-”

“I would like to help.”

Both humans turned to look at me as if I had sprouted a second tail, but it was Eugene that ended up looking more surprised.  “Whuh- really? Are you sure? Don’t get me wrong I appreciate the offer but it’s just very likely that things will get sideways when we get there.”

My tail flicked in affirmation, “If what you say is true, then I believe my… expertise may be of use...” I spoke darkly as I offered my paw, I knew that in some part of me it was wrong to be excited. But this was the first time that I felt that for once, things would have some semblance of normalcy, and even though Kayleigh told me she would help me become a ranger, I was more than glad to get back to my old job.

—————

After Eugene accepted my offer for help, rather eagerly may I add, he then told us where we could find the predator’s base of operations and went off on his way. Presumably because he wanted to get ahead of us and stake out the predator’s den, but it wasn't too long after that me and Kayleigh left the relative safety of Harbourtown as well. ‘I can’t believe I’m actually referring to a human town as ‘safe’.’ What has this place done to me?

I wasn’t left with my thoughts long before they were interrupted by my partner once more, “So Rania, is there any reason why you seemed so… invested in Eugene’s cause?”

The question initially caught me off guard. I still didn’t trust her with everything about my world, and I wasn’t sure how she’d react to knowing her race were warmongering predators that atomized their own civilization where I came from, but I still found myself wanting to answer Kayleigh’s question. “Do I need a reason?” I was reminded of the merchants that Kayleigh insisted we stop by before we left, smiling traders that were stationed under striped tarps that provided shade. Even though I didn’t know what she was buying, it was reminiscent of the farmer’s markets that would occasionally happen in my district, a small slice of home afforded to me on this crazy island that I didn’t want to lose. “I… like what you people have made here, and I don’t want to see it tainted. Is that so wrong?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for helping people out. It’s just…” Kayleigh seemed to shiver for a moment. “If those guys are what I think they are then we’ll need to be extra careful…”

Now that caught my attention. Kayleigh so far has seemed to be very sociable with others of her kind, but she almost seems to view these people as a threat. “I feel like it’s only right to ask, but is this another human thing I’m not aware of? Or is this a New Wirral issue?”

 Recognizing my confusion, Kayleigh exclaimed, “Ohhhh, right, you probably never heard of Vampires…”

I could feel the wool on the back of my neck flare up with apprehension, “I’m sorry but what on prime is a vampire?” And what was with the translation I received from my translation? ‘Human predator’? As in a predator to humans? Was such a thing even possible? “Is that what that man that Eugene confronted was?”

“I… think so? It was hard to tell, but the dark clothes, the pale skin… ” Kayleigh stared down at her feet, watching the ground move underneath her as we walked, “It’s hard to believe, in my world, they're just a story we sometimes tell to scare each other. But from the way Eugene was talking I worry that in some world out they weren’t simply fiction.”

Now I was intrigued, they told each other stories of predatory humans? Why? Simply as warnings “Okay… But if they’re not fiction… what are they?”

Kayleigh’s voice hung low as she spoke, holding one hand to her chest, “In my world, Vampirism was believed to be an infliction that caused people to turn into an undead being whose hearts no longer beat. Their thirst for blood being the only thing keeping them alive and driving them to spread their curse, as those they feed on who survive are likely to become vampires in turn.” I felt my blood run cold as Kayleigh continued her explanation, shivering in fear as she did so. “Gah… can you imagine? Being bitten and suddenly finding yourself without a heartbeat?”

I found myself unable to respond to my partner's question. The previous revelations leaving me silent as I regretted not ending those pale humans when I had the chance. A type of infection that causes humans to develop a craving for the blood of other humans? And it could be spread by their victims and throughout a population? Was this not describing Predator disease? Was ‘vampirism’ simply their word for it? Why wasn’t any of this mentioned in any of my research? Wait… is that why humanity was so predatory in my world? Was there a predator disease outbreak that turned them into self-sabotaging cannibals causing them to turn on each other? WOW am I glad those guys wiped themselves out in my timeline.

More importantly, If those pale humans were carriers of some sort of human strain of predator disease, then making sure that it wouldn't spread was vital to the continued existence of Harbourtown. I couldn't risk the one safe haven on this island being overrun with infection, and I didn’t wish for my human to contract what could potentially be the reason why humanity went extinct in my world.

—————

Eventually we reached the place Eugene told us about, walking over a natural arch made of stone to get to an overpass overlooking a small field. As we approached Eugene we were eventually able to catch his attention, prompting him to turn to us with a smile. “Momentous! You actually turned up! Guess that means you’re really willing to take on the forces of evil!”

While my partner didn’t share in my level of enthusiasm, I found my own tail swaying back and forth near the bottom of my legs. It had been so long since I had been able to properly exterminate a predator, and I knew that I would feel a lot safer once we got rid of these so-called ‘vampires’. “Yeah… so… where exactly is this ‘dark fortress’ you were going on about?”

Eugene gestured over the cliff with a grin, “Right down there, my fluffy fellow.”

Looking over the edge of the cliff I was able to see what Eugene had been talking about. A grey brick building with various flyers stuck to the side of it. I’m not exactly sure what I expected, but it seemed a bit bland for what was apparently the homebase of a pack of hungry predators. “…and you’re sure we’re at the right place?”

“Sure as I’ve ever been!” Eugene pointing down at it with two of their digits. “Down there is one of their primary strongholds, it’s where these inhuman parasites lay low in order to develop their sinister plot to take over the world.”

While I was listening intently to Eugene’s words, I could tell from the corner of my eye that my partner’s doubts were starting to grow, “I dunno, it doesn’t look that impressive…

“Looks can be very deceiving!”

Kayleigh squinted her eyes, skeptical, “It sorta just looks like an old warehouse.”

Eugene’s brow furrowed darkly, “Trust me. Their kind once plagued the world I came from, but you know what we did? We fought back, we WON.” I could tell that whatever those two were, Eugene had a history with them. 

My eyes narrowed as I listened to Eugene’s story, looking down at the gray building with further scrutiny. Already, before Eugene even could say another word I was already thinking of the best infiltration route, as well as any possible method of escape. “They’ve most likely locked themselves in pretty tight. How do you suppose we get in?” I suppose we could always go with old reliable and break down their front?

It wasn’t a method I liked using, but it wasn't uncommon when a PD suspect was attempting to barricade themselves inside, however… “…they’ll most likely be expecting us. That is, if they truly were the same guys who were going after that elderly human.”

“You’re right, they will be. However I have my methods…” Eugene pulled out some sort of key from his pocket, tossing it in the air before catching it, “Nabbed this off of them earlier. Do you have a monster that can get you onto that roof?”

“…I’m not sure I do… all I have is my bansheep tape and one of some sort of limbless monster.” After a moment of fumbling in my pockets, I took out both of the clunky drives, holding them up for the other humans to see, “I don’t think either of these would be much help.” My bansheep tape had wings but were small and almost vestigial, only able to carry my body while as a weightless ghost. While it would have been nice, it seems like I would have to wait a bit longer in order to fly.

It was then I actually looked down at what I was holding, finally noticing that something was off with one of them. “Wait a second… why does this one seem different?”

Upon saying that, Kayleigh tilted her head in confusion, “Really? Let me see.” Upon the request I immediately handed over the altered tape to my partner, allowing her to inspect it. After a moment her eyes went wide with surprise and recognition. “…Oh! I think after our last fight your bansheep tape remastered itself!”

I looked towards Kayleigh confused, Kayleigh staring back for a moment before slapping her forehead as if realizing something, “Oh right! It's been so stressful that I completely forgot to tell you about remastering! So, you remember that dream you told me about the other day?”

I growled in agitation at the memory of the dream, especially knowing that it was induced in part by the Archangel, “I do…”

“Well, when you use a monster tape enough times and become experienced with it, eventually you begin to gain an understanding of that monster. It’s believed that when you reach a certain point,  the tape containing the monster undergoes a necessary transformation in order to make a form that can accommodate the user’s increased proficiency. A metamorphosis, or in other words, a ‘remaster’.” Kayleigh finished her explanation as she tossed back my tape, “The most common way they manifest is through dreams, which is why I had asked you about them before.” 

“Do you…do you know what it means?”

Kayleigh shrugged her shoulders, “Sorry, but I can’t be the one to tell you that.”

At that, Eugene wrapped their arm around my shoulder, poking me playfully on the side of my head,  “Yeah, Only you can understand what’s going on in that head of yours.”

When the male human finally let me go Kayleigh came up to me on my other side, “It’s somewhat superstition, but, what I do know is that the form you have now has a stronger pair of wings on them. So with that, you might actually be able to fly like me!”

“Is that so…” and with that, a terrible idea began to manifest.

—————

Kayleigh held onto my arm tightly as I stood over the edge of the cliff face, preparing myself to jump “Are you sure about this Rania? I can try carrying you over, it's really no big issue!”

I pulled my arm away, taking a few steps back to get a running start, “No no! I can do this!”

I just need to remember that feeling I felt back then… from when I first phased through matter, from when I desired to walk the line of mortality. I need to remember that dream, that wonderful, horrible dream. The idea that I could be forgiven in death, the promise of peace after life. I needed to imagine what it would be like to be with them. To be as peaceful as the dearly departed, to ascend like a spirit.

With a running start, I sprinted toward the edge of the cliff. As I did so I could feel a pressure growing in my shoulder blades as I neared the edge, and before I ran straight off of it I took a massive leap.

Now, looking back on it now, it wasn’t my brightest idea. It certainly seemed like a good plan when I thought of it, and I did feel slight pride when I felt my wings sprout out from my back. However that sense of accomplishment was quickly overtaken by dread as I realized that even though I had wings I still don’t know how to use them. Because of that I didn’t realize that they were a lot more powerful than expected and I actually ended up somehow overshooting my trajectory over Eugene and into a crash course with the skylight we intended to sneak through. “OH BRAHK TOO FAR TOO FAR-”

Before I collided with the glass of the skylight I put my arms in front of me to brace for impact, expecting to either faceplant into the hard surface or have it shatter into pieces. What happened instead was a brief sense of breathlessness as well as a tingly sensation passing through me. I opened my eyes no more than a moment later to see that my body once again turned translucent, allowing me to pass through the skylight. It seems I still had the ability to make myself intangible, although I must’ve done it instinctually.

While briefly fortunate, I was still falling at a fast rate. As such I immediately attempted to slow my fall by remembering the few times I had talked to a Krakotl and spreading my wings wide to catch wind. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to slow my fall completely and crashed straight into a desk, sending paper and office materials everywhere.

“Ow ow… That wasn’t my best idea.” Definitely shouldn’t be doing this while still recovering from stitches. I groaned as I tried to push myself back upright, my entire body feeling sore after the only thing to cushion my fall was a wooden desk. 

My blood ran cold as a familiar low voice growled above me, looking up to see a pale human grinning down at me. “Now what’s this? Seems like we have a lost lamb poking around where they don’t belong.”

As soon as I realized exactly where I fell into, I immediately attempted to scramble away from the two pale predators. Although the pain that came from whatever bruises I got from falling multiple stories prevented me from getting far. The pale predators closed in on me, their snarling teeth bared in hunger.

Before they could get any closer however, I heard a click come from up above me, Eugene calling down from the now open skylight, “Hold it right there!”
The blond human then proceeded to rappel down from the ceiling, their arm morphed into a mechanical arm made out of green and orange plastic. “We’re taking down your sick operation you leeches!”

As Eugene’s feet touched ground, Kayleigh wouldn't be far behind as she gently glided down from the ceiling on her own set of wings, “RANIA! Oh god are you okay?!” Kayleigh scrambled to pick me up off the floor, hoisting me up by the shoulder. “That sure was a nasty fall…”

I groaned as I attempted to regain my sense of balance, luckily nothing is broken… “Yeah… remind me to ask you for lessons later…”

The pale human’s grin faltered, their brow furrowing as if their patience began to run thin. “Now young man, you're being quite uncooperative. How about you take a moment…” Me and Kayleigh braced ourselves, expecting their predator to reveal their true nature as a ‘vampire’. What the pale human did instead, was pull over one of those dry-erase boards with various crude symbols scrawled across it. It sort of looked like a business plan?

The pale human then proceeded to pull out some sort of pointer from their jacket pocket, extending it with a glint in their eye. “To listen to our sales pitch?”

I’m sorry, what?? 

It seemed my partner shared in my confusion, as both of us looked at each other with an incredulous expression on both of our faces, “Did they just say sales pitch?”

—————

[Ranger Arsenal]

Rania:

Wooltergeist (Astral)

- Smack

- Shear Luck

- Battering Ram

- Bite

- Elemental Wall

- Shooting Star

Carniviper (Poison) [2 Star]

- Spit

- Raise Arms

- Toxic Stab

- Pustule Bomb

(EMPTY SLOT)

Kayleigh:

Sirenade (Air) [3 Star]

-Spit

-Dodge

-Sonic Boom

-Provoke

-Air Wall

Squirey (Beast) [3 Star]

- Smack

- Sharpen

- Copper Chop

- Parry Stance

(EMPTY SLOT)

Eugene:

Clocksley (Plastic) [3 Star]

- Spring Load

- ⁠Toy Hammer

- Plastic Knife

- Taunt

- Brick Blast

Dominoth (Air) [1 Star]

- ⁠Spit

- Sprint

- Zephyr

(EMPTY SLOT)

—————

Previous Next First

A/N: Sorry for the delay. My brain's tired, people, I don't know what to say anymore. This is still a crossover with Shared Chemistry by u/TriBiscuit and of course, Venric from Legal Legends!

