The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps

Date [standardized human time]: December 3, 2136

The bombs began falling within minutes. From our vantage point, the explosions were mere smoky blips on the horizon. Orange pops illuminated the night like wildfire, but I knew they were destructive strikes against Sillis’ supercontinent. How had the Arxur gotten within orbital range so quickly? Why had the human defenders been unable to slow them down at all?

Terror chilled my fur, as I guessed the UN was no longer challenging the front flank at all. The streaks in the sky were further out now, judging by their diminished luminance. There was no indication on our radio chatter that we’d sustained catastrophic losses; I believed in my predators too strongly to accept that the defensive line was wiped out upon arrival. That left me to believe…the Terrans chose a strategic retreat.

“I think the blue helmets above abandoned us.” Marcel’s hazel eyes were bulging, as he held Virnt against his chest. “Birla, do you know the quickest way to the spaceport?”

The Tilfish general scuttled forward anxiously. “W-what? You’re not d-defending the planet at all?! So you are just leaving us to d-die…”

“General, honestly, I don’t think Sillis is our concern. The UN wants the best fighting chances. It seems they’re taking up a position elsewhere.”

“T-there’s billions of civilians. K-kids…”

“There were kids on Earth too!” Marcel snapped, before drawing a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. I know the Tilfish populace had nothing to do with it, but I get us not wanting to lose more human lives.”

Honestly, my friend’s anger made perfect sense; the emotional distress was visible in his eyes. It was unreasonable to expect the humans to fight tooth-and-nail for an enemy, even if they’d done so on the cradle. The difference was that the Gojidi Union was stopped, before they could deal any damage to Earth. Even I harbored a grudge against the Tilfish, for the heartache the raid caused.

General Birla hadn’t seen human cities buried in rubble, and predators burned half-alive. She hadn’t watched massive soldiers drop to their knees, sobbing brokenly. After the vengefulness that surfaced in the following week, I would’ve pegged the Terrans to glass this planet themselves. It was merciful that cooler heads found reasons to accept a surrender at all.

“P-please, Marcel. I know you, and all of humanity, have suffered. But how can you let children die?” Birla pleaded.

The human covered Virnt’s antennae carefully. “Funny. I remember wondering aloud how the Federation could slaughter us…saying those exact words to Slanek. Just like you are implying about us. If it was my call, Birla, I would save as many lives as I could.”

“Then save some of us. However many you can!”

“I am. I’m saving you and Virnt!”

Marcel placed the Tilfish child atop his helmet, adding another adornment to his cranium. Virnt had been quiet, ever since the bombs started falling. I doubted he understood the gravity of the situation, but at the least, the kid recognized our demeanor shifts. The young insectoid’s eyes lit up briefly from his new perch.

“So high! Humma is tall as a mountain,” Virnt giggled.

My best friend quickened his steps. “We’re about to be much higher. Because Birla is taking us to the spaceport, right? And we’re gonna evacuate?”

The Tilfish general cleared her throat. “Yes. Follow me.”

Birla scuttled through a nearby alley, and my human followed. I hustled after them, though my legs weren’t as durable as theirs. Marcel glanced back at me briefly, and I gave him the most “adorable” head-tilt I could muster. His response was an exasperated sigh, before barking to pick up the pace. If my groveling couldn’t melt his frigid act, our relationship was in dire straits.

The human had never shut me out, since the beginning of the exchange program. Now, out of the blue, we weren’t on speaking terms? It was unfair to push me away, especially when our lives were in imminent peril. Hell, it was almost manipulative. All I did was advise Birla to take Virnt to a medical professional, like any reasonable person.

To make a hopeless situation worse, a bone-chilling bark reverberated behind me. I knew without looking that the guttural cry belonged to Dino. The slobbery dog had a habit of waiting outside my tent, and seeking me out during its downtime. The humans allowed it to roam the base wherever it pleased, without a care for who it bothered.

Of course, its handler couldn’t have collected it for the evacuation. It had to be breathing down my haunches during a raid.

Birla screamed. “P-predator! R-run!”

