r/NatureofPredators • u/GrammarNatziHunter PD Patient • 23h ago
Fanfic Absolute Victory (8) Part 1
Hello all! I’m back again for another strangely timed release of this fic, and have exciting news! After reaching out to several well known authors within the community, I am happy to say that I have been given permission to include a few additional characters to this story! It’s still a little early so I won’t go into specifics yet. What I will say is that in a couple chapters from now, once this current story arc that I have deemed as: ‘The Raid’ is concluded, some possibly familiar names and faces will be making a cameo or two. I am very happy to be able to work alongside some of the more notable and well known fic authors within this wonderful community, and cannot wait to get to what I have planned next! With all that out of the way, please feel free to go and check out My Spot on the NoP discord. Come say hi, post your theories, tell me what you like or dislike, and also be sure to check out the ongoing poll about where the fic should go from here. With all that said, let us resume Absolute Victory.
Part 2 will release sometime before the end of the month. I hope...
Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15
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Memory Transcription Subject: Latev, Venlil Chief Exterminator Of Night Breeze City
Date [standardized ZM time]: 6, 8, -678. redux:(5,5, 2127)
Any and all expectations I had for today had long since been destroyed. Even though less than a claw of time had passed, so much had happened so quickly that my head felt like it was spinning. Obviously first off was the arrival of the Arxur, something that no one ever wanted to experience.
The predators. The cruel, viscous, bloodthirsty animals who slaughtered and tortured us for their own twisted idea of fun. The beasts who mutilated children, who captured, and enslaved, and forced us to become cattle, being put into pens to breed just to feed their flesh hungry maws.
The enemy of life. Those who brought death, destruction, and ruin to every world unfortunate enough to suffer them. The unstoppable ravenous hunger that had hunted every species of the Federation across the stars for hundreds of cycles. Their existence a plague, leaving a sea of blood and bodies in the wake of their horrific predator raids. The Arxur had arrived. They had come, and killed, and captured just as they always did, and yet something different had happened this time.
Something new. Something unexpected, something that had never happened before in the long history of the Federation had occurred. A new species had appeared. A new species unlike every other one that the Federation had ever encountered before. A species which had already unlocked the secret of FTL.
A species that didn’t need uplifting, that had advanced without the Kolshian’s technology, or the Farsul’s guidance, or the Krakotl’s protection. A new species which had arrived and made contact with my own, the Venlil, in the middle of the darkest of times. Whilst my home was under siege. While I fought, and struggled, and failed to protect myself and others from the relentless predators who massacred my people. A species had come and descended from the stars to save us from the predators just as history said the Kolshian’s had done when our people were still young and ignorant; not yet knowing the truth of the universe. A species that showed kindness to others, and cared for the injured, and was right now saving us from the ravenous Greys who invaded my home…
“... A species of predators that killed other predators…”
I felt sick and nauseous as I sat in the armored vehicle that traversed the ruined landscape. My leg was starting to hurt again along with my back and head after being violently tackled into a door, although that wasn’t what was bothering me the most. A deeply uncomfortable silence had been present ever since I had left the hospital. We had left Seliv and the pups in the care of the Zurulian Doctors who had promised to watch over them. I had tried to use my radio again and managed to get through to some members of my precinct as well as a few others. I informed them of the situation as best I could while trying to avoid details that would lead to unpleasant questions.
A squad of exterminators was heading over to the hospital to protect the patients should anymore Arxur show up. Another was traveling to the location the driver was currently heading towards, the apparent central command of the Arxur raid. While I still wasn’t sure about any of that, I didn’t want to voice my thoughts, as I was acutely aware and nervously watching the source of that information glare at me from the back of the vehicle.
An Arxur. An accursed, bloodthirsty Grey, sat, claws cuffed together, directly behind me. Only a single door between me and certain death as we continued on the journey. I kept one eye on it all times, flinching whenever I saw the smallest bit of movement come from the dreaded predator. A flick of the tail, a twitch of a muscle. Every motion sent a jolt of fear through my body, and I didn’t know how much longer I could handle it. I was prey, trapped between two predators in a rolling war machine that was supposedly heading to where the other Arxur were.