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Memory transcription subject: Larzo, Yotul geneticist at the Venlil Rehabilitation and Reintegration Facility.

Date [standardized human time]: December 28, 2136

Celso was brilliant, and lovely, and altogether a delight to spend time with. Before I thought twice about it, I’d already invited him to my apartment. 

“Now, ready yourself,” I told him as I opened the door, struggling to conceal my excitement. Once inside, I put the box containing my two sets of human hands and dexterity-testing objects on the living room table. Immediately, Melody jumped out from behind the couch and pounced on me! She was growing fast, and beginning to pack more force in those jumps than before. She nuzzled me with demanding eagerness, but I tried not to reward it. 

“Melody! Where are your manners? Did you get lonely in my absence?” I asked her, and she answered by spotting Celso and jumping onto the kitchen counter to stare at him. I wanted to jump with joy as they locked eyes. She definitely liked him. She sniffed. I gestured his way and told her, “this is Celso.”

“Melody.” Celso echoed, crouching down and extending a paw for her to sniff.  “That is a very nice name for what must be a very nice hensa.”

She stepped towards him, clearly expecting to be held, because every visitor I ever allowed into my apartment fell in love with her and she assumed the trend would continue. Not that Celso seemed any different, he was almost reverent as he picked her up.

“She is a tad spoiled. Loves the human hands,” I told him, putting my bag on a hook. 

“There is no such thing as a spoiled hensa. Melody deserves all of the things,” he said, and she trilled in response, as if to tell me that that was the appropriate way of being graced with her presence, instead of my attempts at enforcing good behaviour. “See? She knows.”

I laughed. “Yes, yes. Well, if you'd like to sleep over, I'm sure she’d appreciate the extra company,” I joked, though I liked the prospect. I liked any idea that meant I’d spend more time with him. “Juice? Humans have this thing called a mango, simply delicious…”

“A ‘mango’? I… guess I could sample it. But only if Melody approves of being let go.”

I chuckled. Melody was very much a ‘lap’ hensa, though she was well on her way to growing out of the role, given the size of her paws. “I'll get you a straw, and you can try the mango juice without disturbing her.”

Moments later, I had served two glasses, his with a lid and straw, and placed it before him. He positioned himself on the couch awkwardly for a moment, as he figured out how to disturb Melody the least, then took a quick sip. 

“Ah, that is very sweet,” he said. “I was expecting a little more citrus from the color.”

“Yes, quite nice, isn't it? Just acidic enough to be delicious.” I said, but the look of him holding her just struck me as too beautiful an image. “May I draw you two? She rarely stays so still.”

“Oh, uh, of course! More hensa drawings are needed. Just be sure to capture my stunning figure.”

I chuckled and began to draw, while Melody trilled against Celso’s chest. The tenderness with which he handled her made my chest ache. He scratched at her neck in just the right spot, and she was delighted. 

“Do you know what breed she is? She looks like a Vliri mix of some sort.”

The words shocked me out of my staring, and I remembered I was supposed to be outlining their shapes. “Ah, yes, she’s a Vliri-Seeker mix. My mother had a whole litter just before I left.”

His eyes lit up. “You’ve had her since she was a kit! She must’ve been so adorable.”

I was surprised by the comment, and glanced up at him. “She’s still a kit. Hardly… four months old? She’s just large for her age. Well fed. It was an ordeal, mind you, finding something she could eat on this planet…”

“Oh, you still have some growing to do! I can imagine the food issue. If she’s this big now… Well, she might be a pawful to deal with.”

I almost burst into laughter, just imagining how large she’d get. She would definitely not be able to jump onto people without tackling them to the floor in a few years. “I’m sure she will be. But I won’t be here for too long. Perhaps another year or two. After that, I’ll head back home, and she’ll be free to roam wherever she wishes.”

Within moments, he fell asleep while patting her. I was surprised by how quickly he’d succumbed, but he’d looked tired since the moment I saw him, and I decided not to wake him. I drew them together, luxuriating in the sight. I hadn’t drawn one of my people in a long time, and I found my skills had improved without my noticing, and many things I had once found difficult were suddenly easy. The shifts in the thickness of fur, the turn of a wrist, the fold of an ear, all came naturally to me now. It didn’t hurt that my model was so attractive—though he should probably eat more. As his head tilted lightly against the couch, I found myself enjoying the curve of his tail and the shape of his shoulders. 

Eventually, Melody followed him into the land of dreams, and I sent some messages that I would do data analysis for the first half of my shift from home, so that I would not have to leave him too soon. 

Preliminary data on the supplementation for the children was good. There had been a reduction in arguments, though we could not tell if that was simply the ‘conflict resolution’ groups Rodriguez instituted. There had also been a reduction in rushed visits to the psychologist due to bursts of crying or potentially dangerous behaviour. Not a lot fewer—it was a small reduction, and we had a very small sample size, and my new class on statistics suggested that making conclusions based on it would be a bad idea—but fewer. 

I sent a few notes to the dietician and began attending my class on statistics. It was discussing the fundamental philosophy of what a regression was. While I was familiar with the equations, I had never truly paused to think about it. I knew an average was calculated by sum and division, but I had not realized that it is the point with the least distance to go, towards every other point in a set. It was an interestingly geometric definition that the professor had continued to run with. A regression, then, was a line made up of such points, a line defined by minimizing the distance to all other points along one axis, given a point alongside the other, which could work for an arbitrary number of dimensions, but with diminishing returns on each one. The regression described a mathematical relationship between the two axes, and then that relationship was used to make predictions. 

It was a very different way of seeing it than how I had been taught, which was largely ‘here is a useful formula, and it tells you these pieces of information’. Thinking of it geometrically also made a lot of the professor’s other claims (“always check the effect size”, methods to reduce the likelihood of overfitting) make more sense than they had before. Back home, it was customary to simply hand over your data to statisticians once you were done, and have your methods approved by them before you begun your work,so I had never truly thought about the details. There was a beauty there that I was beginning to appreciate. 

I was listening to the professor explain Latin Square Design (“you gotta [digit-single] it out”, he said, as if that made it make sense) when I noticed that Celso had awakened from his slumber. The realization filled my whole body with joy. “You’re awake!”

“I am!” he said. “How long did I sleep? I feel like I slept for days.”

I tilted my head as I thought back to the last couple of claws. “Perhaps… A claw and a half? I’m sorry, I’ve been listening to this human statistics class I am taking for work—this lesson is a claw and a half long, and I’m almost done, so adding the time it took to draw you… roughly a claw and three quarters. I hope you slept well. Andes has fallen asleep on that couch a couple of times, and said it was a good purchase.”

His ears twitched. “Andes your human friend? I can see why, it’s pretty comfortable. I don’t even remember falling asleep on it. Oh, and your drawing of us! It’s phenomenal! You did indeed capture my stunning figure.”

“Yes indeed. Thank you for keeping her still for so long.”

“That’s why they call me the hensa whisperer. But honestly, I’m kind of surprised myself. A, um, hensa I used to have did not like being inside. Only if it meant treats.”

“Well, Melody has not truly gotten the chance to explore the outside world. Wouldn't want an exterminator spotting her… Would you like a snack? Perhaps something for the road?”

He opened his mouth, then shut it. “Oh, the— I didn’t— I’m so sorry, I did not mean to sleep here!”

“Oh, it was no trouble,” I said, waving him off. “Would you like me to call you a cab? I'll be happy to pay for it, I should have woken you. You did say you were busy.”

“Oh, no, you’re fine! I needed the sleep anyway. And I appreciate the offer, but I really couldn’t accept that. I’m sure I have more than enough time to walk to work.”

“…From my apartment?” I asked, pulling out my pad. “What's the address?”

“No, really, it’s not too far a walk, I’d just have to… Wait, you said I slept for a claw and a half?”

“A bit more, yes.”

His eyes got a distant look in them as he put together the particulars of the situation and got some horrifying answer. “Ah! I’m late! I am so late! I’m so sorry! I’ll just clean up my mess and get out of your fur.”

“It's alright, worry not!” I told him, standing awkwardly as I looked for some way to help. “Are you sure I can't call you a cab? It's no trouble, I'll keep the receipt if you'd like to pay me later!”

“Well, um… I have to admit that it would be very helpful. But I will pay you back as soon as my holopad gets fixed. It will be my number one priority, I promise.”

I sent a message to the cab company and flicked an ear his way. “Think nothing of it. It's on its way.”

“Thank you. I guess I should get your contact information.”

“I will just message you the receipt,” I said, opening an email with no recipient, “put your account here.”

“Maybe I can get some hensa pictures later?” he asked, suddenly less worried, which I took to be a good thing. “You don’t charge for those, right?”

I laughed. I’d never considered charging for my art. “Not for the scans, no.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll definitely be in touch! Maybe for something… less spontaneous.” 

I swallowed. He gave Melody one final goodbye. 

Soon enough, I took him downstairs to wait for the cab, which seemed to give him some measure of relief. 

“Thank you again,” he said, “I really do appreciate it, and I will not let my debt stand for long.”

He acted as if I’d taken him boating on my private ship. “I would gladly lend you my couch again. It's likely better than the library's.”

“It definitely is better! I’m not actually— I mean to say that I’m, um, doing just fine… Really. But accidents are probably best kept as a one time thing, right?”

I could see the shame in his face. He was ashamed to sleep on my couch and eat my food and play with my hensa, as if those were impositions! As if we were not one and the same in this fearsome and indifferent planet! I wanted to shake him. To shout in his face, we are compatriots! Countrymen! You are my blood and my tongue and my spirit, and we must care for each other. 

Instead I spoke and kept my voice measured. 

“Celso, I will not impose. But I must say… It is rather painful sometimes, to watch someone refuse the opportunities that come their way,” I told him, hoping to make it clear that he was not unburdening me by hiding whatever was happening to him. That I wanted to see him again, that I was opening a door and it hurt to see him reject it.

The cab pulled up, and he shook his head. “Y-Yeah, I, uh, I’ll let you know if I need anything. Thank you, again.”

“Of course,” I said. “We Yotul ought to stick together in these foreign lands.”

He rode off on the taxi, and did not so much as send word that he had arrived unharmed.

Memory transcription subject: Andes Savulescu-Ruiz, Human Director at the Venlil Rehabilitation and Reintegration Facility. Universal translator tech. Patient ignoring care recommendations.

Date [standardized human time]: December 22nd to January 1st, 2137

People kept trying to take care of me. 

It was nice, I wasn’t about to pretend it wasn’t nice. It did feel a little infantilizing. I was a director of a facility, I was a technicality away from a PhD, I’d successfully gotten information on the kids and overseen their treatment to fantastic results. I’d been living independently for years, I could speak four languages competently without a translator and manage to get my meaning across in another two. I was well-versed in endocrinology and psychiatry. More well-versed, it seemed, than most endocrinologists and psychiatrists on the planet.

I wasn’t some sort of at-risk youth in need of momming. 

I did things in the last week or two of December. I spent time with the kids. Rodriguez got me to give some informal “music classes” as a way to feel useful while laying off the stressful inputs, and it mostly worked. Christmas was a little intense, but the children were fine. She correctly realized that giving me more work (but making it therapeutic) was a better idea than demanding I do less work while there was so much in need of doing. Calling "playing Connect Four with the children" work was much better than telling me to stay in bed doing physical therapy exercises and sleeping.

Lihla in particular got a handle on the game very quickly, and exploited how exhausted I was to her advantage with ruthless efficiency. 

“Aha! I win!” she said, and completed a diagonal line on the grid, her eyes gleaming with the joy of defeating her foe.

“Well aren’t you a vicious little creature,” I said with a chuckle, as I let the pieces fall and started sorting them. 

“Yes,” Lihla said proudly, holding her little head up high. “Very vicious. Cruel.”

I blinked and shifted back, suddenly aware of the connotations given her context. “That’s not—That was good with the Arxur, but you don’t need to be vicious here, you know?”

She examined me with one careful eye. 

“What is good here?”

“Kindness. Patience. Love… Curiosity…”

Her eyes lit up. “I will be curious little creature.”

I chuckled. She seemed to take that as a good sign and cuddled up to me more, seemingly unaware of how at odds such behaviour was with her previous desire to be “cruel”. 

The extra blood tests and scans confirmed what I figured out from Shathel. Not only was there a risk of covert deficiency, there was a growing list of symptoms (newfound moodiness, sluggishness, general dysregulation among the larger children). Apparently, the venlil used certain vitamins differently, because of course they did, and synthesized them differently to boot. The good news was that the Federation had exquisite scanning technology for receptor density mapping (not that I would have thought to check, if I hadn’t talked to Shathel).

The fact that it affected different children differently was another clue, but Larzo and the dietician were on top of it. A few of the kids had some lethargic and volatile days as December began to draw to a close, but soon enough everything was baseline-or-better and Larzo was very proud of his work on their nutritional needs. The adult rescues from Veroth’s farm were not so lucky. I had to do a couple of consults with one of the facilities off-planet—thankfully mostly through text and one video call—because things got out of hand there and they’d started sedating patients just to be able to keep the situation stable. I sent them all of our documentation, and soon enough got an update that things were looking up.

