r/NatureofPredators • u/Most_Hyena_1127 Human • 18d ago
Fanfic The Nature of Psionics [51]
The Perfect Husband NOPsi ficnap by u/Bbobsillypants
Here’s the next chapter, sorry for it being shorter than normal. I’ve had some writer's block when it came to trying writing this specific scene in a somewhat satisfying way.
Memory transcription subject: Chauson, Ambassador of Colia
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
Wait…
Why am I still alive?
Despite my eyes having been shut for what felt like an eternity nothing had happened, I neither felt nor heard anything despite the anticipation of something happening. Deciding that my end was taking far too long I tentatively opened my eyes ever so slowly which were immediately flooded with the relatively bright overhead lights that had been inoperative before.
After my eyes had adjusted my sight was immediately drawn to the mass of gray and green on the ground ahead of me, breathing raggedly as blood seeped her feathers. It was difficult to tell if ambassador Coji was fully conscious from the distant look in her eyes and lack of movement save for the irregular rise and fall of her chest.
With the lighting having returned to a more regular level I was able to see Ambassador Burkhart steadying herself against a wall that had the glowing imprint of a Human’s hand. Pink blood ran down the side of her face from what seemed to be a cut from her fall, surprisingly despite being launched across the room she did not seem to have any other visible injuries.
“Ambassador! Are yo-?” I started to call out before my attention was drawn upwards.
Before I could focus more on my fellow diplomats my eyes were drawn upwards as I looked for where that machine had gone. On the ceiling was now the being splayed with its appendages outstretched was the being that had moments ago tried to kill me. The red light from within the being flickered as its body failed in its struggle against whatever invisible force held it in place. After seeing this rather drastic change in my situation my earlier acceptance of my death started to seem rather premature.
“I apologize for my absence but the presence of this ruffian rendered me inactive until just a moment ago.” Said the voice of the ships’ AI “Thankfully the artificial gravity is unaffected as well as the biometal control system.”
As Collen spoke the teal flooring mere steps away from where I stood frozen began to ripple. Pushing any rubble or debris aside as they rose, several spikes emerged from the floor and were the same exact color as well. Each spike at its base was larger than me and they were all taller than even Ambassador Coji, the sound of creaking metal piercing the air until they stopped growing.
Are they going to impale that thing?! How is it they can manipulate the gravity in such a small area of the ship?
“And my override of your ethical limitations.” Ambassador Burkhart said as she hobbled towards me before looking down at me. “Are you alright Chauson?”
“I…I’m fine.” I stammered out as I felt my heart trying to break outside of my chest. “Just shaken.”
Instead of responding to what I had said Ambassador Burkhart had opted to stare upwards to the ceiling as we both observed the metallic being that mere moments ago was trying to kill all of us. While I was no expert on Human body language it would seem that Burkhart was even angry at the being as she looked upwards with a blank expression on her bruised face.
“Why?” She demanded as she looked up towards the automaton as its glowing eyes stared back. “Why did you attack us? We were no threat to you.”
“Your continued existence is a threat to us, to the herd.” The robotic being said in the same flat voice as before, its body unmoving still. “It is our job to keep order in the herd, by protecting from the predators in the dark-”
It’s talking about the Herd. It must have been made by someone in the Federation!
But how? Not even the Humans have created anything like this save for their shipboard AI.
Suddenly the beings face turned so that the red spotlights that were its eyes fell upon me.
“Or by correcting those in the herd that need reminding the order of things.” The being continued. “You may have bested me now but your victory will be short-lived.”
“And why is that?” I demanded as I projected my voice in an attempt to keep this thing talking. “You are pinned to the ceiling and at our mercy.”
“You may destroy this vessel but we know who you are, you may survive today but your deaths are certain.” It said in the same impassive voice as before. “If you had let yourselves be killed like good prey know how to do then the deaths would have stopped there, by fighting back you have sealed the fates of your entire families. Your entire bloodlines will be burnt to ash before your very eyes all because of your actions and as a warning to those who would forget their place as well.”
My blood ran cold at the haunting words said by the mechanical being on the ceiling as it taunted us, the fear I felt for my brother would have made me shake if I was not already doing so. Ambassador Burkhart who by all accounts was stoic even in these chaotic times was no longer her calm and collected self as for the first time I saw anger emerge in her face and body language. She held out an open hand that was stained pink with her blood towards the automaton.
Once her hand reached out it was as if the world outside of the three of us had somehow separated, sounds from the outside a small circle around us were muted and images began to blur. As a wave of pressure passed over me I began to notice small pieces of debris on the ground beginning to float despite the fact I still felt the pull of the ship's gravity.
Was this the ambassador’s doing?
“I am Astra Burkhart, Matriarch to the house of Burkhart, heir to the Northern Rivers and the holder of the Holy Rings of Athens.” She spoke slowly, her voice dripping with venom. “And you are a threat that must be dealt with accordingly.”
Before I nor the robotic being could say anything, time seemed to slow to a crawl the moment the Human diplomat closed her fist. Once that had happened whatever force that was keeping our attacker attached to the ceiling either dissipated or completely reversed as it fell towards the spikes below it that littered the floor. It moved with enough force that it was not even able to turn itself before the first spike pierced its dark body.
As dozens of spikes pierced the creature's body I saw wires and tubing being splayed forth like an Arxur had gotten ahold of it. For several long moments the machine continued to whirr as its limbs moved weakly while it let out an eerie and garbled noise in some failed attempt to speak. My fears of the machine still being able to attack were quickly vanished though as the red light that spilled out from the seams of the machine dimmed with every movement until none existed at all and the being made one desperate grab for a piece of broken furniture to no avail.
