The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: December 5, 2136

Sitting behind the helm of a ship felt cathartic, after my long absence from the captain’s chair. Tyler volunteered as my copilot, while Onso lounged in the backseat. The Yotul seemed too casual for our current suicide mission. Even with the UN’s distraction, there was a chance the Arxur would come after us on our descent.

Dominion forces were concentrated around Sillis’ supercontinent, since circumplanetary targeting was not an option. While the unique geography narrowed the staging points available, it also condensed settlements into a single region. That meant less bombs were needed to cover the planet. Our plan was to slip the shuttle in on the ocean side, as the Terrans hounded the grays head-on. I wondered how our original defensive line, which had vanished into the atmosphere, would factor in.

Perhaps they can cover our ass during atmospheric re-entry. That’s if they’re not involved with the rescues themselves.

Those vessels would be the easiest ones to sneak down to the surface, given that they didn’t have an Arxur buffer in the way. Getting back up to orbit would be a challenge though, and the grays watched for evacuation ships. Small patrollers weren’t built to tote more than a handful of passengers regardless. Outside help was required to rescue entire platoons.

Tyler blinked his icy eyes. “Take us in, Sovlin. Godspeed.”

“You think predators would build guns into evacuation shuttles,” I grumbled. “Might be helpful for your trigger-happy pal to shoot anything that moves.”

“In most events that we’re using these, it’s a dire emergency and we’re abandoning ship. These aren’t average transports.”

Onso narrowed his eyes. “But why can’t we abandon ship with guns?”

“I don’t build these things! Are we going to sit here and argue about this all day?”

This was no time for playful banter; action was picking up on the viewport. The Terran fleet moseyed in with purposeful movements, and ensured that the Arxur spotted their advance. Dominion vessels rushed out to meet the numerically inferior armada, leaving the ocean side open. I increased our acceleration, and broke out of our low-emissions glide. Until now, our shuttle had been taking a quiet course to flank the enemy.

It was impossible to tell which ship was commandeered by Captain Monahan. Carlos and Samantha were in over their heads alone on sensors, but I trusted our replacements to pick up the slack. The worst Terran crew member was probably more fit for service than the average herbivore. Humans were nothing if not competent in combat. We just needed this distraction to work as planned, to reaffirm that very idea to the grays.

The Terran armada dispensed a few explosives to attract attention. The grays took the bait, once their unsophisticated brains zeroed in on the UN’s aggression. Backing down from a duel signaled weakness; the humans and the Arxur were both obsessed with not appearing infirm. Pride was a shared trait between the two predator species, and seemingly, our primitive Yotul. I was unconvinced Onso wouldn’t run off and get us killed the second we landed.

My eyes darted to our data feed. “It seems our side is getting their snouts bashed in. I hope this is worth it.”

In close-range combat, the UN was unequipped for a confrontation without resorting to tricks. The humans’ front line was getting picked off several at a time, evidenced by the explosions in the viewport. I wasn’t sure how much time they could buy us, so I kicked our speed up another notch. No Arxur had come to intercept our shuttle, and we had breached Sillis’ high orbit already. My heart was hammering in my throat all the same.

Perhaps my fear was for the crew we’d abandoned. Our minimal numbers couldn’t resist an Arxur charge; there were less than a thousand vessels in the shadow fleet. The Dominion had six times that ship count at hand, and were using most assets at their disposal. Following their humiliation across the sector, this was personal. Rare instances of teamwork sprouted, with the grays ganging up on wounded Terran craft.

We need more numbers. Surely the UN defensive line is coming any second, right?

Blips blinked onto my radar, as friendly contacts emerged from Sillis’ orb on cue. The Arxur had learned that humans practiced ambush tactics, and their rear flank was ready for the sneak attack. The enemy vessels swiveled around on a dime, unleashing munitions with prejudice. The resurfacing Terrans lobbed explosives back, desperate to stem the tide. The grays’ onslaught was unrelenting, with minimal attention given to any inbound missiles.

“Pick up the pace!” Tyler barked. “I imagine we’re pulling all ships back at any moment.”

I sighed in exasperation. “I’m going as fast as I can. Do you want the ship to break apart on descent?”

Onso bared his teeth. “Is it better to get gunned down up here? As the humans say, no guts, no glory!”

“There is no glory in being scattered across Sillis’ orbit! What is wrong with you?”

“Yeah, I think we need to wean you off Earth sayings, buddy. You interpret them all with the utmost aggression,” the blond predator muttered.

“I’ll try again. Ahh, a predator! Its eyes are forward facing…and it f-flashed its teeth!” The Yotul utilized a high-pitched voice, and faked an occasional stutter. “It’s an evil abomination and needs to d-die! That better, Tyler?”

“You’re too much.”

