The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136

When the humans began their cultural exchange, they shared the blemishes of their history. The Satellite Wars almost sent the powerful nations back to the Stone Age, by their own words. Federation researchers also documented the senseless atrocities of a prior era, and noted the uncanny resemblance to Arxur brutality. It had been difficult for me to picture the Earthlings acting so violent toward each other; those moral people killing millions of their race was unimaginable.

The scale of bloodshed today forced me to reckon with that truth. I knew in my heart what the predators were capable of, but I hadn’t wanted to accept it. Sweeping their history under the rug, in favor of the empathy tests and the charitable acts toward us, was easier. Talking with Noah and Meier made me want to believe they’d changed as a species.

Maybe even your human friends could act out of aggression; you’ve seen outbursts from both. They restrain it because of learned morality…empathy. But does Noah ever fantasize about killing people, just a tiny bit?

“Keep walking, Tarva.” The Terran ambassador placed a trembling hand on my shoulder, and made me jump. “You can’t go into shock. We need to get you to a hospital. Please, please, stay with me!”

Tears soaked my cheek fur. “W-where are the other alien diplomats?”

“I’ll look for them. But Tarva needs a tourniquet, Williams,” Meier growled.

“Yeah, I agree. Listen Tarva, if anything happens…I want you to know that I love you,” Noah whispered. “You don’t have to say it, or feel it, back. I’m going to protect you.”

The chocolate-skinned predator scooped me up into his arms, passion alight in his binocular gaze. His visage became fuzzy; I felt cold, despite the warmth of his body. Saline swelled around his eyes, as he ripped his shirt sleeve off with his bare fingers. His nails had turned gray from grime and soot, and orange blood was smeared across his chest. There was a lot of it, sourced from my tail.

Knowing the aggression hardwired into his genome should have struck sense into me. Humans were coded to be destructive and violent. Still, the fondness in my heart cried out louder than ever. My Noah was a little hot under the collar, but only when faced with injustice. I trusted him with my life; I couldn’t make myself regret befriending the Terrans.

“I love…you too,” I croaked.

The human’s lips quivered, torn between a smile and sorrow. He wrapped the cloth around my tail tightly, and blinding pain rocketed up my spine. It felt like he was amputating the limb, wrenching it from my body with an iron fist. I yowled in agony, burying my face in his chest. His brow furrowed, as he finished tying the knot.

The astronaut patted my head. “It’s done now, I’m sorry. I had to stop the bleeding. You’re going to be fine.”

“I don’t know if I am. This was…an isolated incident. Right?” I whimpered.

“Honestly, we’ve had tragedies like this happen on Earth before, though it’s rare. All I can ask is that you don’t judge us by our worst individuals. This is why the Federation wants us all dead. Most humans would never do something like this. You know that.”

“But what…kind of…monster would?”

“I don’t know who did this, or their motives. They’re sick, with grief or some disorder. Anything I say is speculation, but we’re going to hunt the bastard down. Er, pardon my word choice.”

If this was a drastic action borne of anger, human emotions needed to be monitored under a microscope. I had tried to normalize the predators’ stay, and welcome them like any other class of refugees. But if there could be mass carnage any time a lone Terran was upset, I didn’t know how safe it was to integrate them into our society. What other venues could be targets of senseless violence? How many Venlil lives could be lost?

My vision began to dim, as the fear chemicals lending energy tapered off. Ambassador Noah lunged at me with bared teeth, catching himself a hair short of my face. He released an incoherent roar in my direction. The feel of the predator’s warm breath on my lips, and the sight of maddened eyes inches from my face, sent flight cocktails coursing through my veins.

Electricity jerked at my muscle fibers. Instincts propelled me upright, and sent me stumbling away blindly. It took me several seconds to realize Noah was intending to startle me awake. Triggering my flight response had jolted me back to consciousness, though that might not last long. I collided with Meier, who had his back turned to me.

“Shit! Watch where…Tarva. Noah, you need to get her out of here!” the Secretary-General spat.

The human leader had thrown caution to the wind, pressing his shoulder by a downed Cupo’s side. The Mazic was bleeding from several places, including a mutilated leg. I appreciated Meier’s efforts, but he was going to be crushed if Cupo fell. The old primate couldn’t support a creature several times his weight.

“Leave him, Elias. You can’t carry him. Come with us,” I coughed.

Cupo flared his trunk. “I am conscious, Tarva! I don’t want to die, enough that I’m letting a predator touch me. My skin is crawling.”