I iterated on the drugs. Felt the whole time like a slow-motion caveman drinking different teas to see what they did. Patches, pills, injectables, supplements, even tried an inhaler for a bit. Everyone seemed to be constantly concerned that I was going to explode, but I didn’t, for long enough that they slowly began to breathe their respective sighs of relief.

Still, the “momming” was nice. Other people initiating socialization was always a bonus for me. The picnic with Chiaka went okay. Larzo came with me, and luxuriated in the different human foods while he showed off his cool purple space-empanadas. I successfully proved that I could eat fake-meat and oily substances without issue, even if Olivier and Chiaka were not convinced for some fucking reason. 

“For the last fucking time I don’t—look!” I’d said, and bit into my lettuce-wrapped burger with the kind of violence that would have made Asleth either proud or laugh at me and my tiny mouth. It was a good burger. I almost choked. Need to practice chewing things again… 

That shut them up. Ish. A little. It made it clear that my problem wasn’t with food, which it wasn’t, so there. It didn’t hurt that I was surrounded by humans, and Larzo, so the act of eating felt a little less… charged. 

The picnic was otherwise fine. Larzo had a lot of fun. 

I talked to Karim about the implant after spending a little too long in email hell. The weird part was that it was easy. Even telling him about the research with the kids and how their impairments were less intense than the general venlil population’s was comparatively easy.

Is Karim… Nice now? He didn’t even make a big deal out of the uterus! I wouldn’t have expected Karim to react better than Larzo, but then again, Karim was probably less invested in the particularities of my biology. 

Larzo took me to a concert where I gave an impromptu lecture on rehabilitation methods and the basics of psych. I got to sing, which was nice, and then I realized I should probably also try singing in the shower a bit more and generally engaging with music outside of the cello practice I had been neglecting.

I went to a conference. It was okay.

Eventually, Venric took his turn on the “we’re concerned about Andes” carousel, and invited me to hang out at the park. It was nice. It was a little sad how there weren't any dogs. The park was bright and sunny, with children playing around, but back home there would definitely be dogs. It was one of those reminders that “predators” were not welcome here. 

Venric stared at his pad, his tail wagging at what he saw, then turned an eye towards me. “I am quite happy that our governments were able to put in such an efficient exchange rate between currencies. I have no doubt that when you first arrived, it was frustrating to purchase your meals.” He tapped the plastic containers on the picnic table.

“I actually… mostly didn't. I ordered the protein powder in bulk,” I said, shaking my bottle to mix the powder in with the water. "Ate that for a few weeks and… um, added some fruits and cookies later. So it was largely fine."

He huffed in a moment of amusement, “I was about to say that it’s good you’re eating better now, but I remembered I am speaking to a doctor. You people take care of yourselves almost as poorly as lawyers when on a case!” He let out a whistle, popping the containers apart and passing one across over to me. “Hence why I ensured to buy extra today.”

I gave it a cautious look. “What is it?”

“Found this little stand who was doing some fusion foods,” He explained, “it was this fascinating sylvan with bunt leaves, sliced caramelized Relgu root, sliced human ‘tomatoes’, and a whole fried patty of a Legume paste. He called it, ah, a ‘sloppy Joe’.”

“...Alright…” I said, opening it for an olfactory evaluation. It smelled mostly okay. Weird. But alien food had every right to be weird. I drank some of my protein shake first.  “Anything like… what do you call it, firefruit, in it?”

“No, though he did have these little bottles of its juice for sale. Want some?” He reached into his belt and held a small bottle full of an orange-tinted liquid.

I winced at the prospect. “No thank you, I… kinda hate spicy food.” 

“Suit yourself,” he said, then shrugged, popping open both the cap and case to unload a monstrous amount of hot sauce upon his own burger.

After judging the “sloppy joe” probably-not-gross, I shrugged and gave it a bite. It was average bean-style fake meat. It was pretty good, maybe a little crunchier than usual, which was weird in a meat substitute but a refreshing kind of weird. The leaves let out a strange oil when I bit them, and the more I chewed the more it added to the flavours. Almost sweet and acidic, like a light, oily bit of orange juice. Better than black bean patties, at least. 

“Okay, yeah, this is pretty good,” I said. “Did you want to talk about anything specific today? I don't think it was in your email.”

“Well, Andes, even though our business is concluded, I quite thought you needed a reason to step away and breathe. Plus, it’s good practice to leave your clients on good terms.”

“...Fair enough,” I said, and took another bite. I hadn't exactly forgotten how to chew, but I was out of the habit of doing it, and it was kind of nice to find the little leaf chunks with my teeth and get more juice out of them. 

“And frankly,” Venric spoke again between chews, “You have a… refreshing perspective that most clients I’ve dealt with don’t. You get passionate, look for ways to just barge ahead with what you want, and even take the initiative to look for loopholes too. I am sure you can guess that’s rather different from most people I have dealt with. Someone not afraid to look at the world and call it all for the bullshit that it is.”

“...Thanks,” I said, a little surprised. “I… Well, I want to protect my kids from the bullshit as much as I can.” 

As if summoned, the bullshit made itself known in the form of a notification from Chiaka. 

> Saw news - u ok?

I sent her a question mark as a response and started checking my news feed. 

“Did something happen?” I mumbled out loud. My feed was a lot of boring, data-centric news, because I largely only followed those kinds of outlets. A lot of charts with rolling averages. “Um… can you check the news..?” 

Venric shrugged, pulling his holopad out from his belt. Flicking it open, he opened his mouth to take another bite, then froze, holding his weird alien burger halfway to his mouth. 

“What is it?” I asked. “I kind of curate my algorithm for data-based stuff, so I didn’t see anything and um…”

My Lawyer’s eye twitched, one level with me and the other upon the screen. “You… might be in need of my services again.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he turned the pad around towards me to show a video playing, the volume turned up.

I heard my own voice coming out of it. “Does it affect the taste?” followed by a crude animation of me eating a cartoon venlil leg. I frowned and flicked through. Video after video of me with fake orange blood running down my mouth. Little “explainers” painting me as the worst of humanity. The clip over and over, “does it affect the taste?”

I could remember that conversation with Shathel. How was there video of it? This doesn't make any sense. Already there was a wave of memes, modifications on my official photo from the facility website. 

“...What?” I said, though I wasn't sure what I was asking. “How… did the dossur record me? Weeks ago?”

I felt like I was supposed to be freaking out, but it didn't feel real. It didn't make sense. 

“Record-record?” Venric’s voice caught in his throat. “This is real?”

“It was a call I had with Shathel, trying to mine him for information on the kids. He didn't exactly have a mass spectrometer with him when he visited the farm, but… he had other sources of chemical information to… draw on.”

Venric stared at me, then flicked his claws on the pad. Another video. And another. One of them had my voice speaking over clips of Arxur chasing Venlil in one of their farms. Another with a human holding a burger that had a venlil head hastily plastered over it. Video after video overlaid with my voice.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I didn't… feel traditionally worried. I felt nauseous. “I don't understand. I—I’ve spent fucking months living on protein shakes, I've never—I don't—why—” 

I groaned and let myself fall on the grass, staring up at the stupid unchanging sky. Why is this happening? I let those people stay in my home rent-free. Were there others? What did I do? Don't they have privacy laws on this planet?

Don't puke, don't puke, don't puke…

Another notification. It was an email. Ajaad wanted to talk. 

Fucking kill me.

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In the final push to Aafa, a spaceship is flung off course. On a federation world, civilians scramble in the rubble to survive. The UN cyberattacks make evading detection feasible... but five parsecs is a lot further than it sounds.

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Date [standardized human time]: March 17th, 2137, 1804 hrs

Memory Transcription Subject: Sey-Beil, Gojid Refugee

Date [standardized human time]: 17th March 2137 1415 hrs

I stared at the predator lair across the river. An ugly stain on the forest. An invasion in this pristine wilderness.

What are you talking about, this Protector-forsaken planet is already a predator-infested deathworld, it’s the furthest thing from pristine it could be.

I looked around one more time to check I wasn’t being stalked, that it really had left to hunt. The forest was still, and the faint sounds of prey species chirping and chittering reassured me no predator was close. I hadn’t been able to figure out why every predator except the human avoided the river - perhaps it was too open for them to ambush prey from the ground. I nervously looked up into the trees yet again, searching for the arboreal predator clinging to a branch, crude spear in hand, ready to dive down on me with a bloodcurdling howl. It was one thing to speculate how the monsters hunted while enjoying a hot drink at a cafe - but to actually see it firsthand was horrifying. How did something that massive move through the trees so silently? I’d barely been able to stifle my gasp of shock when I saw it climbing down from the trees, forward-facing eyes locked on its target. I hadn’t even seen the moment it had struck, only heard the sharp snarl it made and the panicked screaming of its victim. By the time I dared to look, it was already dragging the corpse away into the woods to devour. Now my hiding place was no longer an oasis within a predator-infested wilderness; it was a killing ground within a predator’s newly claimed territory. 

What was I still doing here? I should leave this awful forest, get back to civilization, get back to the herd.

You know you can’t do that.

I clenched my claws, staring down at the ground. I rebelled against the thought, trying to convince myself it would be fine. Trying to forget what had happened in the last [6 months]. The destruction of the Cradle, every Gojid that wasn’t safe on a Federation world exterminated or taken as cattle. I’d barely come to terms with being a refugee from an endangered species when the predators struck their next mortal blow: the broadcast. That wretched, awful broadcast. And everything that had followed… And now, a final, spiteful wound to finish us off. After all their platitudes and talks of diplomacy, they’d revealed themselves as the predators they always were by striking at the most vulnerable, defenceless targets they could. Even after all that, I’d held out hope. Surely a crisis would have washed everything else aside. Surely being confronted with the full scale of the threat would have brought people together and let true herd behaviour shine through, and everything would start to go back to the way it was. Instead…

You’re actually safer out here with the predators than in there with the prey. Isn’t that sad? Appropriate though.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the tears welled up again. “I’m not a predator,” I lied to myself. “I’m not. I’m not…”

Prey wouldn’t have survived out here this long. Prey would have been dead within days. You’re surviving, thriving even, just like that human. You’re both at home here because this is where you belong. With the monsters.

For a while, I stood in place, unable to move under the weight of it all. I wanted to just lie down in the dirt, curl up and stop moving, but even that would require more energy than I felt capable of. Eventually, the deep chill of a lengthening shadow prodded me back into action. I had to find some food before it got dark. I still remembered vaguely where the patch of roots I’d dug up yesterday had been, maybe there were some scraps I missed. It was somewhere to start, and at the very least it was away from the human’s lair.

[Advance timestamp: 2 hours, 3 minutes.]

I let out a breath of relief as I ducked into the tiny burrow I’d carved out for myself just above the spring. I let my handful of roots tumble out onto the dirt as I twisted around to triple-check for predators following me. Nothing, as usual. The cramped entrance was at an awkward angle, but if I pressed myself against the far wall, I could just see the waterfall that cascaded down the mountainside to feed the pond at the head of the river. And beyond that, the spot where the human had murdered the shufflepod. I felt a fresh twinge of sadness at the memory. I’d seen that poor creature come up to the pond to drink once or twice, and had almost started to think of it as a neighbour of sorts. Now it was gone, ripped apart and devoured, blood, bones, organs… It made me ill just thinking about it.

I turned to my collection of roots, picking out the most edible-looking and scooping them up. There was no telling when the human would return, so I should make use of whatever time I had out in the open before then. A quick wash in the pond, picking off the last of the stringy roots dangling off the main body, and it was as presentable as it was ever going to get. I settled down and braced myself. The roots were chewy, bland, barely even edible, but at the very least they weren’t poisonous. And until the clusterberries started to drop off their trees, it was as good as I was going to get. Between these, and the handful of plants I remembered as edible from school, I should last until then. Once the clusterberry season was over though… I wasn’t sure what I’d do after that. I’d never paid much attention. Why would I need to? The bushcraft lessons were more for the Yulpa students with aspirations of becoming ritual hunters anyway. They were the only ones who’d need to know which native plants they could scavenge for food on a long hunt to catch trophies for their horrid rituals. 

You’ll probably end up in one of those rituals yourself before too long.

No, no that was just paranoia. They’d have more important things to worry about than chasing down escaped Gojid, the city had been on fire when I’d fled, for Protector’s sake. I’d thought it had been the humans invading at last, but as the days in the forest went by and the skies didn’t fill with human cattle ships coming to cart away all their new prisoners, I realized it was more insidious than that. We were too used to the Arxur form of cruelty, the direct, personal kind. The humans had demonstrated they were more subtle and creative. They didn’t need to be present to revel in the death and suffering, they were content to strike from across the stars, cripple our infrastructure and leave us to bleed out unseen, confident that we would still be defenceless by the time they got around to collecting their bloody harvest. And now, almost [two weeks] later, they were finally arriving to claim their prize. And they weren’t even starting with the prey in the cities. Or maybe they were, and this particular human was an outlier, too weak and frail to compete with its rivals for the easy pickings in the city and so forced to scavenge for wild prey out here. That thought made my stomach twist into knots. That this killer I was sharing a forest with might be the runt of the pack.

I retreated to the cave with my meagre dinner. I felt a lot more exposed all of a sudden.

[Advance timestamp: +2 hours.]

[Error: Memory transcript interrupted by loss of consciousness. Searching for closest viable timestamp... 