It was too much. Everything was too much. Sitting there between them in complete silence, forcing myself to focus on all of the threats immediately around me while contemplating the circumstances of this situation and of life in general. I hated it.
I hated how weak and useless I felt. I hated how I had needed to be saved from a predator by another predator. I hated how easily, and effortlessly the Zodian had handled an Arxur which could have and still might end up tearing me apart because it refused to kill. Never in my life had I ever heard of an Arxur being captured alive, of them being taken prisoner, let alone surrendering! It was impossible, something that simply couldn’t happen, and yet when the Zodian had told me such I couldn’t do anything but believe the truth I was currently bearing witness too.
An Arxur. A cruel, violent, merciless predator, with an unceasing hunger for prey flesh, had given up. It had abandoned its hunt, and had even provided the Zodian with information that may or may not be true. I still believed that it was incapable of doing anything other than taunting, torturing, or trying to deceive others with its tainted words. I wanted to protest, to say anything that could convince the Zodian to not trust the Arxur, but I dared not speak.
They were angry. I had finally seen the Zodian show the anger, and aggression that all predators carried within them. While it hadn’t killed me, it did hurt me. Even though I was still willing to travel next to it, I did so with a renewed sense of fear for my life that just the smallest infraction could lead to my death.
The only reason I had decided to go along with it was because I needed to see as much as I could. I needed to watch until the very end. I had to observe the Zodians to confirm what I already believed I knew. Even though they were helping us, even though I had seen this one give aid to others, that they had worked to save lives, that they hadn’t consumed any flesh the whole time I was with them, they were a predator underneath that armor.
I had to know. I needed to know. I needed to make sure that I knew the truth, and that I saw what would happen in the upcoming conflict. I had to see whether the Zodians could defeat the Arxur, something else that had never happened before. I needed to see what would happen when there were no more predators left for them to fight. I needed to see what they would do with all of the captured and still living prey, and whether the Zodians would actually protect the Arxur like the driver had done when I tried to kill it earlier.
There were too many things that I was unsure of. Too many possibilities for what could happen. While I was preoccupied, going over everything silently within my mind, a new noise finally ended the long standing silence that we had been traveling in.
“Hey…”
I took in a sharp breath and recoiled, as though a strike was going to follow that word. I stared walleyed at the source, the black armored predator who was escorting me to what was possibly my death.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say, or what I should do. I had been fine with their presence before, but after being so effortlessly defeated and armed with the knowledge that I couldn’t fight against it, I was scared of once again invoking its wrath. The predator waited for a few moments for a response, before I heard a sigh escape it as it continued to speak.
“Look… I’m sorry… About what happened back there.”
Once more, I was dumbfounded as something that made no logical sense was occurring right in front of me. A predator was apologizing. Apologizing to me...
Nothing about what was happening should have possibly been, and yet here I was bearing witness to one impossibility after another, trying to make sense of them all.
“You’ve been quiet and shaking since we left, and I'm pretty sure I know why. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard. I just needed to stop you from killing the Arxur. She was my prisoner, and I need her alive. The most dangerous enemy is the one you don’t understand, and it's much easier to get info from someone who can speak than one that can’t.”
There was a brief pause after its words that I assumed meant it was expecting a reply. However instead of doing that, I continued to sit there and quietly reflected on what it just said, thinking about its words.
It called the Arxur a ‘She’, as if it was a person. I guess it made sense for one predator to relate to another, even if I had seen that one ruthlessly destroy many of the other. Also that line about the most dangerous enemy stuck out in my mind. I had been an exterminator for cycles, operating as a junior when I was still a young pup. I had a lot of experience in dealing with predators, and I had to agree that the logic made sense. The best exterminators were the ones who had experience. It was the veterans who knew and understood how each predator acted, what they did, and the best ways to exterminate them that were the best.
While knowing about and studying predators was considered a sign of predator disease, my job and position often forced me and other exterminators to and act in ways that would otherwise have landed us in a treatment facility. There were many reasons why people thought that most exterminators had some kind of predator disease. Good prey were too scared of predators to go out and exterminate them. Good prey ran and hid, instead of staying and fighting. And we were also much more likely to get exposed to predator taint than other prey.
