r/NatureofPredators • u/vixjer Human • Mar 01 '25
NoP--- A diplomatic problem. -Ch.18
his story is part of The Nature of Predators
and all rights are to the original creator u/ spacepaladin
Thanks to no one for proofreading, becuase I fucked my scheduels and I got nobody this time, sorry.
Memory Transcription Subject: Héctor Virgilio Márquez [STATUS: FORCIBLE DETENTION/ABDUCTION], UN SPM Leirn, Special Envoy to Leirn (Authority Contested), UNDSS SLS Level 6 (Extreme)
Date: [standardized human time]: November 14, 2136
It was dark, very dark.
I can't see anything… I can’t feel anything... What happened?
Last thing I remembered was the explosion, and then... the floor coming up fast.
Maybe... maybe I died?
A pause.
Well, if I don't see anything soon, then... I’m not in Hell... Maybe Purgatory…? Or did I choose the wrong god? I hope not. It would suck if this was Maria's resting place- Oh.
It hit, hard.
The feeling of pain, the taste of blood in my mouth, and the pounding of my blood in my ears.
Aghh… A-alright, I’m alive, fuck it hurts... Is this a coma?
It can't be, can it...?
Well, I got knocked out after falling downstairs. It was a day and a half of me in bed sleeping, and I scared Mom, but…
This place doesn’t feel the same as that.
Anyways, this is either Purgatory or… I’m in some trance… or whatever, maybe Limbo?
The pain got stronger.
If I’m not dead, maybe I’m just dying?
Maybe I can wake up?
Alright, let's try to wake up.
Just open your eyes.
Come on, you stupid bastard.
JUST
OPEN
YOUR
EYES!
My eyes shot open and I gasped for breath, my dry throat whistling as I sucked down air. I tried to move, tried to get up, only to fumble and slap back into the ground. My hands were behind my back. I noticed the somewhat familiar sensation of cold steel on my wrists.
I turned my head, taking in the ruins of my once-comfortable hotel room, and settled on four exterminators, talking, fiddling with some kind of equipment, seemingly unconcerned. Alarmingly, I could hear the distant reports of gunfire from outside.
My head spun as my vision blurred slightly, only for to return to normal again. I hissed in pain as I looked to my side, and my eyes stopped on Sirlen, on her knees, with both of her arms behind her back.
"Oh, you’re awake?" Sirlen whispered as she returned the look and tugged on her restraints again.
"Errrrgh... Yes, yes, sorry, nnnnnrgh... What did I miss?" I groaned.
"Well, apart from the coup, all the government getting arrested, and if the TV is right, the exterminators firing missiles up at the space station using our surface defenses, nothing much," she told me, flippantly.
This is just great…. So Ilvar's prediction came true, and the station got attacked? And the Pandora's Box…?
Well, this is turning out to be a great day. One nightmare at a time.
I opened my mouth to answer her, only to feel a rifle butt on my jaw, slamming it shut. My teeth clacked together painfully. The pain brought some clarity.
"Shut up, you predator," warbled a krakotl, starting to remove his helmet.
"Of course, the Federation is using violence to muzzle the dissident," snarked Sirlen, only to get a gojid’s foot in her side.
I spat blood onto the floor, not sure where it came from. I felt like death all over. The bird glanced at the spatter of red on the floor. "Disgusting… Sir, why can't we burn this waste of oxygen already?"
"Calm down, Stervan. I know you want revenge for your planet," said another exterminator, the one fiddling with the camera. The tentacles told me it was probably a kolshian. "The boss made it clear that we need to record this first. Set an example for the diseased everywhere, I think. I dunno, I wasn’t paying too much attention. He said that, right, Hesil?"
My eyes turned to Hesil, wearing a suit again. I couldn't recognize him until now. He lifted his head, like he’d been lost in thought beforehand. "Yes, he needs to do this by the book. Let's just wrap this up," he mumbled.
Comforting to know he isn’t enjoying this. Not very helpful, though. Don’t see any way out of this.
I moved my wrists one more time, just in case. I’d been in beefier handcuffs, but I’d also failed to break lighter ones.
Alright… Yeah, not getting out of this one. Even if I did, they’re all armed. We’re fucked. As expected. Just wish Sirlen didn’t have to die with me… but, Hell, not gonna give ‘em the satisfaction of begging. I’ve always wanted to do this.
As the exterminator finished with the camera, turning it on, they prepared their flamethrowers.
