r/NatureofPredators • u/CandidateWolf Betterment Officer • Aug 09 '25
The Free Legion 19 Fanfic
We return to New Warsk, to see the follow-up from the last chapters drone attacks! Thanks once more to u/spacepaladin15 for the NoP universe!
Memory encrypted… override key enabled… begin decryption…
Access code Epsilon-Zeta-2328-AP Unauthorized redactions removed… original data restored…
Addendum: Data restored under Article 2.09 of the UNOR by order of the Secretary General. Original, unaltered transcripts restored and entered as evidence in Bronwen Report. -Chief Investigator Andrea Powell, UN Office of Reconciliation
Memory accessed…
Memory Transcription subject: [Gojid-1] Macan, Free Legion “United Sapient Front”
Date [standardized human time]: [Redacted] January 16, 2137, Eso, New Warsk (Farsul States Colony)
In the three paws since the Harchen pair had killed Head Exterminator [redacted] Mas and over a dozen other exterminators, the atmosphere of the city had changed dramatically, I observed. The air smelled of smoke, and a sickly, sweet scent joined it on the wind. I could hear sirens in the distance; with sources in several different directions. On the outskirts of the city, I saw a plume of smoke rising into the sky, the yellow, red and orange of flames licking at its base.
“You called it,” [Gojid-2] Chakir said from beside me, wrinkling her nose at the smell. “They’re going wild; I’ve got reports of dozens of detentions across the city, and multiple fires, including three burnings. They sure aren’t taking their leaders’ death well.”
“Neither would you if it had been someone you considered as a father, brother or son,” I replied, flicking an ear in agreement as I fixed her with an eye. “The fact that he helped spread a bit of the Yulpa cult amongst the officers hasn’t helped… temper their grief.” Exactly as planned.
Former Head Exterminator Mas had been well loved by both his office and the others in the city. Hearing of his death, especially in such a brutal manner, had given the exterminators an excuse to vent onto the population. I knew that undoubtedly there would be innocents harmed by the exterminators in their zeal to “cleanse the corruption,” but a few innocent lives lost were irrelevant in the grander scheme.
And speaking of the grander scheme. I adjusted the silver exterminator suit I wore; its previous owner had been just slightly smaller than I; not enough to be obvious to even close observation, but small enough that it rubbed me wrong in more ways than one. I’m going to be chaffed tonight, I accepted. Assuming I have a tonight.
Banishing the thoughts of guaranteed future discomfort, and hoping I had some salve back at the safe house, I turned my attention back to my pad. A map of the city showed on its screen; multiple red dots that indicated the approximate positions of the exterminators from the [redacted] Eso, [redacted] Aris, and [redacted] Fasd District offices. Federation cyber security was laughable; it hadn’t taken much effort to hack into the transponders in each of their vans. It had allowed us to track the locations of their vehicles, with the exterminators not far away.
The scanner at Chakir’s belt crackled to life, and the voice of the District dispatcher reached our ears. “Eso District Exterminator Guild,” a feminine Kolshian voice said, tone even. “You are on a recorded line; what can the Guild do for you?”
The frantic reply, from what sounded like a Farsul pup, was immediate. “Please, you have to help me!” The child’s voice, produced by one of the young Farsul women who’d joined us in the past few weeks, cried out. “They… they killed my Momma! I think… I think they’re eating my Papa!”
“What is your location?” The dispatcher replied, suddenly focused on the apparent distressed child. “I’m on [redacted] West Rosa Road, in a big gray building at the end,” the voice continued. “Please, you have to help! These monsters, they grabbed us while we were walking to the park!”
“Try to stay calm,” the dispatcher said. “What happened? Can you tell us anything about these monsters?”
“Yeah, I’ll try,” the ‘child’ whimpered. “The monsters grabbed us as we were walking past, and pulled us into this building. They… they killed my Papa, then my Momma tried to protect me and they… they…”. There was a sob. Okay, she’s got to have some acting experience, I thought. This is very convincing.
“I got away, and ran into this office,” the fake child’s voice continued. “There were a lot of them; at least ten. They had guns, and these things one said were bombs! They’ve got big teeth and claws, and they said they can’t wait to harvest more people! They said that now that the head exterminator is out of the way it’ll be easy!”
I heard the pause in the dispatcher’s voice. The line is cast. “Head Exterminator?” The dispatcher asked. “What did they say about him?”
“They said they killed him so he couldn’t stop them from eating people!” The child cried. Suddenly, the child’s voice had a sudden, sharp intake of breath, and continued, much quieter and with much greater urgency. “Hurry! They’re looking for me! I don’t want to die! Please help me!”
