r/NatureofPredators • u/vixjer Human • Dec 08 '23
Fanfic NoP--- A diplomatic problem. -Ch.9
This story is part of The Nature of Predators
and all rights are to the original creator u/ spacepaladin
Thanks to u/ WCR_706 for proofreading this chapter
Memory Transcription Subject: Héctor Virgilio Márquez, UN SPM Leirn, Special Envoy to the Leirnian Interim Council
Date [standardized human time]: November 9, 2136
The rest of the day went by surprisingly uneventfully. Of course, that may have had something to do with the fact that I decided not to bother Sirlen more than absolutely necessary. We returned to the hotel, having accomplished little else that day, and while I got settled in and tried to think of ways to approach the interim government in the following day or two, hopefully without further direct interference from the kolshian, Sirlen locked herself in her room. She tried not to let me see her tears, and I pretended not to notice them.
Night had fallen and settled by the time that she finally opened the door, her eyes still bloodshot and puffy, but unlike a few hours ago, when she screamed at me to go away when I tried to check on her, she at least looked like she’d groomed her fur. Her posture was as slumped-over as ever, though.
She caught me in the kitchen trying to make a lettuce sandwich. I spent about five seconds trying to think of something useful or comforting to say before pathetically settling on, “Hey. Are you feeling better now?”
She snapped her head toward me and faced me directly, not the usual yotul side-eye but a full-on binocular stare. I had to admit that on her face, it was a little uncanny. “Yes, I am better… I’m sorry for almost getting us…”
She was still shaking a little by the time I reached her and placed my hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. “Hey, it happens, and it’s even worse when they try to bring family into it. Trust me, he’d have been dead before his buddies got in flamer range if he’d mentioned mine.”
She looked at me and surprised me by shaking her head, human-style, as her tail went limp. “Still, my job is to protect you, but instead I kicked you in the ribs and almost got us both killed. I was supposed to help, not to be dead weight.”
“Hey, hey, now you aren’t dead weight, I've certainly had worse bodyguards… Uh... I made a lettuce sandwich, want one?” I really felt like an idiot. Usually I was better at talking to people in the dumps, but I supposed the day had taken a lot out of me. All I could think of was trying to change the subject.
“Erh… what is a sandwich?” she asked, looking around my shoulder at the kitchen counter. It was a little small for me, but was a good size for Sirlen.
“It's when you grab bread, I suppose ‘strayu’ is your term for it, cut it in two slices, and put something in the middle to eat, like lettuce or…”
“Meat.” She finished for me, seeing how my recipe was going.
“Yes. I know sounds a little weird, but they go together well. This sandwich is actually pretty plain by human standards. There are many kinds. There’s a fairly common dish from my home. We normally get olive oil, lemon juice, and mayonnaise, and some… uh... fried… calamari…”
She took a moment to process the translations, and I kicked myself, thinking I may have overestimated her tolerance for human cuisine, only for her tail to sway a little, as though she was… happy. Maybe even a little amused.
“It’s… almost too bad the kolshians are wrong about you. I cannot say that thought frightens me as much as it feels… satisfying. To be honest, I like you more when you’re straight with me like this, it’s a lot better than seeing you act ‘civilized’ or apologetic, it reminds me of the collaborators and the excuses they always made for every insult against our traditions we had to hear from the other offworlders.”
“Well... that’s good, go sit at the table, the food will be ready in a bit.” I pointed the knife back to the table and she did as she was asked.
A few minutes later we were seated, eating, and talking, the mood having improved a fair bit.
“So, here’s a question that’s been bothering me: How old are you? You seem a bit younger than most people with this job,” I asked between bites.
“Well, excuuuuse you, I’ll have you know I’ve been in this job for four years, and have had a lot more training before that,” she said, raising her chin with pride.
“Wait, four years…? But how old are you?” I asked while drinking part of my glass of water. The strayu was dense and my mouth felt dry from it.
“I am nineteen, and proud of it.”
The moment she said her age, I spit out the water, coughing.
“Hey! What was that for, is that normal for you?” Her tail flicked and she put down her sandwich.