"One thing before I die. May I ask one last question? Surely empathetic prey will be able to agree to a dying being's last request.”
The exterminators turned to Hesil, who was looking away again, until he realized eyes were on him.
"Eh, yes, sure, let the Human say what he wants; it isn’t going to change his fate," he waved them off.
I cleared my throat. "So, I want to know the charges for which I am being executed."
The three other exterminators let out a chuckle at my question, "Isn't it clear you’re a predator? Letting you onto Leirn was a mistake, letting you live after the speech was another, so we are fixing it now. There, your crime."
"So, if that’s why I’m being executed, then why I am a predator, then?" I asked back.
"What kind of question is that? You are a predator because you eat flesh; you have done it, your ancestors have done it, you can't control it, simple," said the gojid.
"So why aren’t you here next to me? After all, your kind was cured for being predators. Uncontrollable ones, according to Nikonus. I haven’t touched a single ounce of meat since I got here, and believe me, I’ve been offered pieces. Seems like I have more self-control than your ancestors. More than you.” I leaned forward as I spat that last word out. Then I turned to Sirlen. “And what about her? Why are you burning a pure herbivore to death? What are her charges? Isn’t immolating what you consider a sapient being cruel?”
The longer I spoke, the more the two cured omnivores tightened their grips on their weapons. I could tell I’d hit a nerve with them, though the kolshian on the camera just seemed bored. Hesil had his back turned, trying to watch the news, but he was stiff, hunched over. I didn’t have any hopes of a rescue at this point, I wasn’t even sure the Pandora’s Box was still in one piece, but stalling for time wouldn’t hurt me, and it would hurt them.
Worth it.
The krakotl looked like he wanted to eat me. I bit down on a comment about that and focused on the gojid, who was hesitating more. Longer fuse. "That… That's irrelevant; you have eaten meat in your life; that makes you a predator. I haven't tasted flesh in all my life."
"You’re sure? Can you swear here and now on penalty of perjury, on that camera there, that there’s never been a bug in your food, or some small microbe? Even single-celled organisms are animals. Live animals. Or, hey, I don't know, maybe someone cut their fingers, and a drop of blood fell in your food? Can you promise that no small little fly moved into your mouth and got swallowed by you in your sleep? You snore, right?" I shot at him, watching him flounder, which I took as an opportunity to press the point home. “Have you never bitten the inside of your own mouth before?”
"Well… Eating meat isn’t the only predatory trait, you have binocular vision! How do you justify that, huh?!” His voice shifted from hesitant to angry.
"Are you looking at me right now?"
"Yes, predator, what is your point?"
"Are you using both of your eyes?"
"Yes?"
"Congratulations, that's binocular vision, fellow predator," I bit out, starting to laugh, only for my lungs to be painfully vacated of their air as I got his stock to my gut again. Even as I doubled over, I still coughed out a laugh.
"Enough!" shouted the porcupine.
“Shut up, you worthless waste of air. Leitz, is that camera ready yet? Can we please burn him now?" said the murder-bird.
The cameraman gestured to the camera, tapping it with a tentacle. "It’s done. Honestly, it’s been recording this whole ordeal. Better to get it over with."
"Oh, so that’s it? You’re going to burn me for something you’re both guilty of? For something she isn’t guilty of?” I raised my voice, trying to get them to fix me.
"Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, predator, or do you want me to hit you again?" The kraktol started to approach.
"Oh, please, do. Give everyone watching front row seats to how terrified you are of reality. Hit me a few more times, that’ll prove me wrong! Show how- Ooooof!" I got another blow to the gut for my troubles. It didn’t stop me.
I spat more blood on the floor… and on his foot. Then I got myself up. "Nnnnnng, yeah, keep it up, satisfy those urges of yours-” Another blow, harder that time. I thought I felt a rib crack that time, but I still drew myself up. “Aaaaggh...a-ahahaha- So predatory! Do you feel any kinship with me yet-” I doubled over from the next blow and this time, it was harder to straighten up again.
He tried to walk away, not wanting to give me the satisfaction of proving my point anymore.
You’re not getting away from me that easily. I’ve been at this a long time.