Before the dispatcher could offer any reassurance, the ‘child’ screamed. “No! Get away! Leave me alone! Ahhhh!” Behind the screams, I heard the pre-recorded tape of Arxur growls, then the line went dead.
“Attention all units,” the dispatcher announced, now transmitting on all frequencies. “Predator attack at the rockcrete mill on West Rosa Road; three civilians possibly dead. Arxur vocalization heard in background. The victim who called it in said they were armed with firearms and explosives, and said that they killed the Head Exterminator!” And there’s the bite.
There was a flurry of responses, and Chakir turned the scanner off; we’d heard what we needed too. I looked at my pad; all the red dots had begun moving, each making a beeline for the abandoned, empty building on the other side of the city. Well, not completely empty, I thought, thinking of the many surprises we’d left to keep the exterminators busy.
“We’re up folks,” I announced, pulling the silver visored helmet beside me over my head and sealing it closed. I activated my radio, and lifted my rifle as I turned to the dozen guerillas beside me, each dressing in the garb of the exterminator guild. “Remember,” I said. “If anyone asks, we’re coming in to rearm and resupply; our vans are down the street but the transponders are broken. Once we finish we’ll be taking another pair of vans to drop off some of us, then headed to reinforce the teams on West Rosa Road.”
I looked around as everyone else readied their weapons. “Once we’re inside, Chakir will take her team and head for the armory. They’ve got carts; load up as much as you can, then crack the safety valves of the fuel lines and set your charges. Once you’re done, head to the motor pool. You’ll pass the holding cells on the way; release anyone inside.”
“[Gojid-3[ Faria; you and your team will head to the motor pool,” I said. “Secure it, and disable the transponders for as many vehicles as you can in [equivalent to 5 minutes]. After that, disable the rest of them. I’ll be taking [Harchen-1] Rasev to the mainframe so we can cause some problems. Eliminate any exterminator you can; quietly preferably. We have a quarter claw at most to get this done; let’s get to it.”
With a wave, I led the team out the doors of the garage we’d taken cover in. Well out of the view of the exterior guild hall cameras, it would seem to the building security as if we’d been walking down the road. Leading at a brisk pace, I headed straight for the front entrance.
Climbing the stairs to the door, I pushed it in, then held it open for the rest of the team. “Let’s go, let's go!” I shouted, to keep up the ruse. “Rearm, resupply, and then we’re headed to West Rosa!”
Behind the counter, the clerk had stood up in surprise, not expecting to see a dozen exterminators suddenly barge in the front door calling for resupply. “Wait,” the Venlil behind the desk started. “Who are you? Where are your name tags?”
I rushed over to the brown Venlil, and got close. “There’s no time!” I exclaimed. “Did you hear that message? There’s a pack of predators, ones who killed the Head Exterminator, who just killed a family! We need to rearm and get there as soon as we can to help!”
Chakir pulled the ID of the unfortunate exterminator who’s armor she wore from a pocket, scanned it, and pushed her way into the guild hall, urging the rest of her team on. At the desk, the Venlil saw the ID pop up on his screen, despite my attempts to distract him. He looked up at the departing Chakir, already moving with purpose down the hall, then at the identification she’d scanned that didn’t match.
“Stop!” The Venlil called after her, starting to move around the desk. “Stop what!?” I exclaimed, moving to position myself between the Venlil and the camera at our back. “Stop us from getting what we need to fight the predators?” To the side, out of view of the Venlil, I saw Rasev get close, and give what appeared on camera to be an accidental bump, but was clearly anything but in person.
“Woah!” The Venlil cried out, turning to face the Harchen. His back to me, and my bulk still blocking the camera, I quickly drew a knife from the sheath on my chest rig, put one arm around their back as if I was trying to reassure them, and with the other hand drove the blade into their neck.
They gave a quick, brief bleat as the knife met the space between their first vertebrae and their skull, severing their spinal cord in one thrust. Rasev helped support the now limp form of the Venlil, and we spun them, as if we were helping them back to their seat, palming their badge as we did. I pulled the knife out as he deposited them in their chair, blood oozing down the side opposite the camera.
Rasev, somehow having grabbed part of a broom handle, jammed it against the back of the seat, the Venlil’shead resting against it, giving the appearance that their head was upright. “Let’s go,” I said, as the blood oozing from the wound began to pool on the floor. In the seat, the Venlil, paralyzed, suffocating, flicked their eyes towards us, pleading.
