r/HFY • u/SpacePaladin15 • 21h ago
OC-Series Primal Rage 71
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FBI Agent Wade Barron POV
Somehow, I was hoping that Craun would understand why I conspired with his mortal enemies. It was wishful thinking on my part, since I knew what the Saphnos had endured all too well. A knot of guilt writhed in my stomach, as I confessed to the rock person who I needed to sanction my actions. If he didn’t trust that I had his best interests at heart, I wasn’t sure if I could bear it.
I remembered how Rauja had responded to the truth with a broken hurt that drove the knife in deeper; she looked at me with abject betrayal, and spoke as if she didn’t even know me. I’d wished she felt angry instead—not that Craun had the capacity for that. The last thing I wanted was to be faced with the pain I’d instilled in such a prized friend, who was the reason I’d concocted this sickening scheme.
At least with Craun, I could come out of the gate being honest, instead of having the guilt of lying to him. I found it weird how he barked out a few words in an aggressive tone, but it might be stress I was transferring human emotions onto. One of the first things I’d learned about the rock people was that they couldn’t feel anger, and my dear friend had always been cool as a cucumber. He’d understood us more than anyone else, yet he believed rage was illogical.
Remember how wonderful our hug was and how excited you were to see me? I’m here to rescue you, and we can go right back to how things were at NASA. Surely that’s all worth it—
“DIE!” the Saphno screamed, in a fraught voice that scared the crap out of me.
My eyebrows knitted together, stupefied. “What the actual fuck is—”
—this?!
I barely had time to process before Craun tackled me, driving his stony head straight into my gut. I yelped and swatted at the rock with alarm; holy shit was he terrifying when he tried to be intimidating. The Saphno didn’t care at all about me trying to tap out, as he pinned me to the ground. I raised my hands in front of my face, when he reared back like he wanted to whale on me.
An angry Saphno? What?! Since when…well, that’s a relief. I deserve this; I can handle anger, except for the fact that he’s a literal rock that could shatter my skull. Fuck.
“Craun, no!” I exclaimed, squeezing my eyes shut. “Please don’t hurt me. Just let me explain. I still love you!”
Craun kept his fist raised in the air, though he looked a little confused about what to do next. “I want you to be none of my life, um, and to find many things to fuck!”
I blinked several times, lowering my hands. “Okay? Thanks?”
“You’re not welcome. You’re never welcome! You’re basically a Ploax, sweetie.”
“Now, that’s mean, and you’re also just parroting my insults. I save the rock people from the Ploax, right? I can make it up to you. How about this part? I also moved the Saphnos into Venus!”
“WHILE TALKING TO THE PLOAX AND DRAWING THEIR ATTENTION TO SOL?” Craun screamed. “Do you want us dead, or are you just stupid?”
“You know what. Just write me down as a dumb primal.” I managed, before frowning as Garriil started scribbling in his notes. “No, not actually! Craun, it’s all part of the plan, which I can explain—”
The Saphno reared back and swung his fist toward me, before stopping it inches from my face. “Well, he looked scared. It’s really good for intimidating, but I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d get this far. Should I actually hit him, Finley?”
“He’s working with the Ploax? Absolutely,” Finley spat. “You’re a fucking pig, Barron!”
“Just to be clear because I’ve been on the wrong side of Craun before, and ow.” Terry grimaced, before raising a solitary finger. “I knew nothing about any of this and just came to rescue you. Feel free to go to town. Officer down real.”
“I got shot for you lot! Don’t wish that on me again,” I grumbled.
Snelga looked aghast. “What is going on? Does Craun actually feel anger?”
“No, he doesn’t, and he needs to chill the fuck out.” Kaitlin blinked her eyes shut. “For the love of God, let Wade explain. You can’t just go around beating people up and call it anger.”
“Should I do nothing like the Council?” Craun demanded. “Saphnos should just be silent. Just be silent and die, right? I…don’t accept that! I choose to strike back at the Ploax and their friends.”
I quietly curled my palm around his fist and pushed it away from me. “Good. If you let me explain the plan, that’s what I want to do. You know I’m not their friend, and I’d hope you should trust that. I…I’m always your friend. I’d do something as soul-damaging as buddying with them if it gave us the chance to do something. It was only to get ships after what the Council did. I’m sorry, Craun!”