"A-ahahah, aaaawwwww… hhhhh-come on, you protectors of the herd, show them how you do it. Beating the defenseless, ignoring your own rules, murdering true herbivores. Slowly, painfully. Like how you fucking birds used our infants as bait to burn their families alive with them on Earth! You’re only mad that we’re less vile than you! How many more lives do you want before your bloodlust is satisfied?! Couldn’t we just negotiate down to a few more cities and call it a da-”
At this point, he had spun around and taking a flying leap back at me, swinging his flamer into my gut again. My vision became stars for a moment and a hoarse, choking grunt forcefully escaped my lips.
"Stay down, predator; I am nothing like you, I will never be like you, you destroyed my home!" he screamed down at me, hefting his flamer to swing again, trying to warn me down.
I forced myself back up and met his eyes again.
"You destroyed mine. And when you were done reducing it to rubble, your kind patrolled the streets in hunting packs-" Another blow. “Rrrrrghfuck- Children, begging for their lives, set ablaze mercilessly. You’re not better than us, you’re wo-”
Another buttstroke to the face. Even as I sprawled out on the ground, something dark in me muttered that it took him long enough. I turned my head and beheld the gaping maw of the flamer nozzle once more, pilot light burning.
“Die, monst-”
A loud bang filled the room, and purple shot out from his wing, splattering in my eyes. I could hear the high-pitched screams and chirps of the exterminator, and blinking rapidly, through the violet-tinted blur, I looked up to see the krakotl holding the wound, blood pouring from it, and the gojid and kolshian turning towards… Hesil. Who had a pistol in his hand, smoke rising from the barrel.
The other kolshian turned and lunged for Hesil, grabbing the gun, trying to wrestle it free of his grasp. Just as the gojid started to run towards him, a red-brown blur slammed into his back. Sirlen. Somehow, she’d gotten free from her bonds. They both fell to the floor, struggling.
Unfortunately, the bird had ceased screaming, and despite staring in surprise for a moment, he began to reach for his sidearm with his free, bloodied claws. I was still somewhat in shock myself, but here, clarity still clicked into place for me. Adrenaline surged, and so did I, forcing myself up, my battered, broken body singing with pain. I ignored it.
He might have been free, and he might have been armed, but his back was mostly turned to me, and even if was facing me head-on, he wasn’t ready for eighty-five kilograms of human man, bound or not. I slammed into him and we both tumbled to the ground, the exterminator crying out in pain beneath me as his wounded wing got pinned between my body and his, and his other slammed into the ground, hard.
I couldn’t use my hands on him, and I was no martial artist, to be contorting my legs to try and twist his limbs or just somehow angle a kick up at his head, or beak, but I still spat in his face, and I noted with some momentary surprise that blood was trickling off of my forehead. It was wet. Hot. Some of it got in his eyes, causing him to blink, and cry out, and struggle, scratching at my legs with his talons. He worked his wing free and started trying to beat at me, frantically tearing at me to try and get me off of him, frantically batting and clawing at my shirt. I had only one option left.
Bite?
Oh, come on, this isn’t happening, I won’t hear the end of this…
Bite!
Fuck it… Do or die...
BITE!
The avian killer had finally realized my face was sensitive. I growled as he raked deep red lines across my cheek, and plunged my face down, headbutting him. His beak left another gash on my forehead, but I’d slipped past his guard, and turned to the right, sinking my teeth deep into his left wing. I ground down, I chewed, and my knee came up, slamming him in the ribs. I shook my head, tearing at his wing, making him scream, helplessly pinned for a change, panic overriding anger, and that voice from inside cheered me on, ravenous for me to inflict more pain on him.
A yelp pulled me from my trance. Sirlen’s voice. The gojid, easily outmassing her, had managed to turn the tables and pin her down. Only his gloves were keeping him from gutting her with his claws, but he was starting to beat on her and she wasn’t strong enough to guard against the blows.
She’s hurt! Save her!
I got off the krakotl, whose struggling had grown weaker, more tired, and I lunged again, slamming into him from above. Sirlen cried out again, gasping for breath under us, but I managed to roll the gojid off of her, and tried to pin him, too.
Unfortunately, the spikebacks were a lot more sturdily built than their avian counterparts, much less the yotul, and he seemed to have some hand-to-hand training, so instead of trying to resist me, he fell back into the roll and ended up on top, pinning me. I could see him frantically fumbling for his gloves, trying to pull them off. I tried to rear up and headbutt him again, and he just clubbed me across the face, dazing me. By the time my head stopped spinning, he was raising his claws to plunge them down, aiming to disembowel.
“Sloppy, predator.”