“No, it’s okay! Dino, SIT!” Marcel bellowed.

The filthy mutt whined, and lowered its rump to the ground. Its sable tail thrashed the pavement, while its brown eyes studied me. The pink tongue lolling out of its mouth was covered in saliva flecks. It was a relief the dog obeyed, with how it had been barreling down on our position. The demon could sprint faster than a human, while sharing their tirelessness.

Dogs are persistence predators too, aren’t they? I realized. That’s why the humans favor them…and once used them for hunting.

“Slanek, the dog’s with you.” The human’s low voice made it clear there was no room for argument. “Unless you want to be difficult?”

I drew a shuddering breath. “I’m n-not the one being difficult. Dino seems nicer than you right now.”

That last statement wasn’t quite heartfelt, but I wouldn’t give Marcel the satisfaction of seeing my discomfort. The dog bounded along at my side, and I tried not to focus on its monstrous presence. Birla seemed wary of the beast, though Virnt was testing out the word ‘dog’ with giddiness. The longer I observed the Tilfish child, the more I thought something wasn’t right with his wiring.

Marcel had his service weapon drawn, and eyed Tilfish civilians we passed warily. The human was aware of our present vulnerability to a rebel attack. This city’s populace resented us more, after we gassed and deafened them at their initial protest. My friend was the one who ordered the curfew, so they might have particular disdain for him.

Birla steered us past factories and storage units, keeping her own eyes peeled. The Tilfish general was avoiding crowded areas where possible; I hoped that wasn’t at the expense of time. Arxur landing parties crested above us, and skirted the occasional anti-air fire. Humans weren’t putting much pressure on them, with their focus on evacuation.

“Arxur units are arriving in most major cities. If your location hasn’t been bombed yet, that means hostiles inbound,” a gravelly voice said over the radio. “All evacuation shuttles need to be off the ground in ten minutes.”

Marcel’s eyes darted around. “Shit! Are we going to make it?”

“With time to spare,” Birla answered. “Cut through the incubator facility here, and it’ll just take a few minutes. Saves a lot of time not to go around.”

“Good. I’m sure glad you’re here.”

The Tilfish general didn’t return the compliment. She ducked into a circular building, which took up an entire block with its daunting size. Virnt leaned over Marcel’s forehead and started playing with his helmet straps. The Terran scolded his passenger, ordering the little one to remain still. The kid fell limp with a sad look.

Tilfish geneticists protested the intrusion, though they quickly retreated when Marcel’s gun pivoted. I knew this place was sacred to an egg-laying species; it was where they raised their offspring to hatching day. Teams of medical professionals were dedicated to maintaining the ideal conditions, and saving any younglings that hatched early.

The Harchen and the Krakotl were protective of such institutions too. It was rare any egg-laying race trusted a mammalian species to wander their fragile safehouses. All it took was one clueless sapient messing with an egg to burst its bubble.

I can only imagine how these Tilfish feel about a predator soldier, taking a shortcut through here. Not to mention Dino mucking up the place!

We strode past an observation room, partitioned off down the hallway. Marcel studied the x-rays monitoring each egg’s health, and his facial features softened. He took a second to peer at the orange pods through the incubator glass. Labels were affixed to every specimen, identifying the parents. The human slowly digested that those globs were someone’s kid.

Birla cleared her throat. “T-there’s…no time to s-snack. Let’s go?”

“You think I wanted to eat them?!” Marcel hissed. “I was just curious. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Sorry. Your expression turned very weird.”

“I was imagining Virnt as an egg, and…wondering how many you, um, lay at once.”

“Twenty or thirty. Y-your eyes went very wide. Is that, er, normal?”

“I’m just surprised. That is a lot. Where are Virnt’s siblings?”

“Thrown away!” the child cheered. “I’m the chosen one.”

Disbelief flashed in Marcel’s hazel eyes, after absorbing Virnt’s decree. The Tilfish general flicked her antennae, and the human took the hint to move along. We turned into a lengthy walkway, chasing off more staffers. My lungs ached from keeping up with the Terran; Dino’s nightmarish presence wasn’t helping me breathe either.