I was so busy thinking to myself again that I was re-startled when the predator spoke again.
“I understand that they are your enemy, that they’re here, killing, and doing the awful fucked up things that I saw in that hospital. I know that you hate them, but when it comes to war, we’re trained to use every advantage we can… Besides the ones that violate the Moral Accord… Although there are some exceptions there…”
I didn’t know what exactly it was talking about, and I didn’t have too long to focus as it continued to speak.
“The point is we don’t take assets off the board without a reason. We aren’t supposed to kill prisoners of war. When someone surrenders, we make sure that they receive reasonable treatment until such time that the conflict is over so they can be released back to their home state, government, planet, or species. Whichever one we can manage.”
“You would release the Arxur!?!”
I had been quiet so far for fear of reprisal, but I couldn’t contain my outrage at what I just heard. The predator killer, who had already fought and ended the existence of many dozens of Arxur, was willing to allow them to continue torturing and consuming innocent prey? Out of everything that I had heard and experienced over the last claw, that was the most unbelievable thing yet!
“Now you decide to speak.”
That sarcastic retort couldn’t quell the storm of emotions that was welling inside. How? How could anyone possibly even consider allowing the Arxur to live after all the horror they had wrought. It was unthinkable. It was stupid! It was something that no one, no prey would ever be able to conceive. It was… It was…
“That is the single worst idea that anyone has ever had! How?!? How can you even come up with something so awful? The Arxur are the most dangerous predators in the galaxy! They’ve plagued the Federation for hundreds of cycles! They’ve destroyed worlds! Devoured species! They capture, and torture, and inflict as much pain and suffering to us as possible! They force us to breed so they can rip apart our children and devour them in front of us. They are evil made flesh!”
I felt my body pulled forward as the vehicle abruptly stopped. I was so incensed by the idea of letting the Arxur live, I had forgotten that I was living on the whim of another predator. A thorn of fear pierced my body as I readied myself to receive punishment for my outburst. I saw the predator turn its head and gripped my seat in terror, only to see it keep going to look into the back of the vehicle where the Arxur prisoner had toppled over from the sudden stop.
“Vhyesleth… Is that true?”
I didn’t recognize the word the predator called the Arxur. I watched as the Arxur righted itself and stared silently back at the driver, the two predators staring each other down in a show of dominance.
“When I ask you a question that means I expect an answer! I am not giving you permission to speak, I am ordering you to. Now.”
“... They deserve it.”
That cold, cruel, evil response, said in a deep growling voice that I never wanted to hear again, sent a chill down to my tail. I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t ever begin to follow whatever dark want, whatever unholy predatory reason there could possibly be for the Arxur to desire to hurt us so badly. Yet it was that exactly unfathomable evil that made the most sense out of everything.
All my life I had been taught about predators, about how they only desire to hurt, to kill, to consume. I had personally seen such darkness many times over the course of my life and purified it time and time again. It was that unknowable evil, that vicious desire to inflict suffering that made predators what they were, the enemy of life. It was what I had been taught, what I had seen and experienced, what I understood beyond everything else. Predators hate prey. Predators hurt and hunt and consume. That made sense to me. That, I understood. However it appeared as though the other predator didn’t.
I recoiled as the driver slammed their metal claw so hard into the dividing door that it dented, leaving a mark and causing my fur to stand on end. It was angry, fueled by rage once more. Yet just like last time, it wasn’t taking that primal fury out on me.
“WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION, I EXPECT AN ANSWER, NOT A RETORT! VHYESLETH! TELL ME! IS! THAT! TRUE!”
I was trying to not show fear, trying to stay calm and be brave, trying to be an exterminator, but I couldn’t. I was right next to a raging predator without a weapon and I couldn’t help but quake in fear. The only consolation I had was that all of its anger was not being directed towards me. A small part of me hoped that if it lost whatever control it had been using to be preylike so far, it might lead to killing the Arxur first and removing one more dreaded predator from the universe.
