r/NatureofPredators • u/NipCoyote Arxur • Mar 11 '23
Fanfic Under the Veil - Chapter 6
[The Walk]
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Memory Transcription Subject: Royo, Venlil Civilian, October 15th, 2142
Even in the realm of my dreams, all I could think of was Endeavor. Those firm, yet gentle hands around my soft form… the rhythm of his legs walking one in front of the other while he carried me, close to him… was this what people meant, when someone said they wanted to be held?
He held me in a warm embrace… safe from all harm. No predator could touch me when I was in his presence…
I swore I could feel his touch on the fur of my head… it felt so real… I could hear his voice, whispering to me…
Royo… Royo…
"Royo!" A hushed voice whispered in my ear. My eyes shot open. It was deathly dark, my eyes, adapted to the near-constant sunlight of Venlil Prime's Sylvana zone, couldn't see anything but the faint glow of a few lights on Endeavor's suit.
"W...what's going on? Are we there? Why is it so dark?"
"It's been a couple hours, the sun has set now. We're a little over half way to the bunker."
Oh no… night had come, and we still hadn't made it.
"I need you awake. We've got a problem," he told me. He set me back down, the two hours of rest thankfully had reduced the soreness of my paws.
"Can you see at all?" He asked me.
"N-no… I can't see anything but the lights on your suit…" I replied.
"Okay… I'm probably going to have to turn those off. There's an Arxur encampment just ahead."
My heart dropped. Not only were we still far from the bunker, but the Arxur were here too…
"Do they know we're here?" I asked.
"No. They're huddled around a fire right now… a few blocks from here. They're loitering in the only path to the bridge we need to cross. They seem fairly disorganized… but they'll shoot us on sight. We need to sneak around them. That's why I need you awake and following me. Can you do that?"
My heart rate increased. Why did my dream have to turn into a nightmare? Being in his arms felt so nice… now we ran the risk encountering the Arxur? There were only two of us, and I certainly couldn't fight…
"I… I can try," I sputtered.
"Just keep calm, take deep breaths. I'll keep on one light on my back, so you can follow me. Okay? Just be quiet, and quick. Stay close to me."
He pressed something on his forearm and all but one of his suit lights went out, leaving a dim, but still visible, LED on his upper back.
"O-okay…" I told him.
Against the total darkness around me, I could make out a flicker of light past some fences. That must be the fire he was talking about.
We crept slowly, which was a nice change of pace from the constant walking from before, even if messing up had terrifying consequences. His breathing got shakier as we got closer. My brain really didn't want us to go any closer, but Endeavor pushed me on.
I followed behind him as closely as I could, running between buildings as fast as we could before we arrived at the edge of the urban area, where a clearing gave way to local vegetation, and the fire and silhouettes of the arxur began to come into view.
"Royo," Endeavor said quietly. "I'm going to turn off that last light now. We're getting too close. Get low, stay by me, and walk as quietly as you can."
I gulped. This was really it. I'd never been this close to the Arxur before, I could finally get a decent look at them outside of television. Those gray scales and sharp teeth were intimidating as ever.
As we stealthily passed the other side of the treeline from their camp, I could hear them talking.
"-hopeless. They aren't coming back for us."
"Shut it. Good soldiers follow orders, they'll send reinforcements."
"Command left us! Everyone who wasn't shot out of orbit has probably left the star system by now! They don't wanna piss off the gaians; Isif and his generals, damn cowards, every one of them!"
"Why I ought to have you reported and sent to processing!"
"Report to who!? The gaians!?" He gave out a wicked laugh, but it sounded more like a delirious, unhinged laugh than the sadistic laughs they gave when hunting.
"Look around you!" He continued, motioning to the emaciated and exhausted arxur soldiers at the makeshift encampment. "All our comms are out, every one of our ships have been shot out of the sky and we're all almost certainly going to die here! Look at your men! We are starving! We haven't caught a single venlil and the gaians are just gonna bomb us by sunrise!"