The gray-haired human gritted his teeth. “Nobody else is going to die on my watch. We have to help the big guy up…give him a fighting chance.”

Ambassador Noah frowned, before kneeling beside the Secretary-General. The two humans pushed Cupo off his side, and hoisted him back to his round feet. The Mazic teetered on his legs for a moment, but the predators strained with the last of their might. I noticed scarlet fluid dripping through Noah’s short mane.

The sand-colored mammal swayed, as he fixed a glare on the human. “What the fuck happened, predator? You predicted this, so you clearly know.”

“Oh, get to a hospital, President Cupo. I’m going to look for Tossa and Axsely,” Elias growled.

“Let me help. I can carry them,” the Mazic president offered.

“In your condition? Just go; I’ll deal with it.”

“My eyes work just fine. You’re not going to cover up these deaths. I won’t leave until we find the Nevok, at least.”

“Whatever. Look around, be my guest.”

Cupo glanced in every direction, before pointing his trunk at the arctic-colored biped on the floor. Elias released an audible gasp, and raced to the Nevok’s side. His slender fingers crept to the pulse point above Tossa’s hoof. His binocular eyes closed, and he shook his head with a defeated expression.

There was nothing but gore among the human spectators, with many primates dead or dying. First responders were nowhere to be seen; we were alone in this mess. The Mazic president took a final look at the decimated auditorium, before trundling over to the nearest exit. I imagined he would blame Meier for this catastrophe for a long time.

I limped over to the backroom where Axsely was, ignoring Noah beckoning me to the exit. Ironically, the Sivkit’s cowardice in the trashcan left her more sheltered from the blast than anyone. Her fluffy white form was huddling in the receptacle, unconscious. The rise and fall of her chest was visible, so I assumed she passed out from terror.

Meier was right behind me, and picked the Sivkit diplomat up with haste. That was not going to end well, if she woke up carried by a predator. Noah pointed us toward the side exit with a scowl on his face. Fighting off dizziness, I sandwiched myself between the two humans. All strength dissipated, as the duo ushered me through an exterior door. The shivering was unbearable, and my paws were becoming heavy as concrete.

“I want…I’m ready to sleep. So c-cold,” I gasped at Noah. “Please, don’t scare me again.”

The human grimaced. “We’re almost there. Just stay awake a little longer, okay?”

A shaken UN bodyguard brought a bright-red kit over to Elias, who deferred it to Noah. The Secretary-General couldn’t administer first aid while his hands were full with the Sivkit. The astronaut popped open the lid, and pried out the fattest syringe I’d ever seen. Before I could wince at the size of the needle, he jabbed it against my neck. An adrenaline surge caused my limbs to convulse, and I fell over, gasping.

My heart feels like someone is squeezing it inside my ribcage. Sure hope my atrium doesn’t burst…

The hormones did the trick to stabilize my blood pressure, and I tried to get a grip on my surroundings. Rough shouts stemmed from a throng of humans by the main entrance, who were barely kept at bay by armored UN personnel. Those soldiers seemed to have been shipped by the truckload, in a hurry. Judging by the signs and vulgar language, the gathered refugees were protesting Elias Meier’s arrival.

I heard about this gathering, since its organizers did apply for and receive a legal permit. However, the Terran demonstrators had moved away from the designated area in the wake of the attack. Some were pushing toward the scene of the blast, though I had no idea whether it was to help or to finish off the survivors. Others were escalating to violence, charging at the UN officers and throwing objects. What chance would Venlil police have of containing these animals?

A few predators were setting fire to glass bottles, then hurling them at their surroundings. Historic rowhouses lit up like kindling, once the picturesque shutters were swallowed by flames. Before my eyes, the Terrans climbed up the hood of a UN vehicle, and began swinging a bat at the windshield. Surely these humans realized that didn’t accomplish anything? It was terrifying to see their destruction spiraling out of control; this violence must not be as isolated of an incident as I hoped.

“I thought you were an intelligent species. What is this?!” I cried.

My shriek drew the attention of the mob, who began jeering at Meier in particular. Several lobbed accusations about Earth, and they overran the UN crowd control with renewed focus. Rocks, bricks, and other blunt objects were thrown with intent to injure; Noah herded me off with a rough grip. I hadn’t felt this terrified of humans since first contact. I had no idea what motivated these creatures, or if they could even be reasoned with at all.