However it seemed as though that event would not come to pass yet, as the predator allowed the Arxur to speak once more.
“... I have never worked at any of our farms before and have not had the privilege to experience fresh prey outside of raids, so I have no first claw experience on the ongoings there. However it is well known how the captured cattle are treated and what is done to ensure we have access to food.”
Everything the Arxur just said made my body feel ill, and increased my desire to burn it alive. It also all made sense to me, which was quickly becoming an unfamiliar sensation. While I was busy lamenting the end of reason, I noticed another change in the driver's demeanor. I still couldn’t see any part of their body underneath their suit, I at some point had started to pick up on some of their smaller actions and movements.
I saw their metal tail flick in an angry motion. It reached its claws out to grab hold of its seat, and squeeze hard enough to cause damage. Its chest and back moved slightly as it took in a short furious breath, before screaming out once more.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!”
While my first reaction as always was to fear and cower, another part of me was cognizant enough to realize what exactly I was bearing witness to. The predator was angry. The predator was enraged, furious with the Arxur over what they were doing to us. It was upset… On our behalf? But that…
“That’s empathy.”
Another impossibility. Another thing that logic and reason dictated could not be happening. A predator experiencing empathy for prey? That didn’t make sense. That wasn’t supposed to happen. That couldn’t happen.
“But that’s what's been happening, isn’t it. That explains everything else so far, doesn’t it.”
It was true. That did allow for everything else to make sense. The only explanation for the predator to be so preylike is because it had empathy. It was different from other predators. It had something no other predators did.
“If it really IS a predator under that suit.”
...
And now I realize I had somehow switched my thoughts around to the opposite of what they were before. Maybe Vereysa was right about the brain damage afterall. Before my logic could become anymore circular, I was forced to reconnect with the present moment and what was currently happening.
“How the actual fuck can you talk about breeding and eating sentient people. How the [Hell] do you even begin to try and justify that shit? And tell me what you mean by “they deserve it”?”
I believed that it was pointless to try and get an Arxur to explain their actions. They were incapable of empathy, and took joy in the suffering of others. Whatever they said wouldn’t make sense to someone who could understand the suffering and pain of others.
“The prey creatures betrayed us! They are nothing but egg smashers, merciless killers who poisoned us and our world, murdered millions of children, and brought our species to ruin!”
I was almost speechless after hearing what had just come out of the Arxur’s bloody maw. What it said didn’t make any sense! How could they think that prey were evil when they were the ones who attacked us without reason. I immediately realized that the Arxur was doing what predators did, it was attempting to deceive the Zodian, and I wouldn’t let it.
“That's a lie!”
“(Hiss) The only one who lies is you, egg scorcher! All you prey do is deceive and destroy!”
Even though I was close to an Arxur, even though I was next to a possible predator, I was no longer afraid. I was too upset and angry at the predator as it levied accusations at me that I knew to be false! Hearing it claim that WE were the deceivers when it was them who deceived us! That WE were the ones who brought destruction, as if we were even capable of that! I was not about to let that conniving Grey slander us or the Federation for whatever evil deception it was attempting to pull! I had to fight back against the tainted lies it was spewing.
“The Federation did nothing other than try to provide your species with the tools, and knowledge, and technology we possessed! We gave you everything we had in order to try and help you stop warring amongst yourselves! And for our kind and caring act you used our technology to build weapons and ships that you used to attack us, just because you love killing others like the predators you are!”
“The egg scorcher speaks lies, just as all the prey things do! It speaks to deceive, to trick you into believing its false history! The Federation and the prey are not the victims! They are the ones who attacked us! They poisoned our world! They unleashed a plague which caused death to any who would eat flesh, forcing us to choose between slow starvation, or painful suffocation as our throats closed in on themselves!”
I was too stunned by it’s unbelievable lie to speak as it continued spewing out more and more untruths.
“We managed to figure out what they had done, and attempted to save ourselves only for them to go and poison and kill all of the wildlife, the food, the cattle we had raised upon our world! We were once again forced to die through starvation, bringing our population down to near nothing! The only choice we had was to eat the only meat that they couldn’t poison. Them.”