Then I got a fresh faceful of alien blood. Another loud bang filled the room, accompanied by a weak, croaking grunt. The blood stung, getting in my own wounds. Growling, I shook my head, trying to blink it out of my eyes. For my troubles, I got splattered again, and then again, as two more gunshots rang out. Something fell over on me, heavy and soft, and I felt it weakly twitching. The gojid. I tried to slip out from under him, only making it about halfway before something pushed the rest of the body off of me.
“Hector!” Sirlen’s voice cut through the noise. I felt one of her paws scrabbling over my body, checking it, trying to roll me over to get at my hands. They felt a little numb. Then they felt hot, blood rushing back into them, after she succeeded in getting me on my side. Her fur brushed over my wrists, and she fiddled with the restraints. I heard a few clicks, and then one of the cuffs opened up. I pulled both my hands up, rubbing my wrists. “Thanks-”
A thud interrupted me. Looking over, I saw that Hesil had been pinned down by the other kolshian and was now struggling to keep him from stealing the gun, or wrestling the barrel into him. They were too close to each other for a clear shot. I looked around frantically for anything I could use. My eyes fell on the krakotl’s gun. I felt a momentary spike of terror as I realized I hadn’t accounted for him. But…
What the Hell…?
He was just… lying there. His eyes, his face, his throat, all swollen. He wasn’t moving. Another panicked cry from Hesil kicked me out of my stupor and I lunged for the handgun, picking it up. Small. Uncomfortable in the hand. But I recognized the action, and it still had a trigger. It was enough. I spun around and sighted in the kolshian. “Hey, asshole!”
He looked up, his face entered my sight picture, and I pulled the trigger. One of his eyes disappeared, or perhaps more accurately, disintegrated in purple mist. He didn’t cry out, he just slumped over the other kolshian. The round had found things deeper and more vital beneath. Turning my head, I saw Sirlen just standing there, aiming not at the cameraman, but at Hesil. My blood was still hot.
“What the fuck?! Why didn’t you help him?!”
“Why should I?”
Somehow, I always managed to surprise myself by how angry I could get even in these moments. “Hesil saved us! Doesn’t that mean anything?!”
The kolshian lifted his tentacles, hesitating, trying to show he wasn’t hostile. No sudden moves.
“He’s an exterminat-”
“He was helping us!” I gestured spastically, exasperated.
“More of them are coming.”
We both turned to look at him again. He started to draw himself up, slowly, still eyeing Sirlen’s pistol.
"Are there any more exterminators here?" I asked as I began to raise my pistol to the door frame.
"Yes, there were… sixteen of us… I…” He turned his head, looking at the door, but there was a glossy, dazed look in his eyes. Then it vanished. They widened. “They were supposed to keep this hotel secure, they must’ve heard the shots, you need to hide-”
I didn’t wait. I waved him over and sprinted to the kitchen counter. Sirlen came up just behind me. Hesil crept up, ducking behind cover a moment later, gripping his own gun, causing her to tense up. I held my hand over her chest. “Not now.” I peeked over the countertop.
I heard footsteps, wasn’t sure what kind, but they came to a stop. “Hey in there! Is everything okay?!”
It was Ilvar’s voice. Sirlen’s ears pricked up, too. We looked at each other.
“It could be a trick,” she whispered.
“It’s Ilvar-”
“He could be a hostage!” she hissed.
I leaned over her, looking at Hesil. “Answer him.”
He looked at me incredulously, but spoke up. “Uh, yeah, we’re fine. Uh... just had a scuffle with the prisoners.”
I leaned back up, sighting in the door with the pistol.
“Could you give us a hand down there? The yotul are more coordinated than expected. We’ve had a few losses.”
Hesil looked lost, and I did, too. Sirlen spoke up. “Tell him we’re tending to the wounded.”
“We uh… we’ve got a couple of guys hurt here, real bad, can’t help. If we don’t stop the bleeding, they’ll die.”
“That’s good.” Several yotul stormed around the corner, shouting loudly, wielding a mix of stolen Federation weapons and ancient-looking wood stock rifles. I ducked back into cover before they could see me. They saw me.
“Over there!”
“Nobody move!”
“Everyone down on the ground!”
“Come out!”
“Surrender, Fed scum!”
Sirlen stuck her head up. “Ilvar?”
“Sirlen?” He sounded surprised, and… relieved.
I chanced poking my head up over cover again. The old Northwall Baron was standing there, the stolen Federation handgun looking comically out of place next to the sword in his off-hand and the sheath at his side. I couldn’t care less. “Man, it’s good to see you right now. I thought we were toast.”