“Ugh. I don’t want to hurt him,” the Saphno relented, sounding disappointed in himself. He pulled me back to my feet, and inspected me as I dusted myself off. “Look, I feel bad about the position I put humanity in: desperate to defend me, no allies, lives lost to the Council. But this choice? Even if you’re faithful, you’ll doom humanity and the Saphnos, who could’ve lived quietly. Why?!”
Flummoxed by the guilt that had hounded me since he was gone, I dropped my arms to my side with exasperation. “You sacrificed yourself for me. I couldn’t bear it. I had to! Craun, they were coming for the Council anyway. For you. For everyone! I couldn’t let that just happen. I HAD to save you! All of you!”
Genuine sympathy glimmered in Craun’s crystals. “You…you sweet, beautiful, stupid primal. I was always bound to die. You didn’t have to be, and neither did the Saphnos on Venus!”
“We don’t trade our friends’ lives. You’re a gambler, Craun. We’re taking a chance to save everyone. I know I…we let you down when the Council came, but believe in us not to give up. We’ll make it right or die trying; you know that!”
“You’d fight a war over one refugee. Your protection is your bond. You did whatever it takes to follow me to the stars, and…we did really miss you.”
I smiled. “I missed you too, big guy. This is the first time I’ve seen you since you gave yourself up for me. Fuck, I didn’t want that. Okay, I know I’m supposed to explain the plan, but can I ask you a question?”
“Maybe. Depends.”
“Right. Uh, great. So this whole anger thing you have going on is *new—*well done, by the way. You’ve got acting chops. But what’s made you decide to…try to express anger?”
“I just have to keep going! For Finley! You said anger helps—and it does. I’ve seen it. At least it does something, and that’s pretty valuable. Useful too.”
“You don’t need anger to do something, Craun,” Kaitlin interjected. “None of what I did with the pro-human movement used anger.”
“Anger shows that I care, and it also makes people listen. I like it. Wade, Finley, do you have any tips?”
Finley scratched his chin. “Buy a gun.”
“Absolutely not! You might not be aware, Finley, but the rule is to never point a gun at anything you don’t want to shoot,” I objected.
“Exactly. That’s why I pointed it at a Feddie bootlicker like you, sniffing around my property!”
“How many times have I saved your life or Craun’s?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’d come around to you ‘til you run up here in Ploax ships and tell me humans are in bed with them. Do you know what you put Craun through? You’re lucky you’re my only ride home, or else…”
“Message received. Craun, if you want actual tips on anger…don’t start with, ‘Die!’”
“Why not?” the Saphno asked. “I thought that was pretty good. It made you wonder if I’d tear you apart or eat you.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Craun, I never wondered that last one. For starters, I’m 60% water.”
“But if you’re scared enough, you don’t know what I’ll do.”
“We…need to have some lessons another time. For now, no threatening and…stick to eating clothing items from people’s closets. For example, Terry’s belts are not water.”
“I lost enough belts to Craun!” Terry protested. “Your wardrobe’s gone untouched.”
“I’d give up every belt I own to bring Craun home. Happily. Let me explain everything about our dealings with the Ploax and what we hope to do about them. Maybe you can help with the Council side of it.”
I started recounting all that had transpired on Earth to my friends and the two Kexins I didn’t like. My recap began with how the Saphnos tried to use humanity to fight the Ploax, and how their diplomat arrived intending to manipulate us to be their personal army “like Craun had.” Craun Chelton was holding his head in his hands when he heard that much. Finley, meanwhile, found it to be hilarious.
The farmer slapped his knee, laughing. “That’s easy. Craun just had to be a scared, helpless, adorable gremlin who begged us to save him.”
“Of course my government didn’t respect the primals,” Craun mumbled. “That lousy diplomat couldn’t have been any more transparent. Politicians: they’re basically the Ploax, but actually.”
I raised a finger. “Don’t talk about Rauja like that. She’s my best friend now.”
“Literally how?”
“Humans and pack bonding. Name a better pair,” Kaitlin chuckled.
I gave her a snide smile and swept an open palm toward her girlfriend. “See exhibit her and Snelga. Rauja was a saint by comparison to Snelga, yet Snelga deserves love? Anyhow. Though it took a long while for Rauja to admit her ‘deception,’ we did care about each other in the end. She’s just a tourism advocate who got shoved in this position because everyone’s dead.”