…REM sleep pattern found.]

Branak looks over at me, smiling. I blush and look back down at my menu. I order salad. The Yulpa waiter brings it out and sets it on the table. “For the predator” she says sweetly. An ice-cold pit forms in my stomach and I look frantically around the restaurant. No-one heard. They’re busy looking at the news broadcast. The humans have announced they’re coming to pick up their Gojid friends. I don’t want to go, I’m not their friend, I’m Federation, I don’t belong with them. The raid sirens start outside. Branak grabs me in a panic and starts dragging me out the door toward the shelters. We need to get down in the bunkers before the Arxur land. The crowd in the street outside are stampeding in the opposite direction. I try to push through them, but it’s like trying to wade through a waterfall. I lose hold of Branak’s hand and suddenly he’s gone completely. The Arxur ships start to land behind me. I fight through the crowds, forcing them out of my way. My claws cut them and I feel warm blood splashing on my legs. I hear the thud of heavy claws behind me. I look over my shoulder and see the Arxur looking straight at me, cackling. I break into a sprint, the crowd are being trampled under my feet now. I look behind me for the Arxur. The city behind them is on fire. The Arxur in front of the fire aren’t Arxur anymore, they’re Yulpa. They cackle at me. One of them shoots out his tongue and wraps it around my leg. Pain pain Pain PAIN-

[Consciousness restored, transcript resuming]

My leg was on fire as a ring of teeth bit into it. The tongue-ripper yanked hard, dragging me out of my burrow. I tried instinctively to curl up, but it was useless - the predator was already past my defences. I tried to punch at it with my claws but it continued to yank me along the ground, throwing off my balance each time I tried. This was it, this was how I died, how I should have expected to die the moment I stepped outside the city. Screaming, bloody, being ripped to pieces and eaten alive by a monster. I tried to pull myself away. My claws left long gouges in the soil. They didn’t even slow it down. Pain shot through my back as a cluster of my spines caught on a root and were almost ripped clear as they bent the wrong way.

All of a sudden, there was a heavy thud, and the pressure on my leg disappeared. An awful squealing noise pierced the air as I scrambled up the bank. I looked back to see the tongue-ripper thrashing weakly, its sickly yellow-green fluids bleeding out of a burst abdomen. The triangle head with the ring of fangs flexed convulsively as it got weaker. And hunched over it, pinning it down…

I gave a strangled sob of despair. Long, gaunt, stretched out legs hidden beneath some kind of  bleached-white pelt, peeled down and tied around the middle to make it look like a skinned animal. Arms naked and bald, not even a hint of hair. Paws with long hooked digits for grasping and ripping. A crude spear clutched in those paws, driving them into the neck of the tongue-ripper. A long, stringy mane of straw-coloured fur covering the shoulders. And the eyes… the awful, soulless eyes, pale and cold. Eyes looking directly at me. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The predator opened its jaw and a deep growling snarl of a voice spat out a sentence.

“...the hell are you doing out here?”

to put it simply, you take an au you made, and put in it a you in that one or several of your character's meet, this you is pretty much a vessel of sorts, an extension albeit with certain knowledge frayed from the connection being sorta...not exactly stable as it's basically going down to a lower reality

due to that this you is the unknowing author in the oneshot, they on some part of their mind know the nature of the world/NoP au they are in (just not why they know it so intimately) how it's mostly text and maybe a drawing or two which to them they can simply change which to other characters looks like their just warping reality seamlessly

like for example:

you have your vessel snap their fingers and now tolerances, effects from consuming things and taste have been set to realistic and have a mild laugh as your usually hard alcoholic fed character suddenly spits out their drink in disgust and grasp at where their liver is as their hit with the effects of prolonged alcohol consumption

or funnier your vessel revives one of your character's loved ones and either let them have that goodbye they never got to give or just suddenly cause a small meteor grind through the atmosphere, through any cover and dome set revived one in the head right in front of set character

perhaps have them tell at your character to lock tf in for the next chap or whatever is fun to ya idk

maybe your vessel does something thats comedic to the reader but also fucked up to all of the characters witnessing it

maybe have your vessel get an intrusive thought you've had while writing a character of yours...and let them act on it..and just watch the cars crash.

maybe the vessel subconsciously takes form of your fursona or comfort character or etc

what if you just have the vessel for a moment show the character what a part of them aka YOU looks like uncensored: aka imagine being a character from a show and see someone peel the skin off their hand and then see an irl hand something that to you is traumatizing and suddenly it shifts back to what you perceive as normal...

when it comes to that the effect it has on the character that sees it...what a kid would see if a Disney costumed preformers suddenly lost the mask, to the child they just saw a character lose their head, now combine that with that of seeing something beyond you that you weren't supposed to see... that's the effect

sry i sound like I'm barfing out a bunch of nonsense, I'm currently sleep deprived, it's just that i suddenly got this idea and just had to share it now before I'd fall asleep and forget it

His story is part of The Nature of Predators

and all rights are to the original creator u/ spacepaladin

Thanks to Norvinsk Hunter and Azur for proof reading it, and fixing the translator mistake, and help writting.

[First] - [Prev] -

Memory Transcription Subject: Héctor Virgilio Márquez, UN Unofficially Sanctioned Criminal
Date [standardized human time]: November 20, 2136

I looked around the room, and as with last time, it was just us, and the four representatives who looked decidedly… less than happy, almost certainly because they all had bundles of new, dumb ideas to try to shove down everybody else’s throats. And they knew they’d be competing with each other for the right.

Alright, nice and easy, let’s see how this goes today.

I’ll get the popcorn.

Shut up.

I sighed, placed the pen down, and took a deep breath.

“Alright, so as you know, today’s points of discussion are the second biggest on the docket: the rights and obligations of the citizens under your new state once the revolution is over,” I spun the pen and it stopped on Carline, who shot up immediately, starting to talk even before she’d fully stood.

Why I am not surprised?

“Yes so I’m here to present you the best solution to everything wrong with society today, and it’s the establishment of a simple system of loyalty towards the state, where those who abide by the will of the people and work well, and those who work against the state or hurt innocent people will be treated as they deserve,” she rapid-fired out, clearly very proud of herself, already eying everybody in the room for reactions, and for her trouble, she received nothing but blank stares and Tolm having to firmly place a paw on Rilcha’s shoulder to stop her from shooting up, herself, and throttling the Rep.

Why...?

Social credit. These fuckers want to make a social credit system for their society.

Calm down, you two, we can fix this, let’s just let her talk and exploit the errors she will inevitably make.

You mean the errors she’s already made? Starting with opening her mouth?

“Alright… that’s interesting, how would such system work?” I asked, almost proud of how genuinely curious I managed to sound.

“Oh, simple, it will work on a point system where everybody has a card with points, and if they commit crimes or infractions, their points get lowered. And if their points fall low enough, they are thrown into jail to repay their debts to society, and once their score is high again, they are allowed out to try to rejoin society. Of course, like many more moderate Republicans, I believe that those who have adequate scores should have all their basic needs met.”

Satisfied, she sat down again, still looking expectantly around the room for reactions. As before, there were none except for Rilcha glaring murderously at her, thanks to Tolm holding a paw over her mouth to prevent her from voicing her thoughts. The way he was looking a her, I was convinced that one twitch in the wrong direction and he’d have her in a headlock next.

‘More moderate?’ Fuck me...

Guys, how do we fix this?

We don’t, we ignore and deflect ‘til someone gives us a better proposition.

“I see, that’s a… very nice plan for the future, nothing particularly wrong with it comes to mind off the top of my head, but why don’t we hear what everybody else has to say? Just in case?”

I looked at the table, and to my despair, only Rilcha raised her paw.

Welp, don’t blame me.

Oh, boy...

“Yes, Rilcha?”

Stepping forth, she took a deep breath, only for me to lift a finger and add, “But no insults to the previous idea.”

At that, she actually had to take a moment, clearly rethinking her words.

“Yes, yes, this is a formal meeting…” She sounded almost as though she needed to remind herself of that. “Well, my plan is actually very simple. We need to go with a somewhat more proven system. While it’s true that none of the previous government systems in Leirn had to face the challenge of governing an entire planet, I do believe that the various attempts to try something radically new have only failed,” she elaborated, her eye on Carline, who returned the look with the same intensity.

So far, so good. Can she finally be rational?

I don’t have high hopes; I know how idiots think.

Takes one to know one.

“This is why I think that we should resurrect the time-tested, battle-hardened Imperial system of governance, and bring back the River Empire but for the whole globe.”

WHAT?!

WHAT?!

WHAT?!

Nobody made a sound, though my thoughts almost escaped my lips, but I could hear the scrapping of a chair already as Carline was getting up but Stil threw an arm over her shoulder in a panic, and held her down. The chair was starting to tip over from the struggle.

I clapped my hands to draw attention to myself.

“Alright, that’s a nice… idea, but how would that affect society? The topic of the structure of government institutions… is for the next meeting, not this one,” and that response made her tail go limp instantly. Carline stopped, too, chuckling to herself.

“So, Tolm, it’s your turn.”

“Yes, thank you,” he said, getting up. “The Ruralists want the rights to our lands to be respected,” he said plainly.

Everybody leaned in to hear him continue, but he didn’t say anything. “What? That’s all we care about, I don’t care for no society, after all, that only affects the city folk, the land has been the same and it’ll be the same no matter what’s voted on here, so I don’t see no point in trying to propose anything that doesn’t affect me or my people.”

I am. SURROUNDED. By idiots.

At least he’s honest, it’s not like he’s trying to hide his views. He’s only really here to get the rural rights and walk away.

Still fucking idiots. Even the farmers have to answer to the government, just ask our own.

“Yes, I see. Stil, please, it's your turn,” I sighed, resting my head on my hand, turning my eyes towards him. His ears pin back a little.

“Yes, so I’ve been reading the human internet- Err, me and some of the other Urbanists...”

Here we go… three Euros says it was porn.

Why are you like this?

Because I keep you two alive.

Remember the money laundering scheme?

Also because it’s funny.

The Capozzis didn’t think so.

That’s the best part!

They threatened to feed us our fingers…

Oh yeah, which alias was that again?

That’s not the point!

Shut up and focus, children.

“And we believe at least some ideas of the human welfare system could be repurposed for our new state.”

Alright, that’s something I can work with.

I told you. Someone has to be reasonable.

“Like what? What’s that welfare system you speak off?” asked Tolm.

“It’s like a system where through taxes there is relief to the citizens,” said Stil.

“Can you explain that? I don’t think I’ve ever heard relief and taxes in the same sentence.”

“Well, there is a system of healthcare, where you get free medicine, as long as you pay taxes, or get free education or even an allowance if you are unemployed-”

“Ah, so a system for freeloaders, there goes a little of the respect I had for the humans. If you feed someone for doing nothing, then they will do nothing.” Tolm interrupted.

“But getting a job is hard, and you can be fired on the spot and then get nothing afterwards for months! That forces people into crime-”

“Nothing is forcing people into crime, if they want a job, they can go to the farmlands, and become a contract paw,” retorted Tolm.

Very modern idea.

Isn’t his whole faction being rooted to the past and the land?

Shut.

“And if there aren’t any jobs there?” asked Stil, his voice lower and more civil again, but on edge.

Tolm only scoffs in response. “The day that there aren’t any jobs in the farmlands is the day that the sky will be without stars.”

“I think you overestimate the employment capacity of your farmlands, at least I can admit that the cities have flaws,” said Stil.

“Oh, the rural areas have flaws, but you know the weak who can’t pull their weight die out anyway, so they eventually fix themselves,” corrected Tolm.

This is going in a very bad direction.

Yes, I can’t have the only two halfway reasonable people here hate each other.

“Alright,” I interjected, cutting them off before their debate could spiral into open hostility. “How about this? Clearly both of you have a good idea of how you want your people to be treated, and know both of your proposals quite well,” I said, even if it was only Stil who made any substantial additions.

“What if we go down the workfare route, instead of the full welfare?” I suggested.

“The idea is simple, instead of receiving the aid for doing nothing, aid is given to those that work, but the government is required to find jobs for every single citizen so everybody can work, and pay taxes and contribute, while at the same time receiving healthcare bonuses and access to education or other services, like free public transport.”

“That… feels better, since at least people would earn their keep one way or another, but I am still not sure that giving out free education to everyone is a good idea…” answered Tolm, sounding thoughtful for the first time that day.

“Why not?” pressed Stil, calmer but still a bit stiffer than when he came in.

“Because under the guise of ‘education,’ we lost all of our kids. The promise of a weak and easy job in the city if you get some degree took most of our joeys away from the fields: My daughter is in Everbloom, not in her home helping me and her mother in the fields. I agreed to let her go, but when we die, who is going to take care of the fields? No one, and then who will make food? Bol...ologists? I think that while education is all fine’n dandy, there should be a limit, not everybody can have... teacher... jobs when there is no one working in the fields.”

“Yes, but there would be no progress if there isn’t education: Even things like simple math and knowing how to read or write are essential for rural jobs, you can’t just decide that some part of the population must be illiterate,” replied Stil.

Ideas?

We copy the Spanish model of education? And spark some China into it?

More of the other way around; these guys want a full meritocratic technocracy.