As much as I loved the first contact team, allowing Terran refugees onto Venlil Prime was a mistake. We were going to have to get the current populace off-world, if they would still heed our commands at all. I would warn my advisors to implement stringent psych evaluations for any arriving humans. This was wholly unacceptable. These predators here had no care for who they might hurt, and today’s death toll had to be in the dozens.

I didn’t want to judge humanity by their worst individuals. People like Meier and Noah did not deserve to die for their deranged cohorts; blanket condemnation was not the answer. But the Venlil Republic just learned the hard way that we needed to be more selective in which predators we dealt with.

Meier’s eyes darted around. “We’re going to restore order and fix this, Tarva. I’m so sorry.”

“Bad things happen when a lot of angry humans get together. This will pass,” Noah said.

Glass shattered inches from my heels, and my flight instincts bubbled back to the forefront. Coupled with the given adrenaline, I found myself running at full speed. The screeching sound of tires on asphalt met my ears. A black sedan careened down the narrow streets, with no regard for any protestors in the path. The crowd parted at the last minute, raving and discombobulated.

The Secretary-General pointed toward the car. “Run, get in!”

This vehicle had an actual driver, who seemed to be switching between autopilot and manual steering. They popped open the side door, leaving our posse to clear the final few feet. I prayed that we would be able to escape from these beasts. This was what it felt like to be hunted by pack predators, and there was no hope of humans tiring from the chase.

Noah positioned his body behind me, and shielded me from the projectiles sailing at us. A broken bottle nailed Meier in the back of the head, which earned cheers from the crowd. Another human protestor wrested a gun away from a UN peacekeeper; they began firing at the figurehead's center of mass, without hesitation.

The UN leader clutched at his abdomen, and staggered toward the car. He dumped the Sivkit over the threshold, somehow maintaining his grip. The elder human collapsed in a splayed position, which suggested the concerning severity of his injuries. I prayed to any deity listening that nothing had connected with my astronaut.

Noah gave me a forceful push to the shoulders, sending me tumbling into the backseat. He dove in on top of me, and tugged the door shut. The driver floored it away from the mob at max velocity. The Terran ambassador sighed in relief, before he turned his eyes to the Secretary-General. Multiple bullets had pierced through his stomach, and the leader was gasping like a fish out of water.

Blood was oozing onto the floorboards, draining away with a steady flow. I realized with dismay that Meier might need hospital care more urgently than me. It took a second to roll him over, so that I could stare into his dazed eyes. The human tried to sit up, but fell back with a weak groan. My paw raced beneath his neck, and propped up his skull.

Elias’ eyelids fluttered. “Tarva…Chief Hunter Isif wants to help us.”

“Stop talking. That’s not important right now,” I said.

“It is. I want you to make peace with the Arxur. Please, let…that be my legacy.”

The primate drew a shaky breath, and cued in on the hesitancy in my eyes. I didn’t want to argue with a man who was fading in my arms; it was obvious he wanted those negotiations to work, at any cost. Perhaps it was true that Isif aimed to help humanity, the only other predators in the galaxy. But that gray had outright stated that Venlil were lesser animals, a “delicacy” that he felt entitled to. That wasn’t an open invitation to civil relations.

“What Isif said to you was theatrics. So he wouldn’t be executed,” Meier coughed. “He wants…to end sapient farming and the war. Need…better future. Likes your spirit. Told me so.”

I blinked several times. “And you trust i—er, him?”

“Why…would…lie? At his mercy.”

Meier’s eyelids sealed shut, as his irises rolled back in his head. Noah pried a packet of human blood from the glovebox, and began feeding it into the Secretary-General’s veins. The vehicle was less than a minute from the hospital, but every millisecond seemed like an eternity. My own weakness was creeping back in, while the UN leader’s breathing grew more faint.

I didn’t know if I could honor that request, despite Elias framing it as a last wish. As much as I respected his discernment, the likeliest answer was that the Arxur hunter was manipulating human empathy. Isif knew the Venlil Republic wanted nothing to do with him; his species had enjoyed every second of the war. Even if the Federation had starved the grays, they used that as a free pass to slaughter everyone without exception.

The tires squealed, and we veered over to the hospital’s entrance. Squeaky voices alerted the other staff that an injured predator was on-site, followed by recognition of this particular human. My mind was far away, when Noah placed me onto a stretcher. Unconsciousness took hold, as Venlil paramedics rushed two planetary leaders to critical care.