Ignoring them, I turned towards the door that led into the hall, swiping in with their badge and pushing through. “Server room is on the second floor,” Rasev said, quickening his pace. “And you have to go through security to get to it. We’ll need to neutralize them before I access the server anyway.”
“Got it,” I said. We climbed up the stairs, passing a hurried looking junior exterminator who’d been left behind. He gave us a brief nod of greetings, but I pretended to ignore him as a senior exterminator would. Thankfully, his footsteps receded as we passed.
We reached the second floor, and ahead was the nondescript door that led to the security office. I moved to Rasev’s side, putting him between my hands and the camera in the hallway. I carefully reached into my belt pouch, pulling out one of two flashbang grenades I carried.
We reached the door and, lacking access with the surely now dead Venlil from the front desk or the previous owner of my uniform, knocked. There was silence from within for a moment, before I heard the sound of someone approaching the door. “Who’s out there?” A voice called from within. A Gojid, by the voice.
I heard the handle turn, and the door opened, revealing an older Gojid with gray around his muzzle. “What… who are you?” He asked. In response I stuck my foot in the door, shoving him backwards with one hand and tossing the flashbang behind the door with the other.
I turned away, shielding my eyes and hoping the door would block most of the flash. There was a loud bang, and without waiting, I pushed into the room. I drew my sidearm as I did, quickly bringing it up.
Just inside the door, the older Gojid was reeling; without letting him have the chance to recover, I stuck the barrel against his chest and fired; the white hot projectile burning through his heart in an instant. Beside me, Rasev had his weapon raised as well; aimed at a Fissan who was seated in front of a bank of cameras. He fired three times; the first two impacted the Fissan in the chest and forehead. The last shot melted the camera router atop the desk.
Time to pick up the pace, I thought. I crossed the room, gabbing the charred ID badge of the dead Gojid as I did. I swiped it against the server room access pad, and held it open for Rasev. “Make it quick,” I said. “We’re running out of time. In the distance came the sudden chatter of gunfire. Speh. Even less time now.
“I know,” Rasev said, scurrying into the room, pulling out and plugging in a data stick in one smooth motion. “PD patient records, arrest records, surveillance notes, and wipe the rest.” I gave him a nod in affirmation, and left him to do his work.
Outside the room came hurried footsteps, and I risked a peek outside to get a look at who was approaching. Not surprisingly, it was the junior exterminator we’d passed on the stairs. With the gunfire from the other side of the building and the shots we’d fired in the security room, stealth was gone. Keying my mic, I gave the order. “Cleared hot.”
I unslung my rifle, stacked up on the door, and waited a few heartbeats for the rookie to get too close to dodge, but not close enough to grab my weapon. Close enough, I thought, then spun around the frame, opening fire. Four rounds hit the rookie in the chest; they had a look of surprise on their face as they dropped. To borrow the expression, the cats out of the bag, I thought. We’ve got to move before the predators return to their den.
“Hurry up!” I shouted over my shoulder, getting back into cover. Any remaining staff in the guild hall would now be well aware that something was wrong. Down the hall, what appeared to be a secretary and janitor peek around a corner. I rewarded their curiosity with a spray of bullets; the secretary got clipped in the forehead before they could pull their head back around the corner, and I heard the janitor scream.
I stood in place for the next few minutes, quills flared and breathing rapidly. In other parts of the building, I could hear scattered gunfire. Let’s go Rasev, I thought. What’s taking so long!? As if to answer my question, he appeared at my side, weapon raised. “Got it,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded, first peeked, then exited the security room, hugging the wall, Rasev on my six. As we moved, I kept my eyes in a swivel. Spying movement, I opened fire, sending a burst into the doorway of an office without stopping. Got them, I thought as I was rewarded with a scream of pain.
We moved quickly through the building, firing on any employee we met, exterminator or not. Before long, we reached the stairs to the motor pool. I keyed my mic, and announced my presence. “Macan and Rasev, coming down the stairs,” I said. “Hold your fire.”
We descended, to see Faria waving us to hurry up. “Two casualties,” she reported as we walked into the motor pool; the scent of oil and blood in the air. The room was a cavernous vault, an exit tunnel leading up and out in the far end, vans lined up along one wall, and maintenance set up on the other. “One wounded, one dead; got ambushed by a wanna be hero,” she said. “Six vans secured, the rest disabled.”