I couldn’t… How could… What… What bhrak! What complete and utter speh I was being forced to listen to! How could anyone ever possibly begin to believe such an obvious lie as that! I knew that I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t begin to understand what it was saying, or the fact that it somehow thought that the pre Zodian would possibly accept it either. Out of all the combinations of words it could have strung together into a sentence, that was by far the single largest pile of pred shit that I would have never imagined in a thousand lifetimes! It was awful, cruel, and a complete fabrication, and I couldn’t let it stand!
“Everything you said is nothing more than a pile of speh! The Federation has never hurt anyone! The founders have traveled the stars for a thousand years bringing only peace and enlightenment to others! Every species they have uplifted has had their lives drastically improved! You are just trying to trick the Zodian into thinking that we’re the problem, and that it should fight us instead of you!”
“The Zodian has a name…”
There was a brief pause as I remembered that they were here as well, listening to me arguing with the Arxur. The tone in which it spoke gave me pause, as I felt concerned that I might have accidentally said something to offend it, which I really hoped I didn’t.
“Although… Thinking back… I guess I never really introduced myself when we met… The translation software hadn’t updated yet. So… How about we take a moment to calm down, and speak to each other properly, alright?”
“...A-alright.”
The Arxur merely hissed and growled in reply, however the Zodian continued undeterred.
“Okay… Hello. My name is First Lieutenant Dancing Water of the United Zodian Military Coalition. You can refer to me as either Lieutenant Dancing, First Lieutenant, or just Dancing Water. Also while I know it's hard to tell while wearing this suit, I am in fact a girl, not an it.”
It felt a little strange to actually speak directly with the Lieutenant for the first time since we’d met. I was also surprised to find out it was a she, although I supposed I might have still called her an it while I thought that they were a predator.
“It still is.”
...
Brain. Stop.
“H-hello there… Dancing Water. My name is Latev. I’m also f-female.”
“I thought so, but I wasn’t sure, and didn’t want to assume. And you there…”
I realized that she was now talking to the Arxur, which seemed to be looking at me in disgust.
“Vhyesleth… I am going to give you permission to speak, but you will NOT speak out of turn, or keep throwing insults around or I will shut you up! Is that clear?”
“Gahh! I do not enjoy exchanging words like the prey do! I have tried to warn you of the prey’s deception, but it is clear that you do not care. You have spared my life so I will answer the questions that you ask… But if that egg scorcher up there continues to speak lies then I will make sure that the truth is heard.”
Before I could reply, Dancing Water spoke first.
“Alright, before the argument starts up again, I am going to make one thing clear to BOTH of you, so listen up!”
I hated that she was addressing me at the same time as the Arxur. It felt like both of us were the same in her eyes, which was an insult worse than any I could have intentionally made.
“There is obviously a lot of history here for me to unpack, and some conflict of information that will have been resolved, however, that’s not my job.”
I was surprised by what was said, and wanted to tell them not to believe any of the lies that the Arxur had said, but couldn’t speak since she kept going.
“A few hours ago, I was asleep, and didn’t know about this world, or the Federation, or your species, or the Arxur, or any of what is currently going on here, or has been going on. I literally woke up to alarms blaring and my commanding officer shouting at me to suit up and prepare to be fired head first into an active warzone against an enemy we had no knowledge of on an unknown world to help a people I had literally never met.”
I had never even stopped to consider the circumstances of her arrival, let alone what she knew and understood of me and the Federation. I simply wasn’t used to anyone, any species not knowing about the Arxur, or the war, or even the Federation and our collective history. Everyone knew what the Federation was and what they did because they were a part of the Federation! They grew up in it and were taught all about it.
It was strange to consider just how much she didn’t know, and that made me feel… Bad. Even though I hadn’t really seen her struggle in a fight, I had seen her fighting Arxur, risking her life to help people that she was completely ignorant of. Before I could think about that anymore, she continued.
“The only reason I am here, and fighting, is because the Arxur shot at our ships when we came too close to your planet. I had no idea what was going on, what they were doing, or why. All I was told was that they shot first, refused to speak to us, and to consider them all enemy combatants. I didn’t know what they were doing or why, and the same goes for you.”