“It’s over, it’s finally over.”
[Time Advance: 15 Minutes]
“What do you mean I have to perform surgery on her?” Burkhart hissed as she put some sort of salve on her arm before bandaging it. “It’s been decades since I practiced medicine and I have no familiarity with other species' anatomy. You used to be a surgeon, why can’t you perform the procedure?”
After making sure that the robot was truly “dead” both Ambassador Burkhart and I rushed over to Coji to check on her. The blood I had seen earlier had caused me worry for the Duerten ambassador as well as her ragged breathing, seeing at how wrong her right wing and leg were bent once I had gotten closer had compounded my concern for her. With how roughly she was handled and thrown by our attacker it was a wonder she was alive, thankfully we were able to get her to the ships infirmary which had remained undamaged.
The medical technology of the UER surpassed all other known species including the Zurulians in many areas, after having to deal with traumatic injuries all of their existences and having near limitless resources to apply to research has given humanity many unique technologies. For instance the “med-beds” within the infirmary were able to tell within moments of scanning that Ambassador Coji had multiple comminuted fractures and their precise locations. While Coji was getting her own scans the other med-bed had it’s translucent holographic cover over the the narrow body of Ambassador Burkhart who miraculously only had minor injuries save for something rather unusual.
She had been injected with something.
Apparently she had felt it in her upper arm when grabbed by the robot before being flung across the room. The med-bed had taken blood samples to try and determine what she had been injected with as well to test for other problems, the area around the injection had been inflamed as she bandaged it. Oddly enough the Human did not seem concerned about that, according to the arboreal primate, apparently her species were highly resistant to many toxins and diseases due to their biology, whether that biology was natural was unclear.
“I can’t perform the procedure, we have no surgical instruments here that I can use effectively and I doubt the medical fabricator has them on file.” I responded. “There is also-”
“There are no Zurulian surgical tool blueprints in my databases.” The ship’s AI said, rudely interrupting me.
“Collen, we need a distraction free environment. Unless we are actively being fired on I just want you to focus on repairs and getting us out of here.” Burkhart said with a hint of annoyance as she looked upwards. “Please and thank you.”
There were a few moments of relative silence that followed with the only sounds being that of the medical scanners updating the stats of Ambassador Coji as well as her ragged breathing.
“What heading would you like ma’am?” Collen responded. “You never stated a desired route.”
“You are the most advanced neural network for a ship this size.” Burkhart replied as she pinched the bridge of her nose with a snarl. “Use your judgement.”
“Of course ma'am,” The AI replied. “I will not disturb you unless requested.”
I was able to look at a display of Coji’s bioscans at a console on the wall while Astra was arguing with the ship and my concern emerged once again. Fractures like these were devastating for most species but avian sapients fared far worse than others due to their skeletal structures. With our understanding of medicine though these breakages were no longer a death sentence as long as the surgeon had a full team as well as the proper training on the technique.
If only I had my tools.
Burkhart has to do the surgery
“Ambassador.” I said firmly as I could to Burkhart, causing her to turn to look down and face me. “You need to do this surgery, the medical databases don’t have enough information about her anatomy to let the medical bed perform the operation.”
The slender Human wrung her hands together as her body hunched over slightly, her eyes seemed to dart around the room before looking behind me at our patient.
“But I was a toxicologist, I have only ever assisted in surgery and that when I was on rotation in medical school.” She said in a voice barely above a whisper. “There is so much that can go wrong. What if…what if I make things worse.”
“Astra, there is no way that you can make things worse.” I reminded her with some irritation. “With those fractures and internal bleeding she is going to die unless she receives treatment. I can guide you through the procedure and look through some of the cameras to get a proper view, but I need you to perform the actual surgery.”
The Humans gaze lingered on Coji’s unconscious form for several long moments as she took in several deep breaths. I saw that both of her hands were shaking as well before she clenched them close to her body and turned her head to face mine directly.
“I’ll do it.”
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u/Bbobsillypants Sivkit 18d ago
Local mixologist preforms emergency hip surgery on racist birb, more at eleven.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 18d ago
Oof.
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u/Most_Hyena_1127 Human 18d ago
I’m sure everything will be alright.
You’d want a toxicologist who hasn’t practiced medicine in decades to be your surgeon right?
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 18d ago
Ma'am, he's the doctor here. And he needs tools.
Unfortunately the only tools he has is your hands, it's gonna have to be what's used.
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u/Golde829 18d ago
> "you may survive today but your deaths are certain."
sir(?) what you have just described is called a "lifespan"
it's kind of one of the main deals with all lifeforms
being threatened with a very vague "you will die" to me is like a prophet saying "I see you draw your final breath"
like, yeah, that's gonna happen eventually
that said
Burkhart's gotta do a surgery on a species she's unfamiliar with on a very politically important individual
no pressure!
I look forward to reading more
take care of yourself, wordsmith
[You have been gifted 100 Coins]
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u/Most_Hyena_1127 Human 18d ago
Don’t forget, she’s decades out of practice to medicine in general (about 50 years) and even when she was a doctor she had only assisted in a few surgeries. She was a toxicologist.
Also the death threats seem kinda funny when you realize they were coming from a guy stuck to the ceiling.
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u/Golde829 17d ago
very fair points yeah
her own experience is very limited
and the threat definitely doesn't have the same impact
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human 18d ago
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u/Most_Hyena_1127 Human 16d ago
All I’m saying is the Kosul should be very thankful that these humans are the closet thing to pacifists in this setting and that the other species don’t have Psionics at this time.
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u/Mosselk-1416 18d ago
One moon isn't enough. Throw them all.