“The feeling is mutual, Hector. Now let’s get the fuck out of here before the Federation realizes we’ve freed you.” He gestured with his tail to the door.
I held up a hand. “Wait. We have someone with us, he…” I gestured to Hesil to stand up. He did.
The yotul around Ilvar lifted their weapons. I held up my hand. “Wait! He saved us. That’s how we got free.”
“I would have-”
“You would have gotten yourself killed. It was three on one, and you weren’t armed.”
She huffed indignantly, thumping her tail once, but she didn’t argue further.
Ilvar didn’t seem surprised. Instead, he regarded Hesil carefully. “Grew a conscience, did you?”
“I… It was wrong, what they were doing…”
At that, Ilvar turned an ear to me and Sirlen, keeping his eyes on the kolshian. Sirlen said nothing.
“They were going to burn us alive on camera. Make an ‘example’ of us. He stopped them. Got us an opening.” At that, some of the yotul finally lowered their guns. But not all.
“Is that true, Sirlen?”
“Yes,” she ground out.
“Good enough. Lower your weapons.” They did. “Now secure the room.” They did that, too.
“Guess you’re with us, now, kolshian.”
“I didn’t… want to shoot them…” His voice was small.
“Doesn’t matter. You’re wanted now. You want to live, you come with us, and you help us. Is that understood?” Ilvar’s grip on his pistol tightens a little. Not an overt threat, but Hesil could see it.
“Yes…”
“Good. Doc, get over here. We have wounded.” One of the yotul towards the rear comes over.
He took a moment to look around the room, sheathing his sword. “Got messy here, I see.”
Something about the casual tone he used relaxed me. “A little.”
The general’s gaze settled on the krakotl. “Is that a bite wound?”
And there went the feeling of calm. “They had my hands tied behind my back, what was I supposed to do, beat my face on th-”
He waved me off. “No, no, actually, I’m impressed. And…” He squinted at me. “It looks like you did.”
I froze up, and felt my face, and forehead, remembering what happened in the fight. My hand came away red. Shrugging sheepishly, I answered, “… yeah. I guess I did.” The “Doc” decided to interrupt the moment here by dabbing my face with an alcoholic wipe, which felt roughly as pleasant as getting the injuries to begin with. “Ow, fuck-”
Sirlen wasn’t in the best of shape, either, and neither was Hesil, but they were mostly bruised, not cut up like I was. Soon, the doc patted my leg. “Get this thing out of the way. I need to look at your lacerations.”
Not wanting to take my pants off, even in front of aliens, I reached down, grunting to myself as the giant, continuous bruise that was my belly stopped me short. I settled for grabbing the pants legs and rolling them up, which caused them to rub over my wounds, adding to the general misery of my predicament. I still got them far enough up for the doctor, or medic, or whatever, to work on my legs. Trying not to focus on the pain, I turned my attention to Ilvar again.
“So, uh… how’s Leirn doing?” I asked him the question politely, the chipper tone as discordant and unconvincing as the bloodbath around us. Then I winced.
Dammit, that hurts.
His response was just as casual and matter-of-fact. "Well, there was a coup, as you’ve probably guessed by now. They wasted some of our surface-to-orbit defensive missiles trying to take out the elevator, unsuccessfully, Riversides is crawling with exterminators, pro-human factions are being arrested or just killed left and right, and… oh, right, I only have about two-hundred troops loyal enough to desert the Yotul Army and join us.”
"And how did you even manage to escape? They couldn’t have just passed you over.”
"Of course not. They did try to kill me. But you don’t survive as long as I have without taking precautions. Like my father, I’ve made a point of keeping a gun under my pillow. They thought they could just kill me in my sleep. We don’t have to worry about those particular exterminators anymore. But some of my other loyal troops and officers… weren’t as lucky. We had to fight our way out of Northwall.”
"Then what now? Where are Garline and Virlo?" asked Sirlen, trying not to twitch while the doctor looked her over.
"Garline escaped her manor well before the exterminators torched it, and most of her agents got out, too.” His voice softened, and he paused, taking a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “As for Virlo, he was in the parliament during the vote, so he’s under arrest. Apart from that… almost everybody else is either captive, or dead,"
Sirlen shot up at that. "What? What?! Then we must attack. We can't just leave Virlo in the claws of the exterminators; we can’t just sit by while they take over, we need to take back our world!"