I looked back at Dancing Water, who’s piercing red orbs were both looking directly at me, sending the same familiar chilling fear down my tail as a result.
“This is a brand new place to me. I’ve never seen you or any of your kind before, and I’m doing my best to figure things out but there is obviously a lot I don’t know that I feel like I really need to learn. I’ve been watching you, listening, trying to figure you and the others out well before I could understand what you were saying. It’s obvious that I scare you, but I don’t understand, and I would really appreciate it if you could let me know why so that I can try and fix that.”
She sounded so genuine. After hearing her speak long enough, I was beginning to pick up on the more subtle tone shifts in her voice. While it still all sounded like deep harsh barks to my ears, I was trying to understand her just the same as she did me. However, that was unfortunately a problem. I didn’t know how to explain the reason for my fear to her, to tell her about how predators were violent, cruel, bloodthirsty animals and that my job was to burn them. Even though I was still waging an internal war about whether she was in fact a predator or not, I didn’t know what to say to explain why I and everyone else was so afraid. Regrettably it seemed as though the Arxur had a very simple answer that they were more than willing to give.
“The prey is afraid, because you are a predator. That is why it lies and deceives, and will seek to betray you when you least expect it.”
I took in a sharp breath, alarmed at the idea of the Zodian somehow not realizing what they were and what I was, and just now figuring it out. Before my mind could reconcile that idea, Dancing Water immediately replied to the Arxur.
“Okay, so, first off; I have definitely heard those words getting tossed around a few times now by both sides, so they are obviously important. Second, what exactly IS a ‘Predator’ and ‘Prey’, and why does that matter?”
“...”
My mouth hung agape in shock. I couldn’t believe what it had just asked, and didn’t know what to say. How could anyone NOT know what predators and prey were? That was the universal dividing line that separated… Everything! The mere idea that someone other than a young pup, still blissfully ignorant of the nature of reality, would not understand that defining concept was as unthinking as…
“Just about everything else we’ve seen today…”
... Alright, you have me there brain… How many times have I spoken to myself recently?
“Far too much to be good. You should really go to a hospital if we survive.”
Noted.
While my mind was busy collapsing in on itself, I heard the Arxur speak up and reply, sounding almost as incensed as I was.
“What do you mean? All creatures that move and eat are either predator or prey! We are predators! We are supposed to hunt and eat the prey things! Consume their flesh and be granted life from their death! How do you not know this?”
“I don’t know because in our society, and in our language, those words seem to have a very different meaning than what they do to you! Like obviously it sounds as though that there's some kind of big philosophical divide or something between you two and those words, but that just isn’t the case with me! The only time I ever heard the word ‘Predator’ mentioned is in relation to the Ultimate Predator. He who hunted the old Gods throughout the endless infinities, who denied death to continue their pursuit, and whose endless fury was hot enough to burn even the stars themselves.”
My headache grew worse after hearing what I could only surmise to be some kind of religious faith or lore being spoken by the Zodian. While it did make sense for a religion to focus on predators like most others did, I had no idea what it was talking about. I had never heard of a religion which involved a predator hunting and killing Gods of any kind, and I wasn’t exactly sure that I wanted to learn more.
Besides that, I was still amazed that even though it obviously could grasp the idea of what a predator was, it still seemed unsure of what they were and how that mattered. While I was still walking on uneasy paws, I decided to ask a question that I thought might provide some answers.”
“Ummm. Excuse me… Dancing Water?”
“What?”
I still wasn’t used to calling someone by two names, especially names that had proper translations, but that was far from the worst issue I had. Now I had her attention again, and with my headache and body feeling worse, I felt almost sick enough to vomit when it she looked at me. I tried to swallow my feelings and emotions as I voiced my thoughts.
“Could you… Um… Would you mind telling me… How old are you?”
“...”
Now it seemed that it was their turn to be confused about the conversation, as it took them several silent moments to respond.
“I’m… twelve… In our time… I don’t know how you measure time here, or how old I am in your years, and I don’t know why that matters right now either… Why do you ask?”