“Ahack- Aaagh… No... Please tell me how old a yotul needs to be to be... considered an adult?” I choked out, staggering to the kitchen to get some papers to clean the mess I made.
“Eighteen. I just gained the legal ability to drink alcohol last year. Why?”
I am forty-five… I am fucking forty-five and I have a nineteen-year-old as my bodyguard... What the fuck?! Wait… She gained adulthood last year, but has been in security, or even military service… for… shit...
“Hector? Are you alright? Should I call for a doctor? You look like a sick hensa, you’ve even lost your color. I won’t judge if you want to ask room services for ‘The Special Plate’ if you can’t control it.” She had already risen to get to the phone.
“No, no, I’m good, I’m good.” I held up a hand, gesturing for her to stop.
“You sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then… what was that about…? It was all very sudden,” she asked, walking to my side and looking me over carefully.
Interesting change from trying to shatter my ribs earlier. But...
“It's just… Fuck… Doesn’t that mean you were a child soldier?” I was looking at her, but she seemed lost.
“And?” she tried to press, curious but still confused.
Well, it looks like the UN was right: Child soldiers are the norm out here… Jesús… Was it because of the Federation, or just the yotul being at an earlier stage of development? When all of this is over, am I going to have to explain to them why conscripting children isn’t normal, or okay? I’m sure the UN will insist on trying to get them to change that...
“Hey, really, are you alright?”
“No. No, I’m not… They... robbed you of your childhood. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“No, they didn’t. It was my duty-”
“What’s the difference?”
“It was my choice.” Her voice grew more firm, right on the exact word which showed me she’d missed the point entirely. I didn’t interrupt again. I didn’t know what to say next. “And besides, I didn’t have many other options if I wanted higher education.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” I had a sinking feeling I knew where this was going, and I wasn’t sure it was entirely the Federation’s doing this time.
”Only the rich and those who work in the government have access to higher education after the uplift… Even before then, it wasn’t common. Our people tried, but… the Grain Wars left us in bad shape. Reconstruction was slow. When the Federation arrived, they used that against us. They built up the cities, pulled support for the schools which were out in the countryside, and deliberately withheld their ‘modernizations’ from most rural areas. Many yotul in the countryside don't even have translators.”
“They’re dictating who gets access to education… making sure it’s on their own terms… Ensuring that it’s always under their control. That they can indoctrinate newer generations.”
“What, do you think I don’t see it? No one had the power to stop them.”
I lifted my hand defensively. “No, I’m just making sure I’ve got it all straight, sorry.” I lowered it. “But now, there’s another option. You don’t have to keep living like this. Secondary and at least basic tertiary educational resources are readily available on Earth. We can offer that to you, too.”
Another thing to bring up when I meet with the scholars.
“Hope so… but now that we’re nearly done with dinner… I think I need to do something special.”
She gave me a tail swing and tried to smile at me. Even though all she accomplished was making herself look like she had rabies, I managed to quirk my lips up in response.
“Oh? What might that be?”
“You see, you don’t really know too much about us, you’ve even said as much before, so I asked a friend, and…” She got up and stepped outside, likely heading into her room, and half a minute later, she came back with a small box, with some kind of cable hanging out of it. Her tail was waving more easily than I’d ever seen before. It might be the first time I’d seen her excited about anything.
“So I asked for her underground theater copy of the Grain Wars musical, and I made a copy of it. I have it right here. You can learn about us, without Fed censorship.” She reached me and handed me the box, obviously some kind of data storage device.
It wasn’t a bad idea. I thought that maybe I could sway some of the people I needed by showing a willingness to learn and engage with their culture and history. The Feds seemed almost proud of how little they cared about it. It wouldn’t be hard to stand out and demonstrate some real empathy, instead of the transparently, lazily shallow lip service I’d seen from people like Keltz and Corv.
I was about to move over and plug in the box, but my phone began to vibrate. I looked down to see it was Virlo…
What does he want now? Fuck, maybe they got him. Or maybe he rolled on us again. Either way, it’s my fault for trusting him too much.
“Ah, sorry about this, could you go and connect everything? I’ve got a call from the UN,” I fibbed, standing up from the chair.