Birla sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told Virnt the honest answer.”

“You…throw your eggs away?” Marcel asked, in a voice that crept an octave higher. “I don’t know how to respond to that.”

“It’s not like that; please, let me explain. These days, most Tilfish decide how many children they want to have. 20 is a lot, like you said, and all at once…it’s a tall order.”

“Yeah, I see why parents wouldn’t sign up for that. So you decided you wanted one kid, Birla?”

“Virnt is the lucky one, like he said! You see, we used to hold an average of about five eggs kept. Ever since first contact, more people wanted 1 or 2…like the other races.”

“Ha. It must’ve looked like other species had it easy, compared to you.”

“Indeed. With technology nowadays, we can pick which eggs are most viable early on. Doctors run tests to avoid defects, and they can find positive traits too. Virnt was predisposed to intelligence, so I chose him.”

Birla led us past a spacious laboratory, and explained its features quickly. Microscopes and testing machines lined the room, along with bins of Tilfish eggs. This gave Marcel a visual of how large a litter was; honestly, each jar looked like one of those gumball machines on Earth. I doubted humans could handle that many offspring.

I couldn’t imagine juggling twenty newborns at once; the Venlil devoted ample time rearing a single child. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Tilfish had to abandon their weakest young in the past. How else would the herd survive, without sacrifices? That was a lot of mouths to feed, prior to the post-scarcity era. It made it somewhat understandable why they became omnivores.

“Exit out the rear door up ahead, and cross the street. We almost made it to the spaceport,” Birla clicked.

Virnt bounced on the Terran’s helmet. “Awesome! To space with humma!”

The tour had been a welcome distraction from the Arxur raid transpiring outdoors. Inside this stone building, I couldn’t see the explosions peppering the skyline. But it was time to endure the final chaos, and face our grisly reality once more. Marcel slunk forward with caution, leading the way to the exit. The paranoid predator still hadn’t lowered his gun.

Dino’s ears perked up, and the beast projected a fearsome bark. The sudden noise, thunderous and throaty, nearly made me tip over from fright. The dog’s hackle fur rose, and it began outright growling. I knew it all along; the vile predator was going to attack at random! I could feel my insides twisting, and my legs turning into paste.

“What is it, boy?” Marcel paused at the door, and turned his head toward the canine. “You hear something?”

“It’s…r-ravenous. It’s gone feral!” I screamed.

My best friend bit his lip with displeasure, holding back some snide remark. Dino cemented its insanity further, belting out a series of harsh barks. Marcel inched several steps back, and held up a hand for us to wait. Because of a dog’s hunger fit, my human was wasting precious time!

I’m so sick of this non-sapient thing. It’s dangerous, and I’m tired of the Terrans treating it like a pack member.

A dangerous thought crept into my mind, and I unclipped my sidearm. This was the perfect chance to put Dino down. It wouldn’t win me any favor with Marcel, but I was already out of his good graces. I coaxed my weapon up, and lined the sights on the animal. Its outburst gave me a suitable reason to be rid of it, at last.

Marcel was oblivious to my extermination plot; his gaze was following Dino’s stare. Shadowy shapes moved up to the door, and I jerked my gun away from the dog. Its growling was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass. Gunfire tore through the door’s opaque frame, and lanced into the room. The human sprinted back toward our position, holding onto Virnt.

“Arxur hostiles!” Marcel roared, terrifying Birla with his pitch. “Is there another exit?”

The grays shouldered through the broken frame, and took aim at anything that moved. This was a logical first stop on the raid, with an easy stash of eggs here; thousands of them. Unlike the ones helping in New York, these demons were here to wreak havoc. The fact that Marcel felt the need to tack ‘hostiles’ after Arxur…it was an insult to the Venlil’s suffering.

I forced my claw onto the trigger. My bullet sailed in the direction of the grays, but it didn’t connect with the monsters. Marcel’s hand was on my shoulder in an instant. The human pushed me to the ground, and slid behind a chair. It warmed my petrified heart, to know that he’d still protect me in a battle.