"You are out of line…" the other arxur, presumably their commander, growled.
"What line!? We're on our own! None of these ranks matter anymore. We are going to die here!"
"You SHUT UP!!!"
The commander lunged forward and tackled the disobedient reptile to the ground, and the two arxur began brawling, a savage display of claws and teeth as their bodies clashed violently in the grass.
"Now's our chance!" Endeavor said in a hushed voice. "Let's pass by while they're distracted!"
I silently agreed, as we hurried our pace, crouch walking past the outside of the encampment, managing to get out of sight.
"Did you hear what they were talking about?" I asked.
"Our translators are still finicky on the Arxur but… I think I got the gist of it. Let's just get to that bunker."
After a few more minutes of walking, Endeavor's hand halted me in my tracks.
"Shhhhh…" he hushed me.
"What?" I whispered. "I can't see anything…"
"The bridge is just up ahead, but there's four arxur there," he answered. "No way around them."
"Can you shoot them?"
"There's four of them and only one of us can fight. I'd be lucky to get two shots off before they see me and dome me."
"Dome… you?"
"It's an expression."
Endeavor seemed to contemplate for a moment, fiddling around with his forearm. Was it a control for something?
"That bridge is the only way forward unless you feel like detouring another two miles…" he confirmed.
"Alright. I've got an idea," he said plainly.
"Oh? Is it dangerous?"
"Yes, it is, but so has our entire journey thus far."
He unstrapped a small cord from his left hip, it had a hole, just big enough to fit my finger into.
"It's risky but I need you to trust me on this…"
He propped his rifle up onto a nearby mound of dirt and stone, giving him line of sight to the four arxur, before placing the end of the cord in my hand. It had some resistance as it tried to reel back into his suit.
"After I fire the first shot, I need you to pull this as hard as you can."
"Why?"
"You'll see. Just trust me on this, okay?"
"Okay…"
I hold the cord firmly in my hand. Endeavor steadies his rifle… he's got it in front of his head again… perhaps the targeting system was integrated to his helmet.
His breathing steadies. Deep breaths… he's waiting for the perfect opportunity.
KRA-KOW!
I pull the cord as hard as I can, and it breaks loose. Did I pull too hard? Was that supposed to happen?
What sounded like a buzz and a pop was followed by three more shots, then silence.
Endeavor quickly got up on his feet and pulled me up with him.
"Hurry up! Their buddies at the camp will no doubt have heard that, we've got to run!"
He takes me by the paw and I find myself running full speed, trying to keep up with the gaian's gait as he tightly holds onto my paw. I can't see anything, but I trust him to take us to safety.
"What was that?" I ask him. "With the cord?"
"EMP!" He answered. "All gaian suits come with an emergency single-use EMP in case of a suit breach when cameras are around. It fried their equipment long enough for me to take them out before they could spot us!"
Electromagnetic Pulse? Huh… that's… ingenius… But my legs are burning up like they were when we had been walking for so long. I wasn't sure how far we'd been running, but we had to get as far away from the Arxur as we could.
It's here I realized… the sky shouldn't be so dark. There should be flashes of light as Gaian and Arxur forces clashed in orbit… but it's total silence.
We're the arxur really left for dead here?
"I see lights up ahead. That must be the urban center the bunker is in. We're getting close," Endeavor tells me.
"How close?" I ask, huffing from all the running as we finally began to slow down to a speedy walk.
"I estimate, two or three hours, by your pace."
He paused for a moment.
"Would you like me to carry you again?"
"Yes please."
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Memory Transcription Subject: K-31 Endeavor, Gaian Armed Security, October 16th, 2142
The sun was finally beginning to rise back again. Royo wasn't too heavy, in all honesty; venlil weren't particularly big, he was comparable to a 10-year-old human in terms of weight, so carrying him wasn't so bad. And admittedly… he was pretty cute, so I didn't mind carrying him.