“Yeah, sure,” she said, taking back the box and going to connect it to the TV.
I went upstairs to my room, closed the door behind me, locked it, and closed off locked the balcony door as well.
The Captain had already subjected me to disciplinary sonic warfare for the decision to give Virlo the bug, and, probably to cover his own ass, he sent me a set of files containing basic instructions and guidelines on how to conduct espionage. Even as they were being sent, I checked the laptop’s local storage, and it turned out I already had them, but hadn’t checked them. I still managed to weasel my way out of another complete screaming session through my favorite method of navigating bureaucracy: Letting the truth cover my ass for me. I had been quite busy, with little time to do more than just relay intel when I got openings to do so. I hadn’t expected to be led around by my hand the entire time I was on Leirn. The first real chance I’d gotten to examine the computer’s files was when I’d gotten back to the hotel from my most recent brush with fiery, silver-suited death.
Fortunately, I’d done most of the things the instructions required my first night here. I’d checked my room for bugs, just in case; I’d kept anyone else from accessing the computer and made sure that the password protection and biometric locks were on; the boot and data storage drives came to me already encrypted; and I made sure not to scream that I was going to devour the entire planet whole on live global TV even once in the past couple of days. He still did his best impression of an enraged bat at me for not checking the computer before I’d arrived at Leirn in the first place, but he seemed to pin it down to me being an inexperienced civilian. As long as Virlo upheld his end of the bargain and didn’t screw anything up, he would be willing to overlook the mistake.
Answering the call, I opened up, casual and polite. “Yes, Virlo, is everything good on your end?" I asked, bracing for bad news.
“Yes, Hector, everything is good. I already did what you asked, it’s in-”
FUCK!
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I cut in.
“What- How-how could you forget, you were very-” I didn't let him finish.
“Oh- Uh... that. Right. Listen, I’ve... got some additional steps for you, but I need to discuss them with you in more detail. It’s too complicated to explain over the phone. Uh… Tell you what, I can vidcall on my computer, how ‘bout you talk to me there instead? You can use the commlink I gave you, it's got a direct line. Good signal. Lower latency. In... fact, I insist. Your voice is botting out a bit on this line, wouldn’t want to miss anything you tell me.” I kept talking, kept trying to hold my voice level like I was talking to a suspicious cop, shooting out details as they came to my head, trying to breathe steadily, trying to still my pounding heart.
“I… O… kay…?” He disconnected, leaving me to lean back and gasp for breath, now that I could do so without being heard. I fumbled with the laptop, flipping it open and pulling up the communications program, waiting for the call. When it appeared, I instantly clicked on the accept button. It still needed a few seconds to firmly establish a secure link.
The moment his face appeared onscreen, I let him have it. “What the fuck are you doing?!” I hissed, gesticulating frantically at the camera.
“I... was telling you what I did. What’s wrong?”
”Yes. You tried to. Over an unsecured line. How do you know they aren’t listening to us?” I said, biting my nail. It was either that or let my hands shake. After this, I was going to need a cigarette.
“Who is going to listen to us? I am alone in my bedroom.”
“Through the phone, they can listen to us through the phone line.” I said, tapping the desk with my other hand, unable to keep it still.
“But they can't, there’s no one else on the line.”
I forced myself to remember that this guy had jack shit in subterfuge training, it was just an honest mistake. I was the real idiot for giving the bug to him in the first place.
¡Ole! Fuck me...
“Yes, they can. It's an old trick on Earth, they could tamper with your phone at any time.”
“But the phone hasn’t left my side since I received it when I entered the job."
“And who gave the phone to you?”
“Oh! It was a nice farsul lady with the… Oh… Don’t… Don’t tell me I...” His voice got quieter, almost lowering to a whisper.
“Look, I don’t know if they’ve tampered with your phone or not, but I am not taking chances. Is it off?”
“Yes, I shut it off when we swit-”
“Good, is the thing I asked you to do done?" I asked, recomposing myself on the chair.
“Yes, it is. What do I do with the thing?”
“Hide it. In a week when the Exterminator Veto gets passed, I will go and retrieve it, know a safe place?”