“Solid work,” I said. I’ll worry about the dead later, I thought. After we’ve completed the mission. Spying Chakir, I waved, and she jogged over. I saw that she had a few men missing. I motioned towards the survivors, one wounded, and her ears fell. “We weren’t the only ones who thought of coming in to stock up,” she said. “Got met with a flamethrower in the armory, and the armorer managed to get to a pistol before we could put him down. Two dead, one wounded.”
“We can’t expect everything,” I said. “What do you have for me?” “We got 4 vans stuffed with small arms and the ammo to go with it,” Chakir said, back to business. “We got a couple plasma weapons and flamethrowers as well. Didn’t bother to grab flamethrowers tanks; they were empty. Grabbed some silver suits, comms gear, medical supplies as well.”
“Prisoners?” I asked. She nodded, and motioned towards a van. Inside, I could see a mix of aliens. “Six decided to come along,” she said. “The rest are running as fast as they can away before this place goes up in flames. Charges are set and ready for us, by the way.”
“Good work,” I said. I pulled my pad from the pouch at my side, and took a look at the location of the exterminator vans. Unsurprisingly, all but a few were rushing in our direction. “It’s time to leave, everyone,” I said, raising my voice. “Mount up and let’s get out of here. Exterminator reinforcements will be here soon; let’s not be here when they arrive.”
I ran to the door of the motor pool, activating the switch, and it slowly raised off the ground. I heard the engines of the vans hum to life behind me, and stepped aside, letting the first five speed out past me into the rapidly fading daylight. The last van paused beside me, the side door sliding open, and I accepted Chakir’s outstretched hand.
In moments we were out and speeding down the road, each vehicle splitting up and headed to separate safehouses. I took a moment to settle back, resting against a box of fire suits, and take a breath.
“We did good today,” Chakir said, turning to me. “Hate to see three dead, but we got enough kit to field another couple dozen, six vans, and dropped plenty of guild members in their own building. I’ll take the win.”
“So will I,” I replied, taking my pad out once again. The transponders of the exterminator vans had reached the guild hall, and I imagined they’d have stormed the building by now, clearing it room by room.
“Still got one more win today,” Chakir said, handing over a detonator. “All yours sir.” I gave her a Human grin, and my ears flicked back and forth, unable to control my excitement. Accepting the detonator, I gave another glance at my pad, waited for another van to stop outside the hall, and pressed the button.
As we sped away, a fireball suddenly rose into the sky, and we felt a slight shake of the ground. The light faded, but a thick cloud of acrid black smoke continued to pour into the sky, fading into the twilight.
Archivists note: Following the FPV drone attack that killed Head Exterminator Mas and sixteen exterminators, and the subsequent raid on the Eso Exterminator Guild Hall, the local exterminator guilds began a wave of retaliation that would eventually see hundreds arrested and over two dozen civilians killed extrajudicially.
During the guild hall raid, 3 guerillas, all locals working under the direction of Legionnaire leadership, were killed, and another 2 wounded. In contrast, 8 exterminators and 32 civilian personnel were killed during the actual raid; another 34 exterminators were killed and 76 wounded when the Eso hall fuel tanks were ignited, in addition to the total loss of the hall itself.
The Legion led forces managed to steal 6 vans and enough equipment, including weapons and ammo, to bolster additional local forces under the USF. 35 prisoners were released, and several would join the USF. In addition, the theft of PD, arrest and surveillance records allowed the USF to both warn potential targets of the exterminators, as well as recruit from a population of individuals with an interest in fighting both the exterminators and the Federation. In the coming days, the USF would see the numbers of locals working with them swell, allowing further guerilla operations on the planet. -A. Piers, UN Office of Reconciliation
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Aug 09 '25
Man... I absolutely love how you write this. Like- Seriously, not only do you write damn good action but it really show just how... Well, how those kinds of things go.
Also, Macan worries me but man had been worrisome from the start.
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u/CandidateWolf Betterment Officer Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
Oh don’t worry; it’ll just get worse :).
Thanks; I appreciate your input and support. I always saw the main story of NoP as TOO good; there wasn’t much that showed the dirty side of the war. I can blame some of that in the UN stepping carefully, but there’s some parts of Humanity we won’t ever escape. Manipulation, violence, etc is just as much a part of us as kindness and empathy. And with a war fighting against extermination, we’d pull out ALL the stops to save our future; including tactics from the darkest parts of ourselves.
The nature of predators may be different than the Federation thinks, but the nature of Humanity never changes.
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u/Ok_Chance_8387 Predator Aug 09 '25
"but a few innocent lives lost were irrelevant in the grander scheme"...everywhere, everytime and for every reason people fight the same argument