Dino charged at the monstrosities, and sank its fangs into an Arxur thigh. The dog brought down the gray with ease, like it was wrangling a prey creature. One Dominion soldier attempted to rescue its colleague. However, the hasty shot missed the dog, and went through the downed Arxur’s stomach instead.

The ugly mutt’s charge had bought us time to regroup. If it hadn’t detected the Arxur raiders, we would’ve been gunned down the second we stepped outside. Those vicious growls might’ve been a warning for us, just like Marcel assumed. I felt a tinge of regret for almost shooting it, though I shoved that emotion down.

“BIRLA!” Marcel waved a hand in front of the general’s face. “Is there another exit?!”

The female Tilfish swallowed. “T-there’s an emergency exit, t-to our left.”

“Good. We move on three.”

The human whistled to the dog, before popping shots off at the Arxur to cover its retreat. The animal came running at Marcel’s summons, and returned itself to my side. Dino was fresh out of close combat, sniffing my paw a bit too eagerly with its predatory snout. I ignored the beast, but I tried to suppress my innate resentment.

The grays dusted themselves off from the dog attack, and peppered our cover with bullets. The foam upholstery wasn’t built to survive an assault; it was riddled with holes in seconds. This wasn’t an actual shelter that could ward off the Arxur savages. Marcel gave the signal to move, and I indulged my instinct to run with gratitude.

The human dispensed a few hasty shots, giving us time to move. He lingered behind, all the while drawing the Arxur’s attention. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw one monster buckle to the floor. My legs bolted for a side corridor, while my tail found itself drooping again.

Birla and I pressed up against the wall, with Dino skipping at our heels. It brought immeasurable relief to be huddled at a more secure location. However, that sensation was fleeting when I remembered the human. My eyes searched for him, and found his lanky form still crouched behind the chair.

Marcel had taken out another gray, but their raiding party could afford a few losses. The human was surrounded, and would be mowed down the instant he stood up. His hands cupped Virnt against his chest, gentle affection in his gaze. An unimaginable sense of loss gripped my heart, when I realized the primate was pinned down.

The thought of anything hurting Marc makes me weak at the knees. He’s someone I love being around, and who I trust above all others.

“My human deserves to make it out of here,” I muttered to myself.

My shaking paws became still, as that motivation spurred a return to my training. I poked my head out from behind the wall, and shouted for the Arxur’s attention. Marcel widened his eyes, gesturing at his throat. There was no chance I’d let such a wonderful soul sacrifice himself for my sake! I did my best imitation of an injured squeal, fully earning the grays’ attention.

The human stuffed Virnt in his helmet, and bolted toward my position. Barely aiming, I lobbed several shots at the Arxur. My newfound bravery fizzled out, as dozens of gluttonous pupils trained on me. The enemy guns swiveled away from their fellow predator, and landed on the weak Venlil.

Pain lanced through my shoulder, like the muscles were torn from my arm. I fell backward as white-hot agony overwhelmed my senses. The Arxur nailed me with a bullet; did that mean I was dying? My panic intensified when sharp teeth pressed against my scruff. Dino dragged me behind the wall, and planted a slobbery lick on my mouth.

I screeched in disgust. “AWAY! G-gross.”

Marcel slid across the floor. “Slanek? No, no…are you okay? Answer me!”

“Leave. Please, just go. You have to get to your shuttle.”

The vegetarian tapped a wristband, which offered a readout of Terran numbers. It was illegible to my eyes, but I sensed that the information wasn’t a positive sight. A sad smile crossed his scarred face, and he breathed a half-hearted sigh. He deferred my firearm to Birla, before kneeling beside me.

“The countdown is at zero. Our evacuation ships already left.” Marcel hoisted me to my feet, and draped my good arm around his neck. “We’re stuck here.”

Utter defeat crushed my spirit, realizing we were stranded on a forsaken world. So this was how the unlucky soldiers felt on the cradle, fighting a hopeless fight. There was no escape from Sillis, and no humans coming back for us. With the Arxur swarming every settlement, our deaths were all but a guarantee.