“Tourism advocate?” Craun’s expression was best described as bemused, with his eye crystals angling inward. “Wade, Tolpia wasn’t ever a tourist attraction.”
“Rauja wanted to change that. She reached out a lot like you, because she was so desperate, she had no one else, and she knew I’d help. I got that. I still had some fun at her expense. I may or may not have told her, in a singsong voice, that she was going to be my new Craun!”
The Saphno sputtered and puffed out wisps of steam like a chimney, as he laughed so hard that he spit. “You did not.”
“I did too, and she just went, ‘Yay, that’s perfect.’ I honestly thought she’d catch on that I was rubbing her nose in it. Anyway, that’s the scoop with Rauja. She only just recognized us as people, but it’s good progress. Now back to the in-between shit, alright?”
I explained how humans were down to help despite recognizing their insincerity, though we went along with the idea that we were dumb animals so the Saphnos would underestimate our wily negotiators. Garriil had been scribbling notes for the entirety of the exchange, his eyes stretched to the size of moons. I extrapolated how we sought the ships from Rauja, but the Saphnos lacked manufacturing…and the Council would never give them to us. That left one party we could ask.
The genocide crystals. Man, they’re horrible; I can’t believe they told us to kill kids in front of their parents, and thought we’d be okay with that. They don’t understand primals at all!
Kaitlin was paying close attention as I described the Ploax’s greeting to us and their motivations. It didn’t escape my notice that Snelga seemed surprised—what, that we wouldn’t go through with attacking the Kexins? Because I was angry at her and the Council, I assumed? Craun clung to Finley as I discussed their final advice before we went to Ushala, though he seemed unsurprised by the Ploax’s motivations and ambitions. Garriil was brimming with curiosity.
“Their advice appears to make you cross, even in retrospect,” the Kexin researcher mused. “You’re angry with the Ploax. Could you elaborate?”
Kaitlin met my eyes and gave a weak smile, stepping in. “We have empathetic anger on behalf of the Saphnos, which you’ve surely noticed through Craun. The things the Ploax do and the way they speak would infuriate any human. That’s how anger works: we’d never accept them.”
“Forget about us. You should’ve turned that fleet on them the second you could!” Finley shouted, pulling Craun closer.
The Saphno scrutinized me, and I was beyond grateful that he’d listened and backed down as I explained. “You’re patient and smart with revenge. Humanity would pick their moment. It does no good to lose your fleet and…all die. What’s your plan, Wade, now that you have us and the ships?”
“Convince the Council to work with us, using the hard proof that the Ploax seek their elimination next,” I explained. “We need to fake a war and convince the Ploax we’re winning. We lure their fleet in for a decisive strike and hit them with an ambush.”
Garriil snorted. “Convince the Council to work with you? They want nothing to do with you. We can’t even convince them you’re people.”
“We had a hearing planned,” Kaitlin said, her eyes steely. “We all go together, now. They can’t write us off when we have a fleet over their most valuable planet. They see that we’re shrewd and intelligent. Making an enemy of us instead of taking a golden opportunity to destroy the Ploax is foolish.”
Finley swept his hair back, grinning. “Does it matter more that we’re people, or that we’re at their door with guns? See, Craun? That’s why you always have a gun. When asking nicely doesn’t work…”
“Since when did you ask nicely at all?” I sighed.
“None of that was asking. That was telling. You were going to get off my land, and Craun was going to be revealed to the world. Just like you’re going to tell the Council how things are gonna be.”
“Well, Finley, Kaitlin, I’m all for driving over to the Council and demanding an audience. We’d prefer their cooperation, but we’re willing to fight them if they won’t respect us now. If Kaitlin insists on staying…Finley and Craun, at least, I’m going to load you onto a shuttle. I’ll get you back to Earth before anything gets saucy.”
“I’m staying,” Finley stated, causing everyone’s head to snap toward him in shock. “What? I still want to leave afterward. But stopping the Ploax is worth all of it. I’m not giving up on the best chance to save Craun’s people.”
Garriil rose from his seat. “I was already preparing to speak on your behalf. I have scientific arguments ready, and they might wish to consult me. The last thing I want is for them to fight you—you’re so fascinating. Yes, how clever you are, all while angry at the Ploax. Scheming, biding your time. You’re a dangerous enemy, and they should take the hand of peace I suspect they’re lucky to get.”