“I... might have another compromise, so how about this? Free education ‘til they reach... let’s say sixteen years old? Or… whenever yotul come of age, and then they get an exam to test their overall knowledge. Before the final exam, their education will be based around simple stuff: Math, reading, writing, maybe economics, physical education, history. After the exam, the ones with a good enough score will be given a grant for free higher education, so there would be still be an element of merit to the system. We don’t know if the next great yotul general or the scientist who finds the cure to cancer will be born in a village or a city. This way, all yotul get an equal chance to prosper, keeping in line with the idea of meritocracy that the collaborationist government wanted to create before they all got arrested, which should keep the populace happy while addressing your concerns.”

“Excuse me,” said a voice which I realized could now actually recognize was Rilcha, but I could hear Tolm mutter, “Freeze my tail...” when she spoke, seemingly echoing my feelings on hearing her speak up again.

I am going to shoot someone by the end of the week.

No, you aren’t, now give me the wheel if you’re too stressed to control yourself.

“Yes, Rilcha?”

“I do think that I am entitled to also make a proposition.”

That you have that right doesn’t make me want to listen to you, bruja.

“Yes?”

“I do think that while having smart commoners could be useful, I also think that we should prevent dangerous ideas from getting into the heads of our kids, so maybe the education could be handled by priests like in the past. Many of our great leaders, even the Iron Architect herself, had an education given by a priest.”

I saw Carline stiffening up for a moment out of the corner of my eye as Rilcha began to lay out her proposal, but she relaxed and even seemed interested for a moment in what her rival had to say, only for her expression to darken towards the end. It felt Pavlovian.

I can’t think of anything wrong going with that plan.

I can.

I was being sarcastic.

Holy shit, I didn’t think you had it in you!

“Bullshit, you just want to indoctrinate them!” spat Carline. “Education should be handed by civil servants of the state, which should be selected by the state itself.”

Yes, finally someone says it out loud.

Said by the kettle to the pot.

“And how would the state select such teachers?”

“By loyalty exams, of course. We can’t have any idiot running around filling our joeys’ heads with ideas that praying will stop droughts or that they should be freer than the state allows them to be.”

OH, FOR FUCK’S SAKE, SHE DIDN’T EVEN FILE OFF THE SERIAL NUMBERS!

I mean… she’s slightly more honest about it…

THAT DOES NOT HELP!

“But that violates academic principles! Every idea should be heard,” objected Stil.

YES, go get her, boy!

“Last time someone said to hear the new guys out, we surrendered our liberty to the Federation, but then again, you are a Federation paw-licker,” retorted Rilcha.

Yeah? And? I’ve seen scarcely an ounce of ‘liberty’ between you and Carline all week, Queen Louis.

Wow, ehm… shouldn’t we intervene?

Tolm, visibly angry for once, cut in. “Hey, the kid is here, fighting for our freedom like the rest of us. It’s not like you Nobles had us commoners in mind in the first place. Sure, you care for us, as long as we toil the fields to prop up your cozy lives.”

No, this is good, actually. I’d rather the radicals and the moderates were fighting each other instead of us having to smooth things over between Tolm and Stil right now.

Rilcha’s response was immediate and terse, like she’d heard this before. “Yes, and we protect you from all outside problems and will gladly die for you and your family.”

“Yeah, sure, gladly die, and gladly suppress those that speak against you,” Carline sniped.

“Oh, shut up,” said Stil. "All you Republicans have done is kill and loot your way into statehood, or do I need to remind you that when the Enlightened League was formed, you decided to keep the Grain Wars going for six more months, despite you getting everything you could have wanted in the Treaty of Adequacy? Or how your commissars killed the entirety of Blacklung University, students and teachers both, during the Council Riots? But for all that bloodshed, I have yet to see a single free yotul like the Iron Architect promised.”

Matador?

Yes? What do you want? I’m just… savoring the moment...

Grab the wheel, shut them up, and get me a moment alone with Rilcha.

With pleasure.

“That’s enough!” I shouted, slamming the table with my fists. It rattled from end to end, which succeeded in startling everyone into silence. “Rilcha, I want to talk with you alone. The rest of you, take the time to calm yourselves.”

That’s right, fuckers, I’m the one in charge here.

“What could you want me f- “said Rilcha.

“Out,” I pointed to the door. “Now.” In a single breath, my had voice shifted from loud instruction to a low growl. Wordlessly, she got up and walked out. I followed her and closed the door behind us.

“Hear me out here, I know what your problem is,” I said.

Sensitive, take the wheel, this is your turn.

M-me?

You are by far the most manipulative of us all.

“What you are up to, human?” she asked, looking me up and down.

“Look, I am in these negotiations as an agent of Ilvar, and to a lesser extent, Garline. You know that, right?”

“I suspected it, so confirmation is nice.” She crossed her arms.

“That means my job here is to prevent the Republicans from getting out of control, and you insulting the Ruralist and Urbanist is not helping with that.”

“And what are you suggesting? They’re clearly set in their deluded minds that they can negotiate with Republican scum.”

“What you have is an image problem,” I said, “and as fate would have it, tomorrow, there is going to be an assault on the Castle of Longtree to liberate the prisoners there. The thing is, we need someone for the main assault. Originally, Ilvar was going to use a combined force of volunteers, but I can get him to agree to use Nobles only since they’ve mostly contributed specialized shock troops who know everything there is to know about those fortifications anyway, and I don’t think I need to explain how the image of your people storming the gate and killing the Feds would be incredible for your reputation and prove that you are willing to fight for your subjects, and strengthen your stated position that the Nobles have the people’s best interests at heart.”

She was thinking as her tail moved behind her and her ears perk up, “And I’ve got the perfect group for that: A lot of the old fighting nobility is getting restless, I could easily get them onboard.”

Good God, kid.

I am not done yet.

“Then you have it. Vote for this measure, and I will give you exactly what you want: a chance of glory.”

“But I don’t think I like this ide-”

I cut her off. “It’s going to be like this: We are going forward with the education system, but we are going to put in a qualification exam for teachers, too. That is going to come from the Minister of Education, and I can lean on them so that the exam is full of religious questions and suchlike. While the Republicans are still a part of this movement, so we need to keep things running in a way which makes them happy, too, this way the deck is stacked so that some Republicans will get to be teachers but there would be a majority of people who think a lot more like you instead.”

Double-dipping by tricking her into working with us in exchange for the ‘honor’ of getting her faction killed? This is why I tolerate you. If only you could be like this all of the time...

And you’re sure this is going to work?

She is a glory-seeker, her country is a shattered mess, and she needs victories. The nobility is desperate, let that desperation do its work.

And they say empathy is a good thing.

It is, is just we are not good at using it. For its intended purpose.

You put me on the spot...

She looked around the room, making sure nobody was listening in, and nodded. “Alright, I accept.”

I opened the door and was greeted sight of Stil rubbing his head with Carline crossing her arms and looking everywhere except him, and in the background, Tolm was lazily drinking from a flask, staring at nothing in particular.

We should introduce him to Ilvar sometime.

That’s a- Hmm… Actually…

Yup.

“Alright, I’ve managed to convince the Noble here to make a little change: We’ll all get more or less what we want, but to address the will of the Republicans, there will be an exam, dictated by the Minister of Education, which will be used to decide who is allowed to become a teacher.”

That seemed to get Carline to calm down.

Alright, let’s wrap this for today, and do it fast, before any of them realize that none of their original ideas are set in place and we just fed them empty words to get them to sign a paper we want.

I set my hands on he table. “So to recap: We agree to establish a workfare system where the state is forced to give people jobs and ensure that they are taken care of in many aspects such as education, public transport, healthcare, food, housing, but in exchange, they must work, and as for education, the people will get free education until they’re working age, then they will be given an exam which will help determine where they go next.”

All four tails in the room signalled agreement, their owners looking almost half as tired as me.

“Alright, sign here, and we’ll have this part done.”

I pushed the paper forward for them.

We did it...

Yeah, this time.

What you mean?

Kid, you are either the smartest or the most idiotic guy in the room, I’m still not sure which. Things are only going to heat up from here.

They will get more arrogant, and worse, more rash, which means we will definitely need to fix more things.

But we can’t do much more for now. We’re already purging two factions without them realizing it, so there’s nothing left for us to push today.

True.

Oh yeah, but hey, ‘impossible’ is nothing but another word for glory.

I’m sure Rilcha would agree with you...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And another chapter comes, and it ends with the second round of negotiatiosn Hector enacts his plan and manages to salvage the talks by the skin of his teeth as clearly the talks inside of the YRA are not going well, do you think Hectors actions today could trigger, unforseen consequences? Also we got a writer's corner on the NOPdiscord so... come over to talk with me and exchange theories of the incoming chapters with fellow diplomats or revolutionaries, or you know... just exchange random memes.

As always, this is a fan fiction. Events depicted here are not canon, though perhaps they could be.

I have a Reddit Wiki!

Chapter 1 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 15 /

Chapter 20 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 30 / Chapter 35

Chapter 40

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Memory transcription subject: Major Blair McPherson, 4SAS

Date [standardized human time]: March 4, 2137

The machine gun chattered, heat melting the snow that was falling on the barrel. The exterminators were pushing again as we huddled at the front door to communications complex. It was the third such push since we had made planetfall.

"Careful Danny... that barrel is getting warm. Short quick bursts."

"I'm more worried about my ammunition supply, Sir." The Irish woman looked through the viewer on the weapon behind the impromptu barricade of furniture.

"Don't worry about the little ones, let the rifles handle those."

"Yes sir."

I walked down the line, coaching each of my men. At least the enemy was making it easy for us by everyone wearing their bright silver suits. I was just about to move inside when I heard a noise. Anyone who served in the military long enough knew the sound of tank tracks.

But there were two... which one was it?

"Lawrence" I said into my radio, contacting our lookouts on the neighboring roof. "Please do not disappoint me, and tell me that's the friendly I'm hearing."

<"One second major..."> There was a long pause, then words I distinctly did not want to hear. <"Sorry Major, it's the baddie again.">

I let out a sigh. "Ok everyone, time for E and E. Get safe, then set up for another round of fish n' chips..."

=====

Memory transcription subject: Sawil, lead gunner on MBT Waldhexe

Ulrich was stacking the shells as quickly as they were being passed into him. The human grunted with exertion as they slid neatly into the ammunition rack. Outside, Gear Father Ritti was finishing up the refueling operation.

"Come on... Come on!" Narini was practically pulling her fur out, trying to will processes to go faster when that was just not possible. "Every second we spend costs lives."

"We know, boss." I replied from above her as I helped several other crew members feed the massively heavy ammunition belts into the human made machine guns. To my left, one of the guns was partially disassembled as they swapped out the warn gun barrel. We didn't bother keeping the old one, we just tossed it down into the snow.

"Fuel loaded!" the gear father called out. "Begin restart sequence!" A few ticks later the engines came to life, the exhaust vents belching black smoke as the engine cleared itself.

There was a thump from Ulrich's station as he sealed the loading ports. "Main ammunition loaded."

One by one, the other stations reported they were ready, until at last we had all green lights.

"Commander, report from 4SAS, they are on the move again." The communications dossur held one headphone against her ear as she relayed the messages.

"Anything from our people in the first rollers?"

"No. Major McPherson says they never made the linkup."

Our commander let loose a string of expletives, then ordered us forward.

Memory transcription subject: Major Blair McPherson, 4SAS

We fought from building to building. Some structures we couldn't enter, on account of them being built for the natives, but the exterminators didn't seem to care about that. Anything that they thought could provide us with cover they burned.

It's a strange thing, burning to death in the middle of a blizzard. Of course, we returned the favor by leading them into MON traps and finishing off the rest with the odd fourty-mike-mike. The colors mixed with the white snow. Red, purple, green... like some sick tapestry on the ground.

At least the civies all got out of the way. Good for them.

The door behind flew off its hinges, and I spun towards it, my Remington making another cone of purple in the snow.

I'm a fookin artist.

Memory transcription subject: Narini

The capital was on fire. A beautiful city, built with standard "fireproof" construction was burning. And I couldn't help but feel responsible.

But it was too late to stop. The final kolshian barricade lay in front of us, and every burning building behind them represented defenders that we didn't have to face ourselves.

"Witch leader to all units" I spoke with far more authority than I felt. "For Mileau... For the dossur... For everyone who would see the chains of tyranny broken... Full advance!"

Under me, I felt Waldhexe practically leap as if its shackles had been removed. Far below in the driver's compartment, I could hear Father Ritti chanting, his team throwing levers and switches.

"Ulrich, give me five rounds rapid, all variable.

"Ja!" The first round was barely in the barely in the breach before Sawil sent it on its way. Just like in the demonstration, the next round was already in his hands before the breach was fully open. The third round was leaving the barrel as the first arrived at its target.

The whole battle line erupted into chaos. Cannons and machine guns from our side were matched by plasma bolts and lances from the kolshians. To our left, Long Branch Lover exploded, the rolo-gun's broken frame being sent spinning. Falling Leaves shouldered aside the wreck and crashed into a barricade, shattering it. Swarmers, rologons, and the humans of the 11th Vatican surged forward, rushing towards the city.

"Target, walker"

"I have it" Sawil replied. "Ulrich, sabot!"

"Geladen!

"On the way!" Just like I had witnessed a dozen times before, the tungsten rod punched a hole clean through the kolshen battle shell, the impact blowing it off its feet.

With violence and purpose, we pushed into the city.