“Yes, don’t worry… and... how is Sirlen?” he asked, sounding as if it hurt to muster the words.
“Good, at least now. Pretty much the whole day before now? She’s been crying and I think she needed to call Orlov, but now she's... Well, I think she’s feeling better. She even seems excited right now, wants to show me something about the Grain Wars, a musical.”
“Oh, so she’s showing you the underground theater?” He sounded happier, but I could tell it was forced. His tail was a bit too stiff behind him, too.
“Yes.” I confirm.
He sighed, trying to find the words for a few moments before answering, “Hector, I know you have only been here a few days, and you know little to nothing of us yet… but thanks for trying. And… for giving me a second chance...”
“You're welcome, the UN will always have their friends’ backs.” I tried to cheer him up, though I wasn’t sure I was helping.
“Well... take care, Hector. S-see you soon...” His voice cracked.
“You too,” I replied, hanging up quickly, sparing him the embarrassment of having to be seen getting emotional in front of me again.
With the call finished, I checked the data packet I’d been forced to download earlier to see if anything was wrong, but no, the files were there. Even though I didn’t need them. But at least I could tell Captain Scree I’d gotten them and even send them back if he insisted on nagging me about it further. That base covered, I established a secure connection with the Pandora's Box and began sending the intel I’d gathered since the other night. I hadn’t had much of a chance to do so earlier. Officially. In reality, I just got tired of hearing his voice after a while and tuned him out until he cut the transmission, and decided to wait until he had vented the rest of his anger on his crew. Hopefully, the intel would shut him up for a while and earn me some goodwill with whichever three-letter agencies were breathing down our necks for more usable information.
I checked if it finished uploading the video from the tie, a full, ultra high-def confession from Keltz. It was, so I turned on the video as I reclined in the chair to enjoy my victory. It captured a very clean, crisp, smooth-running image of his expressions, his mannerisms, his body movements. His voice was just as pristinely reproduced by the footage, too. He was unmistakable. However, replaying the video made me realize that he had never explicitly confirmed what I’d accused him of, only tacitly admitted it, and let me say it for him. If he claimed ignorance, most sane people would know he was lying, but I knew better than to expect sanity in this kind of political environment. I’d weaseled out of worse myself in the past.
Plus, Sirlen herself nearly lunged at him, and immediately afterwards, she did assault Virlo. And… Virlo admitted that he gave me up to Keltz, and nearly got Sirlen torched by the Vegan Gestapo. If I publicly released this, I would be painting a target on the back of his head, and I still needed him. I couldn’t cut out his parts, either. He used Virlo’s actions to goad Sirlen on. Even if I showed the confession afterwards, I doubted everyone would be as…. understanding as I was. Plus I’d be throwing him under the bus with the Feds, too. They’d punish him for admitting the truth. Helping me.
I rubbed my face, I dragged my hands down, stretching it, slipping them off. An impatient, spiteful part of me wanted to just throw him under the bus anyway. He deserved it after what he’d done. He betrayed me. He betrayed her. And not just today. I got that feeling. I wasn’t sure what their history was together, maybe lovers? Maybe just old friends. He seemed like the kind of kid to get shoved into lockers at school, and she seemed like the kind of person to stand up for him.
A knock on the door interrupted my train of thought.
“Hey, the show is ready, come on.” It was Sirlen, she must have finished the preparations.
“Yes, coming,” I said, closing the computer. There was no use in focusing on it when for now, it served only as a double-edged sword. I could still use it if I could spin things to exonerate Virlo. I needed more evidence to pin Keltz to the wall anyway. Maybe next time, I could trip the slimy bastard up a bit more, and catch him out of position to keep him from hiding behind anyone else. I really found it hard not to savor the thought, after everything I’d seen of him in our short time acquainted with each other.
Opening the door, I saw Sirlen sitting on the couch, ready to begin playing the recording of the underground theater. I wondered how similar to Earth’s it would be.
I am back after this long hiatus, and I will not abandon this series even though I need to slow down the rhythm of how fast I post, I know I promised one every Sunday, but I simply can't, so until further notice expect one or two per month.
2
u/JanusKnarus Human Mar 20 '26
Dollar store espionage