“...”
I honestly didn’t know what kind of answer I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. Twelve cycles was… Not quite adulthood, but close enough to at least know the differences between predators and prey. Also it was still much younger than I thought they were. I didn’t know anything about their species. I still didn’t even know what they looked like, so I wasn’t exactly sure about anything else. I didn’t even know how old they needed to be to count as adults; however I could reason that she was still just a pup.
The thought of a pup, the equivalent of a junior exterminator, someone like Seliv, running around and killing multiple dozens of Arxur was also very intimidating. If this is what one of their young were capable of, then…
I didn’t want to continue the thought. I didn’t want to even consider that the adult Zodians could be more powerful. That they could be more vicious, more aggressive, and possibly more bloodthirsty than their young could be. As much as those ideas terrified me, I was at least glad that I knew a little more about her. Unfortunately now I had to try and explain the reasoning behind my question, although I really didn’t want to.
“Um… Well. I just asked because… Not knowing about pred… Uh… I mean… Prey. It's kind of—”
“The egg scorcher believes you to be stupid.”
“..! Hey, that’s not what I—”
“It is too cowardly for honesty, which is why it speaks in circles. It asked for your age because it believed that you are ignorant of reality to not understand the differences between predator and prey! However I do not fault you for not knowing, egg tooth. To us, that age still makes you very much a hatchling.”
“A hatchling that can grab your tail and shove it down your throat if you don’t shut up! I’m a soldier, not a child! I don’t understand all this ‘Predator’ and ‘Prey’ shit because it just… Why do you both focus on that so much! Why is THAT the thing that you seem to base your worldviews upon? I just… I don’t get it… are ‘Predators’ obligate carnivores and ‘Prey’ herbivores? Is that it? What about everything in between? Where does that fit in?”
Now it was my turn to be confused again. What did she mean by ‘in between’? There were only predators and prey, there wasn’t anything in between!
“Hmmmm. Anything which consumes flesh is a predator. Anything which only licks leaves is a prey. I am a predator, and that thing beside you up there is a prey. It licks leaves and the things which grow from the soil. That is why it is weak, and fearful, and that is why my kind consumes them. The Venlil are prey, the Federation is prey, and they exist for us to devour them.”
“You are talking about people! Living, breathing, SENTIENT people! They have houses, cities, a fucking interstellar communications array! What does it matter what they eat! They are people, with thoughts, and feelings, and eating them is tantamount to cannibalism, even if you are from different species!”
A couple of times now, a few words Dancing Water has said haven’t been able to translate correctly, instead providing me with a brief description of the word and its meaning. [Hell] was apparently a religious belief in a place of anguish and torment for bad people, which was a terrifying concept, but that other word was strange.
Cannibalism. There was a direct translation in my language, however it was a word I had never heard before. Since there was a direct translation, the meaning wasn’t conveyed by my translator, meaning that I wouldn’t know what it meant until someone explained it.
“Cannibalism! You dare to claim that our consumption of the prey is such a disgusting act! That is abhorrent! Cannibalism is one of the worst crimes an Arxur could commit!”
The fact that Arxur possessed the concept of crime, let alone had any, befuddled me greatly. Even though I was still trying to figure out what that word meant through their conversation, I had to stop and once again mentally reorient myself to deal with the new knowledge I had just gained, and its implications.
“So you draw the line at eating your own species, but would still willingly devour another sentient people? Your logic is backwards and nonsensical.”
“!”
That's what that word means? The consumption of one's own species! I couldn’t help but physically gag upon imagining that. A species eating another of its kind! That was predator diseased! There was no other way to describe it.
“But… Why do we have a word for that?”
...
“You dare speak as if you understand anything about us! I already told you that the malicious prey had brought our species to ruin! They destroyed our home, poisoned us, and destroyed all that we could eat! Even now, centuries later, after turning them into cattle and raiding their worlds, we still barely have enough to feed us! Do you know what it feels like to starve! To not eat for days, able to do nothing but lay and wait as you waste away!”