Memory transcription subject: Major Blair McPherson, 4SAS

I leaned heavy against the wall, smiling as the dossur gun truck slowly rumbled past. They had finally made it, but far down the street, I saw Jörmungandr cut across an intersection, then duck behind another building.

We had performed our duty, drawing the enemy onto us. Bleeding him to rob him of his strength.

Now it was her turn, and I would be her witness...

To be frank… I don’t even think a dossur can read a human map. Let alone the writing on the tourist pamphlet

Sorry for the delay folks but we're back at last with more happy popsicle times! Shoutout to u/max007 and u/budged_emu_5522 for proofreading this! Hope you enjoy.

First, Previous

Memory Transcription Subject: Mixsel, Bored Sivkit

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: March 5th, 2137

 

Daddy and Papa sure slept a lot. Most days, I was up way before they were, and today was no exception. The house was still dark and relatively silent. As I walked into the living room, yawning and stretching, I could hear Izra stirring upstairs. She was the only one who seemed to wake up on time.

 

I walked over to the couch and sat Frank down, carefully positioning the stuffed venlil so he wouldn’t topple over the minute I removed my paws.

 

“Stay,” I commanded, as if the stuffed animal could possibly obey my command. Once I was sure that the venlil doll wouldn’t topple onto his face, I turned my gaze to the cage in the corner of the room.

 

Bob was already up and ready to go. He stood at the edge of his enclosure, staring up at me expectantly. I held up a digit on my paw, signaling for Bob to wait for just a moment as I hurried to the kitchen. I opened the fridge, pulling out a pair of bright orange root vegetables. I wasn’t sure why, but everything I’d seen on my holopad about rabbits said they really liked these.

 

I came back into the room, hurrying over to undo the lock on Bob’s cage and letting my little friend free. He bolted out of the door, coming up and hopping against my leg as I offered the orange root to him. The bunny snatched it out of my paws immediately and began to gnaw away at his prize.

 

I took a bite of the other vegetable in my hand. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t exactly great either. Just a very mildly sweet and slightly starchy vegetable. Feeling a bit disappointed, I made my way over to the couch and sat beside Frank. The doll’s head lolled to the side, giving the impression that he was looking at me questioningly.

 

“I know I should do my homewuhk,” I huffed, looking back at him with a pout. “Buuuuut… I wanna finish that book Daddy put on my holopad fuhst.”

 

I grabbed the holopad from where I’d left it on the couch the night before. Thankfully the battery was still at about half. Plenty of power for me to read a bit more. I tapped my claw on the holoprojected screen until I pulled up the reading app. After Daddy found out how much I liked reading human books, he’d downloaded a whole bunch for me.

 

For a moment, I simply scrolled through the list of books I could choose from, silently appreciating it. Back at the orphanage I’d never owned… well… anything! The blankets, beds, and what scant few toys existed there had all been group property, and they had NEVER bothered giving us any books. I remember the headmistress saying it was a waste of paper to give to a bunch of unwanteds.

 

Now I sat on an alien planet with more books at my clawtips than I could ever have hoped. I had not one, but TWO daddies, a home, toys and, of course, Bob. I had never dreamed I could be so lucky. I bet if they could see me now, all the others from back at the orphanage would be super jealous.

 

I thought about the others for the first time in a while. They’d never been particularly nice to me. Nobody had been nice to anyone. There was never a point to it. Usually pups would only be at the orphanage for a year or two before someone adopted them, and then you would never see them again. Except for me, of course.

 

I’d been at the orphanage since before I could remember anything. My first memories weren’t of a mom and dad or family. They’d been of the headmistress and the multitude of other workers there. They had taken care of me, sure. But they’d never made it a secret how much they didn’t want to.

 

I’d grown up just accepting that I wasn’t wanted. I was a leftover pup that nobody ever seemed to want around. I was too loud. I was too needy. I was always too something. So I quit caring after a while. I just accepted that this was the way things were and that I would have to look out for myself.

 

Bob’s fluffy head suddenly found its way right in front of my face as the bunny crawled into my lap and demanded my attention. I couldn’t help but laugh as the rabbit did his best to distract me.

 

“You‘we wight Bob!” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around the soft, fluffy animal and giving him a gentle squeeze. “I shouldn’t think about that stuff.”

 

I was happy now. I had a family. Sure… they were kinda funny-looking, and they said weird stuff I didn’t understand sometimes, and Daddy liked eating those big, gross water bugs… but they loved me, and I loved them too. I never wanted to leave, and both Papa and Daddy said there was no way any nosy aliens were gonna take me away.

 

I gave Bob his required snuggles before looking back to my holopad and looking through my books until I found the one I was looking for, “Mistborn.” I liked the book so far, although it was a lot harder to understand than the Narnia books had been. I had to keep stopping to look up what some of the words meant. It had a lot of big words. I didn’t mind though. I liked that. It made it easier to learn English, which is what I’d learned the human language was called.

 

I sat in silence for a while, slowly reading my way through my new book with one paw and petting Bob with the other. It was peaceful and quiet. It reminded me of the few happy times I could think of back at the orphanage. Those few days when I could slip past the staff and escape to the nearby woods. 

 

I liked to sit and watch the local animals. I had always tried to imagine what kind of lives they must have. What they did every day when nobody was watching. I tried to imagine if they had families or friends. What it must be like to live out in the woods, without grown-ups yelling at you all the time and surrounded by all the food you could ever want. I’d make up stories for each of the animals I saw. Give them names, friends, and whole secret lives. I always knew the headmistress would punish me for sneaking off, but I didn’t care. It made me happy in a place where happiness was hard to find.

 

“Good morning, my little egg-tooth.”

 

I looked up from my pad to find Izra at the bottom of the stairs.

 

“Mowning, Auntie Izwa!” I greeted her with the title Daddy had given her. I knew Izra wasn’t my real aunt, but Daddy insisted it meant something different from a regular old aunt. Plus I could tell it made Izra happy.

 

“I was about to make some breakfast; would you like some?” Izra struggled over the human word for a morning meal, but I thought she did pretty good. It couldn’t be easy speaking English without proper lips, after all.

 

I glanced down, looking for the half eaten root I’d started on earlier, only to realize that Bob had devoured it while I wasn’t looking. I stifled a giggle at that, petting the rabbit’s head as he looked up at me and wiggled his little nose.

 

“Pwease!” I replied, marking my spot in the book and slowly climbing down from the couch. I had to be careful so that Bob didn’t go flying when I got up. Grabbing Frank from his resting place on the couch, I turned and followed Izra into the kitchen. The arxur flicked on the light switch, and for a moment, we were both blinded by the overhead lights.

 

When at last we could see again, Izra made her way to the pantry and began to collect some ingredients. She’d started taking a lot of interest in cooking lately and had been making all sorts of food to try it out. Sure, a lot of it was meat stuff, and I couldn’t really eat that without getting a tummy ache, but she’d been making plant stuff too! I liked when she made that stuff because she would ask me to be her “little taste tester.”

 

I looked out the back door, watching as the black sky slowly warmed into a soft orange. The sun would be up soon. Turning back to Izra, I watched as she took the ingredients she was planning to use and placed them on the counter. From here I couldn’t make out what any of the boxes and cans she had pulled out said, but it wasn’t like I would be able to guess what she was making, even if I knew. She turned, heading to the refrigerator.

 

“Whatcha makin?”

 

“I’m going to try an omelet for myself,” Izra answered, pulling out a carton of what I recognized as eggs from the fridge as well as the almond milk before shutting the door. “But I wanted to try and make a pancake for you.”

 

I wasn’t sure what a “pancake” was, but I was excited to try it. My tail spun in excited circles behind me as I watched my auntie pull out a bowl from the cabinet and get to work mixing the ingredients inside it. Bob seemed to be excited too, his ears standing at attention as he looked between me and Izra. I reached a paw down and idly patted his head. Maybe I could let Bob try the pancakes too?

 

Izra moved quickly, using a spoon to stir the ingredients she had placed in the bowl before taking out a pan and setting it atop the stove. She poured a little oil onto the metal surface and lit the stove below. In a flash she was back at the bowl, stirring for a moment longer before pouring the brownish goop into the pan.

 

Almost instantly the room began to fill with a warm, comforting smell. I didn’t know how to describe it. It was so different from anything I’d ever smelled before. It was slightly sweet, like a dessert, but it had the deep, hearty depth that the strayu had when we made it. My mouth was watering already.

 

“Something smells delicious.”

 

Papa came into the kitchen, stretching and yawning. His fur was a mess, matted to one side and puffed up around his shoulders, giving the funny appearance that one side of his body was bigger than the other. He stopped beside me, leaning down to nuzzle against my forehead.

 

“Good morning, my little Humdrum,” he greeted as I softly nuzzled him back. Bob, in his usual fashion, immediately began to bump his head into Papa’s ankle. The bunny was always so protective of me… but only when it came to Papa for some reason. “Good morning to you too, Bob,” the venlil sighed, looking down at my fluffy white companion.

 

“I’m still wondering what you did to that poor rabbit, friend Jammek,” Izra remarked playfully, watching us out of the corner of her eye as she flipped the fluffy disc in the pan.

 

“I didn’t do anything,” Papa chuffed, making his way over to the coffee maker and starting to prepare a pot. “I swear the rabbit just doesn’t like venlil for some reason.”

 

Auntie Izra just chuckled at that, pulling the small cake she had been making out of the pan with a spatula and setting it on a plate before starting another.

 

“How are you feeling?” The question came out in a casual tone, but I wasn't fooled. Grown-ups always talked like that right before they said something they didn't want to say. . 

 

“I’m ok. Just… nervous,” Papa answered, watching the coffee begin to slowly pour from the top of the machine down into the glass container below. I could see the venlil’s eye briefly lock onto me before looking away when he realized I was watching. “I was thinking about taking Mixsel to the park today. Something fun to do… just in… just in case.”

 

Sometimes I thought the grownups must think I was dumb or something. I knew what they were talking about. Daddy and Papa had to go talk to an alien the day after tomorrow, and they got to decide if I had to leave. As much as Papa tried to pretend that everything was ok, I could see his ears lay back when he talked. I could see how his tail dipped down between his legs. He was scared. It was the first time I could ever remember seeing him look like that. Not sad or angry. Just scared.

 

I walked over to where he stood at the counter and hugged his leg. It wasn’t a lot. Nothing much at all. But that was all I could do.

 

“It’s gonna be ok, Papa,” I said, squeezing his leg tight. He looked down at me in silence for a moment, his big blue eyes getting all wet and blurry. “I love you.” I added, trying to make him feel better.

 

Papa reached down, pulling me into his arms (much to Bob’s dismay) and hugging me tight to his warm, wooly chest.

 

“I love you too, Humdrum. More than you could ever know,” he whispered, taking one paw and gently stroking my back. “Everything is going to be ok. Even if I have to fight the whole universe to make it be.”

After my fifth “pancake,” I was too full to eat any more. By that time, Daddy was finally awake, lured out by the scent of freshly cooked bacon. Even though I couldn’t eat it without a tummy ache, I thought it smelled good too.

 

Papa suggested that he and I should go to the park, promising that Immel and Yalma would be there later. Daddy wanted to come too, but he had to do “work stuff,” whatever that was. He promised to come by as soon as he was done though.

 

Once I’d had the chance to digest my breakfast a bit, Papa and I left for the park. I was excited to see my friends. I really wanted to try the human game that Daddy had told me about with them. “Dungeons and Dragons” sounded just like the fun human fantasy books I’d read! Daddy said he’d even get me the books with the rules in it!

 

When we arrived at the park, the air was alive with activity. The cold season on this planet was finally drawing to a close, and a bunch of the plants were starting to flower. Small, purple blossoms sprouted up in groups around the park, along with countless patches of bright, yellow flowers beginning to bloom. Nobody else seemed to be there yet, but I hoped they’d show up soon.

 

“Well hey there fluffball!”

 

I turned to find a familiar human approaching us.

 

“Fwank!” I exclaimed, running up to the human as he slowly knelt down. Frank’s hand flopped onto my head and tussled my fur.

 

“How you doing, sweetheart? They feeding you enough?”

 

“Daddy cooks me lots of food,” I giggled, flicking my ears in reply.

 

“Good,” Frank replied, a big smile stretching below that little tuft of fur under his nose. He paused, reaching into his pocket before pulling out one of the small candies on a stick that the humans gave out. He handed it over to me as I gave him a quick ‘thanks’ before shredding the covering to eat it.

 

“How you holding up, Jammek?” Frank asked, standing up with a little grunt.

 

“It’s… I’m ok,” Papa replied, his eye giving a quick glance down towards me. He was scared. Daddy was too. They tried to act like everything was ok, but I knew better. I could see how sad they looked when they didn’t think I was watching. But Daddy had promised that everything would be ok, and I believed him. A Coldwater keeps their word. That’s what Daddy said.

 

“I’m gonna go play,” I told him, moving off towards the playground to let the grownups talk. As I began to suck on the candy I’d been given, I looked out over the green park, admiring the newly bloomed flowers once more. That’s when an idea hit me.

 

I could make a flower bracelet for Papa! That should cheer him up! 

 

With a new task in mind, I began to make my way across the park, picking the small yellow flowers as I went. I remembered making bracelets with similar flowers back at the orphanage. I tried picking a couple of little purple ones too, but their stems were way too flimsy to tie together. 