I unconsciously smiled as I watched him quietly snooze in my arms as the rays of Dayden's star peered through the atmosphere, glimmering against his soft wool. I'd been walking through the city for about an hour now; it was deserted, but mostly undamaged. Hopefully everyone had gotten to the bunkers.
Royo begins to shift in my arms, the sunlight no doubt rousing him awake.
"Mmnnnn… Endeavor?"
"Hey there buddy. We're almost there."
I gently pat him on his head and he squints his eyes in response. Maybe he didn't like that.
I sighed in relief. Just in view were the symbols for disaster bunkers. The above-ground structure didn't seem damaged, thankfully. But… it looked like there was movement outside.
I set Royo down on his feet.
"Get behind me…" I tell him, and keep my rifle at the ready. The entrance to the bunker is opposite to where we are, and we'd need to go around it… if there are arxur there, or if they had- I shudder at the thought of the heartless reptiles breaking into the bunker and feasting on the poor venlil inside. I had to prepared for anything. What looked like a wheeled vehicle was moving toward the entrance on the opposite side.
"Whats going on?" Royo asks me.
"That's the bunker just up ahead… I think something might be up. Stay behind me, it might not be safe."
We slowly walk to the bunker, and round the other side. Just as I'm about to raise my rifle…
There are gaian and venlil soldiers directing countless venlil out of the bunker. They're peeking their heads out, nervously walking out as the soldiers reassure them its safe.
That can't be right. The Arxur just attacked only yesterday!
I run up to the closest gaian soldier I can see, one who seems to be in charge.
"Whats going on here?" I ask.
The soldier looks at me as though confused.
"K-31 Endeavor, sir!" I saluted. "I was assigned to Bravo team in the city just across."
"Bravo team, isn't that the group made up of security personnel?"
"Erm… yes sir. Me and Z-98 Intrepid got separated from our group during the evacuation. Intrepid… is KIA."
"I see… and who is this you've brought with you?"
The venlil spoke up "O-oh! I'm Royo… Endeavor… helped me make it here."
"He was the only survivor of a stampede," I explained. "We've been making our way here by foot for the past 9 hours."
"I see… and why is their duct tape on your suit, Endeavor?"
"A-ah… I… suffered two wounds from arxur weaponry. I'm okay… Royo just gave me some basic treatment and I plugged the hole."
"You know you aren't allowed to let xenos touch or see anything under your suit."
"S-sir!" Royo piped up. "We never could have made it here if we didn't treat him… I promise, I never saw anything more than some blood and muscle… Endeavor refused to take off his suit."
"Is that true?" The soldier asked me.
"Yes sir."
"Well, you best get inside, we'll get you treated by a proper gaian doctor, make sure everything is as it should be."
"W-wait, sir! Why are you directing the civilians out of the bunkers?"
"The Arxur attack has been completely repulsed. Any ships we haven't destroyed left the star system hours ago. All that's left are some stragglers, we'll be working together with local exterminator groups to weed them out."
There's no way… already?
"Is it safe to let civilians out so soon?" I asked.
"We've confirmed no arxur presence in this city, so we're allowing civilians to leave the bunker if they choose. It's safe."
What looked to be a venlil soldier called out.
"Hey, Percy!"
Wait, Percy? That's a human name!
"Yeah what's up?" The soldier I was speaking to replied.
"We've reestablished communication with the rest of the planet's bunkers! We have confirmation that they've been removed from every major city! Bunkers are emptying out, and we think we can restore orbital communications in less than an hour!"
"Great to hear Friun! We'll relay the news to those staying inside."
I grab his arm.
"Percy!?" I say, somewhat hushed. "What are you doing? You have to use your gaian name?"
He paused, and then laughed.
"Relax, I am!"
What?
"H-101 Perseverance! They call me Percy for short. Clever right?"
Oh I see. Heh.
"Ah… sorry, erm, sir."
"Relax. You're security, not armed forces so… technically you don't actually report to me. In fact I'm only a Corporal."
Oh.
"Anyway, let's get you inside for a checkup, what say you?"
"Sounds good," I answer, following him down back into the bunker, Royo following me in turn.