The primitive was distracting me from my approach, so I shut his antics out from my mind. The shuttle obeyed my commands, its slender frame humming softly. I offered a final bit of juice to the engines, and they answered with a hearty push. This would be a tricky entry, but there was no option to follow safety guidelines. If the Arxur circled over to us, we would be easy pickings.

Marcel and Slanek’s survival relied on us getting through to the planet. I’d rather take a riskier path, and know I’d done everything in my power to save them. Everyone onboard this shuttle was willing to gamble with our fates, for our comrades’ good. The thought of the duo in an Arxur farm made my blood simmer; it was an unacceptable outcome. Both of them had suffered enough at my paws.

The shuttle blazed toward Sillis’ azure surface, and I leaned forward with concentration. The shadow fleet was pulling back, while the UN defensive outfit covered for them behind enemy lines. Those re-emerged friendlies followed suit shortly after, dipping back into the Tilfish world’s atmosphere. A few grays gave chase, not wanting to let the Terrans slip under the radar again.

“Two Arxur cruisers changing course, and targeting us for interception,” Tyler growled.

I gritted my teeth. “They won’t catch us. They won’t try to follow this descent.”

My claws smacked the throttle lever, and pushed us well past recommended output. We hurtled toward Sillis at a breakneck pace, while the Arxur clocked in at sensible speeds. Their vector lessened the distance between us, but it wasn’t closing the gap fast enough. The planet ahead was enlarging much quicker, and our trajectory scraped the edge of the atmosphere.

Humans built for durability, so I had to trust that emergency shuttles could take a beating. Actively accelerating into a descent was madness, and even Tyler looked nauseous. The shuttle frame quivered from the stress, sending jolts through my body. Controls offered erratic responses, and I warred with the steering column. Alarms blared from the main systems, warning us of excessive heat.

The temperature climbed on the interior accordingly, as hull shielding failed to contain the environmental effects. Incineration was an agonizing way to die; an undercurrent of fear ebbed through my veins. I cobbled myself together enough to check our sensors. The Arxur contacts were pulling back, and our track on them was spotty. That meant they were losing us as well.

I hurled all power into reverse thrusters, and corrected our descent angle. The harness dug into my shoulders, as it restrained me during the sudden shift. Tyler’s face had gone ashen, and he squeezed his eyes shut. The massive predator was not enjoying the turbulent ride. The shuttle’s velocity slowed, though not before our hull had taken a beating.

“I’ve got it under control,” I gasped out. “Going to bring us in low and fly to the stated coordinates.”

Tyler groaned. “You unstable, neurotic Gojid! You were about two seconds from getting us cooked.”

“No guts, no glory. Sovlin’s an honorary Yotul after that stunt!” Onso yipped.

Don’t insult me like that, I thought to myself. I grew up with electricity.

I leveled out the shuttle’s flight course, once we neared the choppy water. The waves were a blur at our speed, zooming by as I gunned it toward our location. It was dizzying to look at our surroundings, but the human was gawking all the same. It was rare to fly with such quickness in-atmosphere, due to civilian traffic and hazards.

“You don’t realize how fast supersonic flight is in space.” Tyler pressed his hand to his chin, and turned his eyes toward me. “Here, you can tell what our velocity is. You see the world zooming by.”

I drummed my claws on the console. “There’s no time to waste. I’m just keeping enough altitude to clear any buildings. Marcel’s coordinates are inland a bit.”

“You did great, Sovlin. But hey…I’m still not sure it’s a good idea for you to make an appearance.”

“Marcel visited me in jail. I hope my presence will not be an undue burden on him. I will comply with whatever his wishes are.”

Our shuttle cleared wide patches of ocean, and another yawn crossed Tyler’s face. The sensors officer hadn’t slept since the battle commenced; I suspected the big predator craved a distraction. He could chat anyone’s ear off, if he got started on a topic he liked. Perhaps he’d be interested in jawing about his family? The shoreline would be visible within a minute, so he just needed to stay awake a little longer.

I cleared my throat. “What’s something you did as a child that you cherish, Tyler?”

“Right on. Me and my pops used to go out to the lake, rent a boat,” the human reminisced. “We’d sit out there for hours and shoot the wind. You know, enjoy nature. Our relationship’s become…estranged, but I miss fishing with him. We caught some real beauts.”

“Your FAVORITE childhood pastime is water hunting?! Your father took his kid to do this?”

“Hey, chill out! It’s not like we ate any. We just caught ‘em on a hook, took a picture, and threw ‘em back.”

“That…then what was the point of catching them?! Just when I stop thinking of you as predators, you say shit like that! You torment fish for father-son bonding time.”

Onso suppressed a growl. “I rarely cry ‘predator’, but that is twisted and unnatural. It would be fine if you were seeking food, but you are just doing it for kicks.”

“It’s just a way to relax, man. And maybe some humans do like hunting; so what? It’s not like we’re killing them.”