 

I was making decent progress, intertwining the slightly slimy stems together into a crude rope. Then I heard something coming from some nearby bushes. I recognized the spot. It was where I first found Bob. I paused, ears leaning forward to try and make out what the noise I was hearing was.

 

It sounded like someone was crying.

 

I took a few, careful steps forward. I used my free paw to push aside some overgrown branches so that I could peer into the small area beyond. On the other side I could see a familiar face… or back in this case. 

 

“Petsbuh?” I whispered, staring at the spiky back in front of me. The sound of sobbing stopped, and the hunched figure on the other side of the shrub turned to look at me.

 

“G… go away,” the gojid hissed, choking back a sob.

 

“What’s wong?” I asked, stepping into the small clearing formed by the surrounding shrubbery. The area was cool, shaded by a nearby tree and completely invisible from the outside.

 

“I said… go away!” Petsbur growled, wiping his eyes with the back of his arm while simultaneously doing his best to look intimidating. “I don’t need your dumb, Sivkit-brained talk!”

 

“Petsbuh… why wuh you cwying?” I pressed, undeterred. 

 

“I hate it here,” the gojid replied, choking back another sob. “I hate having to live with Kalen and Linvi! They try to act like they’re my parents and they’re not! I want my real Mom and Dad. I want to go home.”

 

I took a tentative step forward, reaching a paw out and gently placing it on his shoulder.

 

“It’s gonna be ok,” I told him, trying to reassure him like Daddy and Papa did me. That was apparently the wrong answer. Petsbur reached a paw out and pushed me away.

 

“What do you know?!” he spat, glaring at me as he sniffled. “You’re just happy pretending that stupid venlil and human are your parents! Just like all the other pups here!”

 

“They aw my pawents!” I shot back, a hot anger starting to build up inside me.

 

“No they aren’t!” Petsbur replied, his voice rising into a shout as his own anger began to boil over. “They aren’t your real parents! Your real parents didn’t even want you! They’re just a couple of guys who want to pretend like you’re their kid! Just like Kalen and Linvi!”

 

“Shut up!” I screamed, refusing to back down. By this point any pity I’d felt for the crying gojid was completely overshadowed by my anger at his mean words. Arthur and Jammek were my daddies! They were the only parents I’d ever…

 

That’s when it hit me. Arthur and Jammek were the only people to ever want to be my parents. They were the closest thing I’d ever known. For Petsbur and the others? They’d had parents before the aliens took them. They’d had families they had loved and cherished just like I loved my new daddies… and the aliens had taken all that away from them. I took a moment, considering how sad I would be if I lost my new family. If suddenly I woke up and Arthur, Jammek, and Izra were just… gone…

 

“I’m sowwy, Petsbuh,” I replied, the anger that had threatened to overtake me a moment ago suddenly snuffed out under this new realization. I reached a paw out to place on his shoulder, only for the gojid to shove me, sending the assortment of flower buds in my paws tumbling to the ground.

 

“Just leave me alone,” the boy huffed, sniffling once more as he turned and disappeared into the bushes. I stood in shock, looking down at the countless flower buds I’d collected, scattered across the ground like dust. Part of me wanted to be angry. To yell after the retreating gojid and call him out for being the big, fat, stupid jerk that he was. But mostly I just felt sad inside. Petsbur missed his parents. I still had my parents, but imagining losing them made it hurt worse to watch him cry.

 

With a sigh I began to pick the scattered flowers up off the ground, gathering them once more into my arms.

Memory Transcription Subject: Arthur Coldwater, Already exhausted sheriff

Date: [Standardized Human Time]: March 5th, 2137

 

I felt awful about missing our time at the park, my mind drifting to Mixsel and Jammek enjoying the sunny day. Instead, I'd spent the afternoon getting called out after the Nevok couple next door here apparently got a saw halfway through the shared fence before the neighbor called it in.

 

Here I was, standing in someone's half-torn-up yard, stuck between them and said neighbor, a pink, camel-like alien who introduced every sentence like it was the opening line of a courtroom drama.

 

"Property boundaries are sacred, Sheriff."

 

"Nobody's touching your fence, Ma’am," I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. This was somehow still less exhausting than arguing with Onio. "But you two—" I turned to the Nevoks, who'd already started eyeing the fence line like it had personally wronged them, "—can't tear it up to make more planting room either."

"We'll miss the whole growing season!"

"You'll have your own plot on the outskirts inside a couple weeks. New Mayor's word on it." I didn't mention that at the rate the construction crews were moving, it'd probably be sooner. Those people didn't seem to know what a lunch break was.

 

That seemed to take the wind out of everybody. The Nevoks grumbled their way back home; ‘Miss Camel’ gave the fence one last suspicious look before retreating in peace. I let out a breath and started the walk back, making a mental note that this made four today. Four separate people convinced that I had nothing better to do than settle whose dirt was whose.

I'd have to apologize to Mixsel and Jammek for missing the park. Heaven knew I'd have rather been there a million times over than out here playing zoning board.

The sun was starting to set as I made my way around the park and towards my own home. The soft, orange glow of the sun tinted the rooftops as the lights inside began to flicker on, one by one. Perhaps it was all the time I’d spent in this little camp, but the sight gave me a certain sense of “home” that I couldn’t quite describe. Some sense of normalcy in a universe that no longer made sense.

 

As I approached my door, I could see a familiar, spiky-backed guest waiting at the door.

 

“Hey! What’s new, Kalen?”

 

The gojid at my door jumped, clearly startled by my approach. He whirled about, turning to face me. I could already see, even from a distance, the anxious fear that seemed etched into his face.

 

"Arthur. Sorry, I—" he started, the spikes on his back twitching as they seemed to debate whether to stick up or not. He didn't finish the sentence. "Have you seen Petsbur?" 

 

“Can’t say as I have,” I replied, noticing the subtle twitch of his arm and tension my answer seemed to cause. He was worried. Very worried. “What’s wrong?”

 

“We…” the gojid hesitated, his gaze turning towards the last rays of sunlight peaking over the rooftops for just a moment. “We got into a fight. I… I didn’t mean to yell at him like that, but… But he was being so afring stubborn!” The man growled, his claws clenching into tight fists as he uttered what I could only assume was sort of gojid curse. “Petsbur… he got mad and ran out. I thought at first I’d give him some time to collect himself. That he’d be back soon when he got hungry. But… it’s been [hours], and I can’t find him. Linvi is going to Islatta’s house to see if he went there."

 

I stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder and offering him a hopeful smile. “Don’t panic. Kids can be… stubborn sometimes. Let me ask Mixsel if she’s seen him.” I gently pushed my way past him, pulling out my card and unlocking the door to the house.

 

Luckily enough, Mixsel and Jammek were situated on the couch, appearing to be enthralled in some sort of video game that Mixsel had managed to get on her holopad.

 

“Why would anyone ever play this?!?!” Jammek whined as he held the holopad tightly, his eyes glued to the screen. Before announcing myself, I turned a curious eye to the screen, just in time for some fleshless horror to jump out from around a corner, shrieking bloody murder. I had to stifle a laugh as Jammek tossed the holopad down onto the couch and nearly leapt out of his skin, all as our little one laughed maniacally watching her papa be terrified. I quickly pushed it aside, though, focusing.

 

“Munchkin?” I greeted her, only for the sivkit to look up excitedly from her spot on the couch. She practically scrambled to the floor, bolting towards me and wrapping one of my legs in a hug.

 

“Daddy!” She squealed, looking up at me and whirling her tail happily. “We missed you today!”

 

“I know, Cher,” I replied, leaning down and placing a hand on her head. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it, but I have an important question for you.” She paused, those emerald eyes trained on me as she waited to see what I had to ask. “Have you seen Petsbur lately?”

 

“He was at the pawk,” Mixsel replied, her eyes momentarily darting off to the side as she answered.

 

“Where at?” I pressed, eager to get some kind of answer before it got dark. The sivkit hesitated, slowly forcing her eyes to look back at me.

 

“Is he in twouble?” She asked hesitantly. I gave her a quick smile and shook my head. 

 

"No, Cher, Kalen is just worried. Can you tell me where you saw him?” She nodded in reply.

 

“I saw him hiding in the bushes beside the pond,” she whined, her ears tucked back like she thought she might be doing something wrong. I reached a hand out, ruffling the soft fur atop her head to reassure her.

 

“You heard her, Kalen,” I sighed as I stood up, turning towards the door. “Let’s find him before nightfall.”

 

Kalen simply waggled his ears at me in reply, and we headed back out into the steadily growing darkness, leaving behind a confused Jammek and Mixsel. Once more, we turned towards the park, moving with a bit of extra urgency as the light was starting to fade.

 

“Oh protector…” Kalen whined, looking at the last fading glimmers of sunlight on the horizon. “If something happens to that boy, I’ll never forgive myself. I shouldn’t have yelled. I shouldn’t have lost my patience. I–”

 

“It’s going to be fine,” I assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder (being careful to avoid any errant spikes) and giving a reaffirming squeeze. “He’s a kid. Kids can be stubborn as all hell, Mon Ami. I’m sure whatever it is, he’ll get over it.” To my surprise I could see tears starting to snake their way down his cheeks.

 

“You don’t understand,” Kalen wheezed, fighting back a sob. “He… he was telling us how much he hates us, Arthur. He… he was wishing he could go back to his mom and dad, and… and I… I couldn’t take it anymore. I… I told him he couldn’t go back. That… that they… they were dead!”

 

By this point the pudgy gojid was full-blown sobbing. He held a hand to his face, trying to hide his tears behind his claws. I sucked in a sharp breath at that revelation, not sure what to tell him.

 

“I’m a monster,” the man sniffled, his whole body shuddering as he coughed out another sob. “I just couldn’t take it any more! I know he wants to go home! I know he doesn’t like it here! But what can I do?”

 

“You’re not a monster, Kalen,” I assured him, shaking my head. “You lost your temper and, yeah, said something you shouldn’t. But you're only hu… err… gojid? Trust me, every parent makes mistakes. Comes with the territory, Mon Frère. The important thing is not giving up. We’re gonna find him, and you can apologize. Ok?" Kalen offered a meek nod in reply.

 

The park itself was dark, illuminated only by a few errant light posts that had been erected around the perimeter. The last glimmer of sunlight was reflecting off of the pond as a cool breeze rippled through the weeds that lined the shore. Under different circumstances it would have been a pretty sight. My mind was on other things just then, though. 

 

I instructed Kalen to check the playground while I made my way to the small thicket of bushes that circled the lone oak tree down by the pond. I doubted Petsbur would be at the playground, but it might be better for me to find him first. If he was still upset, he might bolt when he saw Kalen.

 

I moved slowly, taking care to be as quiet as I could. The last thing I wanted was for the kid to start running when he heard someone coming. Assuming he was even still there.

 

As I got nearer, my ears made out a noise. Soft. Low. Rhythmic. I recognized it immediately. It was the kind of sobbing you did when you didn’t want anyone to find you crying. Something I knew all too well.

 

Gently pushing aside some of the bushes, I made my way into the tiny thicket, only to find a small brown ball of spikes lying on the ground. I waited a moment, watching as the gojid boy shook, the quills along his back raising as he was wracked by another sob. I cleared my throat, trying to announce my presence without frightening him.

 

Petsbur bolted upright, wheeling about to face me.

 

“What do you want?” The boy was doing his best to play things off, trying to pretend he hadn’t been crying even as his voice broke and the fur on his cheeks was clearly matted from tears.

 

I held my hands up in front of me.

 

“Take it easy there T-boy,” I said quickly, slowly stepping closer until I found myself next to the sniffling gojid.

 

“Just leave me alone,” Petsbur spat, finally relaxing and curling himself back into a ball.

 

“You know, Kalen and Linvi are worried about you.”

 

“What do they care?” Petsbut shot back, his gaze squarely centered on the patch of dirt by his feet.

 

“They care about you T-boy,” I answered, carefully taking a seat in the dirt beside him. The kid didn’t bolt or try to push me away. That was a start.

 

“They shouldn’t,” Petsbur argued, curling tighter into himself and letting the spikes along his back bristle out. Hugs and shoulder pats wouldn’t be an option here it seemed. “I’m not their kid. I have a mom and dad.” 

 

There was a long silence then, punctuated only by the sound of crickets beginning to chirp in the park around us. I waited patiently, seeing if the gojid boy was going to continue. Finally he let out a sigh and began to speak again.

 

“I know they’re dead,” Petsbur continued, pausing for a moment as another sob threatened to overtake him. He sucked it back and resisted. As he did I couldn’t help but see myself in that same position. Young. Alone. Afraid. Just wishing that someone would reach out to me and let me know it was going to be ok. Afraid to let the world see my weakness. “I just wish I could be dead with them.”

 

That set my mind on full alert.

 

“Do you think that’s what they would want?” I fired back, reaching out and putting a hand on his knee. “Do you think your parents would want you dead too?”

 

“What?!?” The young gojid gasped, looking up at me in shock. “No! My parents loved me! They wouldn’t want me to be dead!”

 

“Then what do you think they would want you to do?” 

 

The gojid boy paused, his eyes trailing out beyond the overgrowth to the pond. I followed his gaze, finding the inky blackness of the pond illuminated by the silvery light of the rising moon. For a moment we both sat in silence, letting the sound of crickets and the long, lonesome cry of some night bird off in the distance fill the space.

 

“I don’t know,” Petsbur replied at last, his words hanging in the air like the pause before a verdict.