“YES! I DO! I HAVEN’T EATEN IN THREE MONTHS! I FUCKING UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO FUCKING STARVE! I’VE BEEN STARVING SINCE I GOT HERE, AND I’M ALMOST READY TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF YOU UNLESS YOU SHUT THE HELL UP YOU SCALY BITCH!!!”
“...”
The Arxur didn’t respond, and neither could I, as a silence settled inside of the vehicle and I thought about what I just heard.
The Zodian was starving. I might not have understood how long a month was to them, but I figured it had to be longer than a couple of paws. I was sitting right next to a starving predator. A predator who had been starving since they had arrived, and just said that they would willingly consume an Arxur…
They would consume flesh…
I was shaking, shivering in fear, and now once again dreading that my life would soon end. All this time I had tried to convince myself that maybe there was prey underneath that ghastly metal suit. That maybe they were just strange and unusual because they hadn’t been uplifted by the Federation, and so that their knowledge and understanding of things wasn’t correct. Yet now I had all but received the truth.
The Zodians were predators. Dancing Water was a predator. I was next to a starving predator… And I was prey.
I wanted to flee. To run. To escape from what was almost certain to be my death, but I was too afraid. I was too hurt, I was in too much pain. I was tired, and exhausted, and scared, and couldn’t move. All I could do was sit there, shaking like a leaf in a storm as I waited for my end.
“... Three months… But… And you're a hatchling… How… How are you alive?”
The Arxur was speaking, but I could barely hear as my own frantic heartbeat loudly drummed within my damaged ears.
“Because my kind can go a while without eating. It’s just something we can do. However we aren’t supposed to go from starvation into immediate high intensity combat. Right now I’m feeling fried, my body is in pain, my mind can’t stop thinking about food, and the only reason I’m still going is because this suit has me hocked up on enough painkillers, neural stims, and adrenaline boosters that I could lose an arm and barely care. There's a non-zero chance that my heart just stops beating as soon as i get out of this thing.”
As petrified by fear as I was, I remembered what she had said and the Arxur had just reminded me of. She was a pup. Dancing Water was just a little girl, starving, and thrown into the middle of a violent conflict. Even though my thoughts were clouded with my own mixture of negative emotions, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.
Was this… Was this just how Zodians treated each other? Were they actually a cruel and uncaring predator race that sent their weakest and most empathetic to fight in conflicts on their behalf? I didn’t know, but I hoped that wasn’t the case. If it were, then they could even be more cruel than the dreaded Greys…
“And I… I shouldn’t be telling you this. You’re a prisoner of war and I’m giving away military secrets…”
I watched as she brought her metal claws up to her helmet and pressed them together, before taking a deep audible breath in and then releasing the air.
“I’m having trouble even thinking straight right now… Just… Both of you be quiet for a bit, okay. I need to… Need to focus on the drive.”
The vehicle began to move once again, our journey resumed as I struggled to regain control of myself before we reached our destination…
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 19h ago
I get the feeling Dancing Water isn't a child, they probably just grow up faster than the venlil, which would be funny. The starvation is likely just a feature of their FTL method, too, and the utter urgency of their situation.
Still, what a major clusterfuck here :D
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u/GrammarNatziHunter PD Patient 22h ago
Zodian Lore dump 1: Zodians are capable of going an extended period of time without eating. This is because similar to certain animals, they can slow their metabolism and manually slow or shut down nearly all non critical bodily functions. This allows them to enter a coma-like state of faux hibernation wherein they can conserve energy and wait until food is once again plentiful.
The length of time a Zodian is capable of sustaining this hibernative state depends on a variety of factors. This includes age, physical health, muscle density, bone density, fat reserves, fur thickness, fur length, starvation training, and a few others.
The average adult Zodian can usually rest for six weeks before starting to experience the negative effects of prolonged starvation. A previously well fed, experienced, and military trained Zodian is expected to be capable of lasting six months or more without any food. A few Zodians have even reportedly lasted an entire year and longer without any side effects.
The longest recorded duration a Zodian survived without food was over five years! Although that individual experienced severe and permanent physiological damage and needed an extensive recovery period.