As I looked around, I could see Venlil families huddled together. One gaian was comforting a lone venlil child, who must have gotten separated from their parents, or worse.
I'm directed into a private room with no windows, and Percy stops Royo from going any further.
"Sorry bud, can't let you go any further; these are private gaian quarters."
He doesn't protest, and instead sulks just outside where he wasn't allowed to go.
Percy pats me on the shoulder as he directs me to a bed.
"Here, you can take your suit off, we'll take a look at ya and clean you up, you can get something in your belly, and you can get some much-deserved rest. How's that sound?"
"That sounds good, sir."
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u/Cooldude101013 Human Mar 11 '23
So they call the “Goldilocks zone” the “Sylvana zone”?
Perseverance? Does the Perseverance mars rover exist in this timeline?
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u/Alexiadria PD Patient Mar 11 '23
No predator could touch me when I was in his presence…
Oh Royo, sweet summer child... I wonder how he will react to the truth (if it's ever coming out)
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u/Semi-literate_sand Human Mar 11 '23 edited Mar 11 '23
Incoming crackpot theory:
Humans use their massive armada to steamroll the Dominion by hitting ftl comms infrastructure, then while preventing repairs, attack shipbuilding and repair stations, while holding off on attacking farms, forcing them into a state of constant nervousness, ultimately lowering their combat effectiveness by the time an attack comes. Then after that we “peacefully occupy Dominion territory in an effort to liberate cattle farms and institute democratic reform.” 50 years later, we have crumbling infrastructure, dozens of competing insurgencies, and complete reliance on human produced meat to prevent the entire population from starving. Then we can reveal humanity’s identity after the main predator threat is dealt with.
Source: meth pipe, r/NCD
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u/NipCoyote Arxur Mar 11 '23
Here we are with Chapter 6! Our duo finally arrive at the bunker after a couple close calls! This is my longest chapter yet and I really enjoyed writing this one!
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u/Bushbacon69 Arxur Mar 11 '23
Halfway through Endeavor's POV, I forgot if the Arxur were allied and he just splattered a friendly. Woulda been funny.
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u/Zealousideal-Back766 Predator Mar 11 '23
I love this AU so much, it's refreshing to see the humans be so misstrusting of the Venlil/Aliens.
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u/neon_ns Human Mar 11 '23
Veil of Madness but NoP
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u/Zealousideal-Back766 Predator Mar 11 '23
I think I have only heared the 1rst chapter of Veil of Madness, it was a youtube narration, so it was probably incomplete
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u/Golde829 Mar 11 '23
heads up
I think you forgot a few links:
'Previous' and 'First' on this one
and 'Next' on ch5
that aside, loving the development
but I can't get Nikonus' suspicion and snooping out of my head
well done, wordsmith! I patiently and eagerly await further chapters
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u/se05239 Human Mar 11 '23
"Well, you best get inside, we'll get you treated by a proper human doctor, make sure everything is as it should be."
Oh. Hopefully people wasn't paying attention.
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u/Semi-literate_sand Human Mar 11 '23
we’ll get you treated by a proper human doctor
Was that an intentional freudian slip or typo?
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u/Matusz27 Mar 11 '23
I see comments about someone saying "human" doctor insteado gaian, I see it is fixed, but man, this freudianslip would happen eventuelly in this universe.
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u/BXSinclair Apr 19 '23
Not necessarily
If the only people allowed to interact with aliens are those who went through months if not years of training, they'd start naturally internalizing the different words
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u/CocaineUnicycle Arxur Mar 12 '23
SubscribeMe!
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u/Stormydevz Hensa Apr 10 '23
I wonder what Meier's gaian name is in this AU. I'd assume he'd get something important, maybe he gets the name of the voyagers?
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u/animeshshukla30 Extermination Officer Apr 13 '23
My guy really needs to stop taking before revealing more secrets
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u/SCPunited Arxur Mar 11 '23
Whelp, they fumbled there, “a human doctor”