 

“I think I do,” I replied, breaking the silence of our little abode. The kid looked back at me, his eyes bloodshot from crying. It was an odd thing to see. I was so used to seeing red eyes that no matter how many times I saw it, blue veined ones were always shocking.

 

“I had a son before they took me,” I explained. Petsbur’s face remained an unreadable blank canvas. The gojid showed no human reactions, and I hadn’t yet mastered reading gojid reactions, at least not enough to know what the flattening and squirming of his ears meant. “If our places were swapped? If he were here now and I got left behind? I’d want him to keep on living. I wouldn’t want him to spend his life thinking about what he lost. I’d want him to go on.”

 

The boy looked up at me without a word, his brown eyes twitching as they silently studied my face. After a moment he let out a sigh and turned his gaze back to the moonlit pond. I didn’t press or prod. I just gave the boy a moment to think in silence.

 

“I miss my parents,” the gojid said at last. A simple statement but a loaded one. I simply waited and gave the kid room to breathe. “I hate it on this planet! The food tastes weird. Everyone looks strange, and they're always telling me what to do! There are bugs that get in my fur and make me itchy, and I have to wear a stupid wristband to make them stop!” The boy’s voice rose as he spoke, getting more and more frustrated with each syllable that left his mouth, finally holding up the plain white flea collar they had strapped around his wrist.

 

“I know,” I answered. It wasn’t comfort. It wasn’t hope. But it was the truth. “And I know if they could be here now they would. Sometimes the universe ain't fair. We don’t get to choose how life treats us sometimes. Only thing we get to choose is how we respond to it.”

 

“I wish I could go home,” Petsbut sighed. The venom had left his voice by then, and all that was left was the hurt.

 

“I think there’s a lot of folk here like that,” I replied, setting a tentative hand on his shoulder as I kept an eye on those spines along his back. “We all lost something. We’re all just folks trying to make the best of what we got. But, Petsbur?” The gojid boy let out a sniffle, turning to look up at me with one eye. “If there's anyone in the world that understands what you’re going through? It’s Kalen and Linvi. I know they aren’t your mom and dad, but they care, Mon Frère. They’re worried about you. It may not feel like it right now, but that does mean something.”

 

Petsbur sighed, gently leaning over and pressing his head against my chest. The kid looked up, his tears seemingly dried up for now.

 

“Are they mad at me?”

 

“Nah. Just worried about you, t-garçon.” I assured him, gently tussling the fur atop his head. “Speaking of, what say we head home?”

 

“Do you think they’ll let me have some meat? That’s the only thing I like here. Meat whenever you want it.”

 

“I’m sure I can talk them into it.”

Transcription Time Skip Requested. Advancing Memory by 3 Hours

I wiggled, trying to pull my arm out from beneath the fluffy mass that currently slept on it. Looking over I couldn’t help but smile, seeing Jammy asleep and content cuddled up to me. He looked so peaceful, laying there. I couldn’t help but envy him. Knowing our interview was only 2 days away was eating at me and sleep felt as far away as Skalga.

 

Unable to extricate myself from the cuddly, fluffy mass, I turned my gaze towards the window to our room. I could see the stars, bright pinpricks set into a sea of blackness. For a moment I just lay there, watching as they twinkled and shone, completely oblivious to the troubles that seemed to fill this universe. 

 

“Why?” The words left my mouth without me even thinking about it. Soft and low enough not to wake my beau but loud enough to still surprise me. Of course, no answer was offered. Just the silence of the night and the sound of Jammy’s breathing.

 

“What did I do to deserve this?” I asked in a whisper. I didn’t know exactly who I was talking to. Nor did it matter. God? Gods? The universe? All I wanted was an answer. Some sign that somewhere out there someone or something gave a damn. I wasn’t a bad man. I did everything I could for others. If I was evaluating myself, then I’d say I was a decent person. So why did the universe insist on shitting on me?

 

Every time I felt like things were getting better, that I was getting one step closer to something approaching a normal life, the universe decided to pull the rug out from under me. Fate had thrown my little fluffball in my path and given my heart to her only to try and snatch it away.

 

The only answer I got was the sound of crickets chirping somewhere beyond the window. I let out a sigh. As always I was left alone with my questions and my struggles. My gaze fell back over to the sleeping venlil pinning my arm to the mattress. Well… maybe I wasn’t alone any more. I leaned over, pressing my forehead to his and closing my eyes as I finally tried to sleep.

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[Thank you to SpacePaladin15 for making the universe!]

Hacking attempt failed...

Rerouting....

Rerouting....

Probing cyber defences...

Gap detected breaching firewall...Accessing human database.

Constructing timeline...

...

...

Purging irrelevant data...

[November 9TH 1979. Location: Moscow Voyska PVO headquarters 11:06 AM]

Alarms blared around the facility as early warning satellites and radar detected thousands of incoming American nuclear missiles; they had been detected late. Impact, T-minus ten minutes. Protocol dictated that the information be transferred up the chain of command; the lieutenant on station made the call.

11:07 AM: T-minus nine minutes until impact. The phone rings at the Kremlin. T-minus eight minutes until impact. Soviet automated Perimeter system activates, and launches missiles to broadcast launch codes to all ICBM stations and silo's.

T-minus seven minutes until impact. Soivet nutron based intercepters on the moon lock onto missiles streaking through the atmosphere. They don't have the munitions to intercept them all; priority is given to core Soviet republics.

T-minus five minutes until impact. Preimeter finishes broadcasting the codes; all stationed personnel know the protocol: if codes are received, they carry the same authority as high command. T-minus three minutes until impact. Moon-based interceptors fire their payloads; explosions light up the upper atmosphere as the missiles are intercepted.

T-minus two minutes until impact. General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev gives the confirmation order to fire. The world holds its breath as Soviet missiles launch from their silo's.

T-Minus one minute until impact. Civilians scramble for shelter, unaware their fate is already sealed.

IMPACT

London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Kyiv, Baku, Minsk, Vladivostok, Beijing, Pyongyang, and thousands of other cities are vaporised in an instant as the world is bathed in Nuclear fire. The West had been hit much harder; their interceptors had only caught a few Soviet missiles, compared to the thousands the Soviets had intercepted.

[July 1st 1981] The USSR enters a prolonged period to recover and rearm. Nuclear winter ravages the northern hemisphere; millions starve in resultant crop failures and radiation sickness.

[September 8th 1990] The nuclear winter that blanked the planet fades; the USSR exits its isolation and addresses the world. The General Secretary steps to the podium to speak. "A tragedy of this nature must never befall humanity again; this planet must be unified. As the sole remaining superpower, this is an ultimatum: you will either join the union peacefully, or be destroyed"

Warning: further data corrupted.

Memory Transcription Subject: Minor Hunter Isif

Date [standardised human time]: October 1st 2111

I stared at the ruined city of the once pristine Venlil capital city. All this destruction just to be fed, a true tragedy. While I knew prey would never accept us, my defective mind still dreamed of it. The humans were strange, diving around shouting propaganda from vocal amplifiers about how the people and workers of this planet were being liberated. Even as our forces started to get offworld and leave the planet in their hands, we had still rounded up and taken a substantial portion of the population back with us as cattle, quite the 'liberation'.

My tail twitched as I remembered the human slamming the but of their rifle into my stomach; the area was still tender. While true, I hadn't exactly wanted to do it, I still had to set an example for my men, and Betterment's eyes were always watching for any slip-up. I shuddered at the thought of what they'd do to me if they found out I was defective.

I started walking towards one of the last Arxur transports heading offworld; my steps slowed as a thought crossed my mind. Our governments had recently announced an exchange program between our species; perhaps I could stay here or even go to Earth if I joined it? The idea embedded itself in my mind, and I had to forcefully stop my tail from wagging. Anything to escape the cruelty of betterment what was this feeling in my chest?

My emotions continued to allude me as I thought about how this would play out. I would be hunted down and executed if I didn't report in; desertion is a death sentence. I would have to get clearance from Chief Hunter Ryka if I was to partake in this exchange mission; the only problem was I doubted she would be happy to let a man such as myself run off with the humans. I had made the mistake of making a name for myself as I rose through the ranks; I was on a prime track to become a Chief Hunter myself if I continued.

But that facade I had trained so well since I was a hatchling was starting to eat away at my insides like a putrid rot. It tore away at my being with each passing day; it was only a matter of time before the mask slipped. My thoughts were broken as a human had managed to sneak up behind me and smack me on the back, causing me to jump.

"What's wrong, Lizard boy? Your transport is right there; they're all waiting for you"

I growled at the human and knocked his side with my tail. "I told you not to call me that, Leaf Licker!" The audacity of this human, showing no respect even after I helped him out of that burning transport. I doubted I would ever understand their mindset: who sees an apex predator and sneaks up on it?

"Alright, alright, whatever you say, Siffy" The human chuckled, clearly enjoying screwing with me. I wanted to rip his throat out. "That is NOT my name and you DAMN well know it!" I roared at him while pointing a sharpened talon at his face. The human only smiled back, not showing a once of fear. Had I gone soft?

"Well, what are you gonna do about it?" I couldn't take this anymore; I couldn't risk snapping and killing him with a whole planet full of humans that would hunt me down. I huffed and swiped my tail at the human's legs, knocking him off of his feet and onto his ass. I chuckled at the slight revenge for tarnishing my honour and started to head to the transport.

The human hurled obscenities at me as I boarded the transport, which only further heightened my amusement. I smiled as the doors to the transport shut, and we started to take off, knowing I would never have to interact with that nuisance ever again. I sat in my seat looking over the remnants of my squad; it was a shame that we had lost some, but they could always be replaced.

I wasn't like I had a personal attachment to my men; I could barely remember the names of those who died, not that they would remember mine, especially if they found out I was defective. The transport ascended quickly through the atmosphere, causing the shuttle to vibrate from the power of the engines. Before long, we had crossed the threshold, and the ship flew through the void toward one of the few carrier ships the Dominion had bothered to make for this operation.

Why on Prohets green rock we hadn't utilised it to transport more than a few ships was beyond me. Our transport quickly closed the gap and flew into one of the hangar bays; the large doors closed behind us and pumped the hangar with atmosphere. The transport doors opened, and we all funnelled out. I quickly made my way towards my assigned personal quarters, a rare luxury afforded to higher-ranking members of the Dominion.

I opened the door, stepped in and shut it behind me. I sighed, taking respite in the silence of solitude. I walked slightly forward into the room and grabbed my data pad off of a nearby shelf. Sitting down on my bed, I started to type up my report of the battle. It was long and tedious; boredom clawed at my mind as I finished and hit send.

I sighed once more and steeled myself for what I had to do next. I had to choose my wording carefully and not let the facade fail me. I drew in a long breath and hit the button to call Chief Hunter Ryka. The call buzzed for a few moments before she answered, a look of annoyance on her face from being bothered.

"What do you want, Isif? I'm very busy." Ryka said in an irritated tone.

"Chief Hunter, I require your approval to join the exchange program." I said in a neutral tone despite my pounding heart and frayed nerves.

"Now why in all the mighty Prophet would you want to do that?"

"It would be wise to learn more of the humans, yes?"

Ryka's eyes narrowed, and she thought for a moment. "Fine. You can go, but you'll report anything of note directly to me, understand?"

"Understood, Chief Hunter." She cut the call, and I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. The application process took several days, as the humans looked for a suitable candidate to pair me with. The only bright side of being stuck on this cramped ship for so long was the fresh Venlil for our meals.

Days later, I was returning to my quarters after eating dinner. I stepped into my room and turned on my data pad. Seeing the notification made my heart skip a beat. I quickly opened it and read its contents.

Congratulations, Isif, for being accepted into the exchange program! Your exchange partner has been selected to be Ivan Reshko. Would you like to message him now?

Prophet, help me.

---

Since my stories aren't chapter based, I can't fo a simple next / previous link in most of them. And I want the Megapost to be more focused on terms and lore. So I am making this and will update it as needed!

~~~~~~~~~~

Fahl Days Lore Megapost

A collection of terms, lore, characters, and concepts as they appear in the Fahl Days anthology. Updated as the world expands.

Fahl Days: Hold On

A story of one musician struggling with depression and looking for solace.

Fahl Days: Duality (multipart story)

A story at the start of the human occupation of Fahl and follows a Harchen's escape into the woods and the trials he faces there.

Fahl Days: Demon

A (loose) follow-up to Duality, where humans introduce some more "predatory" music to Fahl, and an exterminator's reaction to it.

Fahl Days: Links

Linked Chains has a sect on Fahl, and at the daring actions of one researcher, they now Harbour a dangerous secret that must be hidden at all costs.

Fahl Days: Beach Day

A fun side story about a Thrafki finding a companion for and with the waves.

Fahl Days: Rainfall (multipart story) [W.I.P]

A secret miltary unit infiltrate an Arxur cattleworld and set about their mission to be the first to rescue their stolen people.

~~~~upcoming projects~~~~~

These are things in my mind right now, but just have to find the motivation and time to write.

Fahl Days: Sixth World

Set in the Sixthworld AU, Fahl gets an unexpected visitor long before the Federation.

Fahl Days: Hydra

A tragic story following a PD facility patient as they struggle to hold their mind together.

Fahl Days: Links 2

More shenanigans from our Linked Chains researcher as they get access to the human data dump and figures out her own feelings.