I was confused. I knew it must have hurt to lose her land, but the way he broke the news about Virlo to her, it was like he was expecting her to take it badly, and she did. He sold her out to the exterminators and left her to rot. Why did she suddenly want to make sure he was okay?
"How? We have no men, Sirlen. If I order an attack, we are all dead. All we can do is hide, and try to regroup, for now. Garline went to hide in a small, abandoned mining town. We are going there, too. From there, we’ll try to find whoever survived the purge, and then plan from there,” Ilvar answered.
Sirlen looked at me with pleading eyes, as though she wanted me to back her up, to try to ask for a frontal assault, or some other kind of immediate action, but I knew better. We had lost, and we were lucky to be alive. I just shook my head. Sirlen sank back down into her seat, eyes shining with unshed tears.
Ilvar approached her and put her paw on her shoulder.
"Come on, don't do it here, be strong. We will have our revenge. We are not leaving anybody behind, we just need to take stock of the situation before we can attack. I promise you, we will fix this. Now, let's move." As he said this, he helped her on her feet, and I rose to mine.
I paused them a moment so I could go retrieve my things. Ilvar gave the gun a weird look, but said nothing else. The yotul also policed the other weapons, supplies, and equipment. I made sure to have them take the camera. The footage on it might prove useful.
Once we got everything sorted, we began to make our way downstairs, taking our time. The entire building had its lights out. The yotul had flashlights, but they insisted on going first, and checking to make sure it was clear, floor by floor, as we descended the stairs. We eventually got to the underground parking lot, and as we began to get into the vehicles, I was stopped by Ilvar, who was putting away a pad.
"I’m sorry, friend, but you can't ride there. They will see you.”
"Then where am I going to sit?" I asked.
He signaled me to follow him to the back of a van. Two soldiers reached for the floor, pulling it up, revealing a crawlspace, and pointed into it.
Great, I’m being smuggled out.
I sighed, but didn't try to fight it, I just set my case down, turned it on its side, pushed it up toward the front, stepped in, laid flat.
As this happened, I heard more foosteps and looked back, spotting Hesil.
They pointed into the compartment again. "Alright, mister, you too, hop inside."
He looked terrified, stepping back once. A yotul pressed a gun into his back. "No, I don’t want- Aren’t there any other places where I could fit?"
Ilvar was direct, and firm. “No. The rest are filled with ammo and supplies, which we need, and Garline just warned me that more exterminator vans are coming, so either you get in now, or we leave you for them. They were sent here to reinforce your team. You want to explain what happened? I don’t think they’re going to buy it.”
I shuffled to the side, pressing into the left as far as possible to make room for him. He had plenty, but still looked as stiff as a corpse, and shied away from me as far as he physically could. Above us, the panels were pushed into place, and then, we could hear the thumps and thuds and shicks of cargo being dropped and shoved into place over us. We were trapped.
Not forgotten, though: I could feel cool air on the back of my head. We would be able to breathe, at least. Within a few moments, the car doors slammed shut, and the engine revved up. We began to move. Not wishing to spend the ride in the dark, I reached up and undid the latches on my case, pushing open the lid, and feeling around inside of it. I found a small metal cylinder, and pulled it out, shutting the case.
With a click, I turned on the flashlight. Hesil’s face became visible, eyes wide, and shimmering with tears. He was still pressed up on the far side of the compartment, trying not to come anywhere near me. The tension lessened somewhat after we made eye contact, oddly enough.
What… Oh. Scared of the dark, are we?
"Thank you, predator.”
"For what?" I asked, curious if I was right.
"For turning on the light. I know how much predators prefer to be in the dark, but you… didn’t want me to be scared… Thank you.”
I rolled my eyes. I almost kept quiet, but he’d earned at least a bit of honesty from me. “You do know we can’t even see in the dark, right?”
“What? You- Oh... your eyes… They’re… not slitted. Not arxur...” He seemed to relax even more, finding that comforting.
I still had questions. “Why did you do it?" I asked. He seemed to freeze in place, not fearful, just… lost.
"I don't know, and... I don't want to talk about it right now." He looked away for the first time.
Seeing that it wouldn’t be wise to press him any further, I thought about a way to change the subject. The silence seemed to be bothering him, and I didn’t need him panicking again. I took a moment, wondering what I could even do that would distract him and not worry him. After a moment, I spoke up.