Disgust swelled in my chest, hearing the predator discuss hunting as “relaxing” entertainment. I could picture the blond beast on a boat, giggling as he toyed with a suffocating fish. To think that a father passed those behaviors to his son! How could an empathetic species consider that a socially acceptable pastime? How did Tyler not see how fucked up that hobby was?

I brooded for the rest of the journey, scowling out the windshield. Buildings blurred beneath us, alongside charred ruins and mushroom clouds. There was no telling if Marcel’s corner of Sillis was intact. That human, who I knew was vegetarian, would surely recognize the ethical flaws in his packmate’s sadism. I hadn’t thought Officer Cardona was a vicious animal before now.

Tyler tapped my shoulder as we landed. “Shit, I’m sorry. I know that’s a sensitive subject for you guys. I was just thinking about the one time my dad was proud of me, and it was that.”

“W-well, that’s fucked. Your father instilled heinousness in you. P-parents have a responsibility to teach their kids good values,” I managed.

“Right. We cool?”

“Yeah. Let’s go kill some Arxur.”

I couldn’t look at the primate the same, thinking of him learning predation. Humans claimed that they didn’t hunt in the modern day; Noah said their meat was grown in labs. Clearly, that wasn’t the whole truth, if Tyler had no qualms about his family outings. How could any feeling person go along with that?

Tyler admits Terrans are violent and bloodthirsty. Sometimes, those base instincts must be given higher consideration than their empathy.

Humans policed themselves with moral laws; progress was still needed on the specifics. When hunting was ingrained in their ancestry, it made sense that remnants persisted into the civilized era. The predators just needed an introduction to proper values. I was certain well-meaning brutes like Tyler could learn that animals weren’t playthings.

I parked the shuttle on a sidewalk, in close proximity to Marcel’s coordinates. With the Arxur traipsing about, this was no time to relapse into human phobia. Onso snapped his gun up and clambered out into the open. I checked my surroundings, before raising my own weapon. There was nothing around us besides the faint glow of dawn’s sunlight.

“Marcel, do you read me?” Tyler croaked into his radio. “It’s me, Tyler. Your better half. We’ve landed, but I don’t have a visual on you.”

The pavement was rough beneath my hindlegs, and the air felt acrid in my throat. I steered a wide path around Tilfish bodies in the street, as did the human. Terrans were averse to death on the Gojid cattle ship, but this was a different response. Tyler had a case of the shakes, rather than wanting to puke. His binocular eyes twitched in an odd way; I wondered darkly when his last meal occurred.

Muzzle flashes appeared in our periphery, and I dropped to the ground on instinct. The human herded Onso into a storefront; I scurried over to them on shaking legs. Bullets peppered our refuge, as Arxur enemies rallied to our location. The raiders had established a heavy presence in the city. What if they were looking for Terrans to round up?

The blond human tossed an explosive into the street, and high-pitched growls echoed through the air. Peeking through the broken glass, I saw mutilated grays soaked in blood. Whatever Tyler deployed sent shrapnel in a wide radius, and caught the aggressive beasts off-guard. The surviving enemies circled back to regroup, giving us a breather.

“Marcel, tell us you’re still alive, bro. We’re right on top of you, and there’s no signs of friendly activity. Have you relocated?” Tyler panted.

The Yotul blinked his dilated eyes. “Let’s get back to the ship. I think they’re…”

“Shit Tyler, it’s good to hear your voice.” Gunfire sounded in the background, and audible scratches surfaced from Marcel fumbling his radio. “We’re in the sewers. Need backup ASAP!”

That information gave me the adrenaline boost I needed. I unloaded a magazine at the approaching Arxur posse, in the hopes of pushing them back. Marcel’s packmate jerked his pupils downward, and rushed over to a manhole cover. The predator searched for a lever, finding one with his hands. Tyler tugged at the mechanism, and robotic systems popped the hatch.

Onso growled, as he took down a gray with a well-placed shot. The Yotul protested when Tyler pulled at his shoulders; the primitive was the first to descend into the manhole. The human insisted on being the last one to enter, and hurried me to the ladder next. I hopped down the rungs, jumping into the mucky tunnel.

Tyler dropped onto the ground, landing awkwardly on his ankle. He’d sealed the cover behind him, and I hoped that would delay our attackers. Thankfully, our shuttle could be locked to human biometrics; that should prevent the Arxur from running off with our ride. We didn’t need the same problem I had on the Harchen’s Blissful Modernity.

“My leg is fucked. Double-time it, people,” the tall Terran barked. “Onso, if you ever wanted to charge in…now’s a good time.”

Now that we were in the tunnels, I could detect the same gunfire I’d heard on the radio. My ears assured me the fight was still ongoing, but Slanek had already been wounded before this clash. With Marcel stuck guarding his Venlil buddy, there was no telling if he could best the Arxur. His band was lucky to survive on Sillis this long.

I channeled my inner Onso, dashing off like a madman. This was my opportunity to save the human I’d brutalized, and give some meaning to his decision to spare my life.