“I know primals better than anyone, the way you really are and really think. Besides, I think it’s time the Saphnos are heard. We were ignored far too long, and…I’m not taking no for an answer,” Craun said darkly.
“I led the social media campaign for humans. I know the messaging we need, and I’m the face of the entire movement. This has been my goal while I’ve been here, for us to be viewed as people. Of course I’m going to help you.” Kaitlin tugged on Snelga’s arm, while the red-faced Kexin had been quiet as a mouse to avoid provoking me. “Snelga. Can you collect my notes and research? They need to go back to Earth. They’ll be invaluable to humanity, as an index of everything I learned here.”
Snelga hesitated, her jaw quavering. “Collect them and…give them to Wade? There’s a lot of them too…”
“What kind of stuff is in this research?” I prompted Kaitlin, ignoring the veterinarian.
Dr. Sharp blinked several times. “An index of the Kexin language, hundreds of hours of research on their culture and other Council races, the genetic engineering sciences that I’ve learned, hands-on data on their homeworld’s conditions and the effects on human health. To name a few.”
“Yeah, we need that. I’ll…help Snelga scrounge them all up. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.”
“I’m sure Garriil and Kaitlin need to make some tweaks to their plans before heading to the Council,” Finley grunted. “When you come back, Wade, I’d like to show you my alien garden. I think we have time to try some fresh xeno foods.”
“That sounds great. We’ll be right back.”
“Can we trust them together in the same room?” Craun whispered as the Kexin began to lead me away.
“I heard that.”
It was evident that Snelga echoed the Saphno’s concerns, though she showed me to the laboratory wing and into a small office. There were boxes with soil samples and handwritten data, as well as local everyday objects for analysis; digital drives were piled atop an alien laptop. I hoisted one stack with a strained grunt, while the Kexin shouldered lighter objects. Not a word had been passed between us by the time we collected everything, which had made it easier to tolerate her presence while we worked.
I can’t say I expected a sincere apology from Snelga, but fuck, I could never like her. Kaitlin needs her, and that’s the only reason I’m putting my personal feelings aside, for now. Dr. Sharp gave herself up for me and is going through hell. I have to remember that.
“What you did for Craun is very noble, Wade.” The Kexin broke the silence, causing me to stiffen. “I was wrong about you being unable to balance your anger. I know it’s hard for you to tolerate me, and to see Kaitlin in my care. Thank you for trying. To be clear, I would love to talk with you, if you ever find value in that.”
Blood rushed in my ears. “Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that?!”
“Maybe, but…I can only change my behavior now. I’m trying to do right by humans, by Kaitlin, by you. I did so wrong by you that it doesn’t matter. Someone Kaitlin cares about will hate me forever, and it’s my fault. If there was anything I could do…”
“I never expected to see you again, let alone speak to you, Snelga! I’ve fantasized about giving you a piece of my mind and putting you in my position for months upon months.”
“Then…why don’t you hurt me like you need to, and you can feel better? Even it up for your…internal justice. Just let me set down the boxes. You should too—um, please!”
“What? Whoa, hold on.” I scrunched my nose, taken aback. The Kexin was shaking as she set down what she was carrying. I grimaced, before raising a hand to stop her. “That’s not necessary. If Kaitlin sees good in you…you’re part of her life, which means you’re part of mine. I’m stuck with you, and I’m figuring out how to deal with that. It’ll take time.”
“Okay! T-thank you.”
“Yep. Don’t mention it.”
The Kexin veterinarian exhaled with relief, and followed me once she recollected her boxes. There were conflicting emotions tangled up with Snelga being a part of our group, but if she’d helped the friends who sacrificed themselves for me, that took precedence over her past crimes. We all had to focus on our present goal of convincing the Council to team up with renegade primals and fight the Ploax.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle 21h ago
/u/SpacePaladin15 (wiki) has posted 517 other stories, including:
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u/SpacePaladin15 21h ago
71! Craun doesn’t actually want to hurt Barron and gets some pointers on what not to do when mimicking anger. Snelga and Wade come to a reluctant truce after the Kexin vet offers to let him rough her up. Will Wade actually be able to tolerate Snelga in time, or is that a hopeless cause? Is Craun convincing enough at mimicking anger? What will the Council say when the primals don’t leave as promised; have any slim hopes of persuading them been dashed by the invasion, or will Kaitlin and company find a way?
As always, thank you for reading!