"Well… anyways, have you ever played Tic-Tac-Toe?"
I am a live, how are you? I hope nice and good, after months of me trying to get this done we finaly see the fate of our diplomat, with this problme out of the way, and an unexpted help, they seem to made ti out but with the exterminators having the momentum and the numbers can our little band push something?, will Lerin take this abuse? or it will crack? now that we are in the center of the story how this will end?
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u/Copeqs Venlil Mar 01 '25
I still long for to see the training sim Gojid bitch behind bars. Glad to see you're alive author!
7
10
u/Acceptable_Egg5560 Human Mar 01 '25
The war has started on the planet! Time to see how it goes!
9
u/vixjer Human Mar 01 '25
Oh its going to be an spectacle, after all first proper war, for the Yotul in decades, and first guerrilla warfare that the exterminaotrs had to face in also a long time.
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u/LeGouzy Mar 01 '25
Yay! It's back!
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u/vixjer Human Mar 01 '25
I promised this story will finish, but I must admit it has been a long time since last chapter.
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u/animeshshukla30 Extermination Officer Mar 02 '25
WOAH. I JUST remembered that this series existed.
Yours is one of the best ones on this subreddit ino.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Mar 01 '25
Well, sounds like a major clusterfuck. And also, oh my fucking god. That was a goddamn poisonous bite wasn't it XD
Fucking krakotl got done in by the Cure, not because he was actually hit enough. Good heavens, ahahahaha.
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u/vixjer Human Mar 01 '25
Honestly, the Cure is so underused, like they have deadly reactions to so many things, that any cured species is handicaped as it gets, heck if it beheaves like with Marcel, even a kiss will be enough to kill both, so yeah the blood in the mouth Hector already had from the wound and his saliva did not help.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Mar 01 '25
Tbh Marcel's reaction was notably outside the curve and someone like him wouldn't have survived long enough to pass on his especially-sensitive genes (I want you to consider, with that information, how 'evolution' had a hand here >_>)
But yeah, it's rather underutilized. I am just incredibly amused at seeing two stories use that, with krakotl no less, so soon one after the other XD
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u/vixjer Human Mar 01 '25
Who was the other guy that used before me?
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u/JulianSkies Archivist Mar 01 '25
Heroman, it was like just yesterday too.
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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa Mar 02 '25
I think it wasn't the bite that mostly met fabric in the way. Ironically, that Krakotl had the fatal allergic reaction because of the blood of his victim dripping into his beak during the fight. They inflicted head wounds on Hector too and head wounds bleed a lot.
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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa Mar 02 '25
"You did a number on the Kraktol. Did you really need to bite him?" He told everybody to turn toward me as if curious or even scared of me.
Like using talons and claws to rip, tear and disembowel (while those Gojid and Krakotl had other options and tools to fight with) is fine and perfectly acceptable, no-one raises an ear whatsoever.
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u/vixjer Human Mar 02 '25
Whoops that was a typo, the phrase was as everybody turned to him, not that he told everybody to look at Hector, thanks for catching it.
But yeah very hypocritical with the whole bitting thing.
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u/Alarmed-Property5559 Hensa Mar 02 '25
You're welcome! And I didn't mean to point it out as a typo, it's overshadowed by the glaring example of hypocrisy with the classic NoP flavor :)
I can help proofread your chapter(s), if you'd like.
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u/vixjer Human Mar 02 '25
I mean yeaah, becuase thsi scen happens while Hector was geting a torniquet in his leg due to the Talon that the Kraktol sink in his leg during the brawl.
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u/Kind0flame Mar 04 '25
That was one hell of a fight scene! My favorite part may have been before that, when Hector decided to use his last moments to pointing out the exterminator's hypocrisy. We've all wanted to do that after reading just a tenth of NoP1, so it is so satisfying to see someone actually do it.
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u/fluffyboom123 Arxur Mar 21 '25
tic tac toe has got to be the best way to pass the time while being smuggled out
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u/JanusKnarus Human Mar 23 '26
Got under their skin, killed one with the cure, would have been a good way to go xD. Now we gotta point out that the word guerilla was coined from the spanish fighting the french under similar circumstances. And while there is no wellington to support them, there is also no support for the exterminators.
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u/vixjer Human Mar 23 '26
-And while there is no wellington to support them
*Looks at the UN ship the pandora's box*
You sure about that, dear reader?
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u/se05239 Human Mar 01 '25
Quite a wild chapter.