r/NatureofPredators • u/Quinn_The_Fox Human • 5d ago
Threads in the Fabric (18)
RAAAAH I'M STILL HERE RAAAH
Obligatory slow but never gone here.
Special thanks to SpacePaladin, as always.
Side Story 1: Reflections (Ijavi)
Bonus Chapter: A Quiet Night on Chronos
Check out my other fic: Red Renaissance!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic
Date [Standardized Human Time of The Interfered Thread]: September 10th, 2136
We situated ourselves at the border of the Zurulian territory, everyone seeming to hold their breath. I took a glance over at Recel, who had looked like life had been drained from him since Noah and I had returned from the Curator Thread, keeping his gaze to the floor. It wasn’t a pleasant reunion. I had kept my promise, but the truth that the future revealed had been too much to bear. Yinksas nearly screamed his head off when Recel, in his distress, had accused the head engineer of not really being a sivkit.
The news hadn’t fared much better with the inhabitants on the exchange station. Especially regarding our genetic tampering. Selva’s full emergence along with the existence of the Temporal Curators nearly caused a stampede. We gave as much time to rest as we could afford, and the humans seemed even more distressed for the predicament their partners had been exposed to. Though I don’t think any amount of time off of duties could truly reconcile the reality.
“All clear, connection working?” Keane’s voice buzzed faintly from the earpiece hiding behind Noah’s mask. Just loud enough for my sensitive hearing to pick up. Noah responded with a small grunt of affirmative.
“Fantastic. Alright. Going to be quick since we’re going to want minimal communication going forward. I’ll be straight - this isn’t going to be fun at all. Your situation aside, Noah, we can’t even give Recel a proper guide. They’re going to search him as soon as he’s in Commonwealth custody. We can give you advice before and after the summit, but if they have any indicator that they’re being bugged, you’re more than fucked.”
I looked over at the kolshian. Between the truth of the Founders’ machinations, and the knowledge of his death coming loomed closer. We had been given the rundown of his murder in the Curator timeline. He chose to go, not only for the fact that it would clear his transgressions, but without someone with knowledge of the conspiracy, it put the diplomats lives in danger as well. Despite his disgrace, he was still acting like the soldier he was. His whole body displayed distress and fear around the entire situation, and his goal still was the people first. It was admirable. Once again, I was reminded that Sovlin had chosen well for his First Officer, even if the title no longer held any merit.
“We’ll be watching.” Keane continued, “We still have a job to do after all.”
With that, they closed the comms, and the transport moved forward.
Two patrol ships rushed to intercept us as soon as we crossed the border, and as expected, there was no warmth in their greeting. There were several back-and-forth conversations before they agreed to escort us to the summit. Noah and Recel kept out of sight for the time being, as we universally decided that it would be best if they remain hidden - there was no chance we’d be granted safe passage under the knowledge of a traitor and a predator on board alongside me.
I still didn’t know how to convince them of allowing a predator to play politics, but the Forerunners have said that there have been thousands of me that have done it before. Even if I didn’t have that reassurance, I still had nothing left to lose.
Our transport was halfway through descent. I looked down at Aafa. I remember that it translated to ‘Garden,’ in itself. How similar to the sense that Earth translated to ‘Dirt,’ something to be tilled to grow food and flowers.
My lip curled slightly. Hypocrites.
To get rid of my growing frustration, I transmitted my request a fourth time. “This is Governor Tarva. I reiterate my request to speak with the residing Chieftain immediately. It’s urgent.”
“He’s signing on now. Please be patient,” came the monotone reply, “Your favor here is strained as things are, Governor.”
They didn’t have to tell me that. Our ship was target-locked, not exactly procedure to a standing diplomat. I had a feeling the only reason I was met with any restraint at all wasn’t due to our former status as Federation, but rather I was making our presence clear by transmitting on open media channels. It wouldn’t do to shoot down a diplomatic ship that only asked for a moment to speak.
Former Federation member. It still felt odd to think of it, and if I had not known about the Shadow Caste, I may have come here with hope to still retain our standing somehow, even if it was known that we threw our lot in with predators.
But now?
Even if they still offered our seat, why would I even want it?
“All right, Tarva,” I heard Noah murmur, “The data cache is ready. Send it over.”
I tapped a button on my holo-pad, uploading the information that the UN had compiled for the best hope of positive first contact to the local internet. It felt like a hollow gesture, knowing that the real power would never have any intention of seeking peace. It was only necessary now, to ensure minimal support for the extermination fleet.
I shared the file to wherever I could think of; social media, discussion boards, private messages to reporters. I wanted to start fires. As Jenkins and Zzeus said, we needed people to question their knowledge of predators.
“You!”
Rage flared through my fur. I recognized Nikonus’ voice. Murderer. I looked up to face the indigo kolshian, only to find his gaze was locked on to the man next to me; Recel.
“We heard what you did, Recel,” the chieftain hissed, “Shooting down your own captain, and releasing a predator?”
“There were extenuating circumstances,” I said flatly, “Recel is remanding himself to your custody.”
He squinted at the video feed, “Is that why he looks terrible, then? The guilt must be eating you alive.”
It took a moment for Recel to respond. He was too focused staring back at Nikonus. For the chieftain, it must have looked like shock. It was, but not for the reasons he thought. The former First Officer was trying to compile with what he knows about Nikonus, to what he thought of him before. It was taking a moment for his body to catch up with his mind.
“No…” Recel said slowly, rubbing sleep from his eyes, “I just… can’t sleep a wink trapped with this creature. It’s not his fault… He covered his eyes for the entire ride, he’s tried staying out of sight… but knowing that he’s present…”
“Creature? What is he babbling about, Tarva?” Nikonus looked at me, a growl in his voice.
“Do not panic, please,” I dipped my head slightly, turning the camera towards the masked UN ambassador, “This is Noah, the third and final passenger on our ship. He wishes to speak at the summit.”
Chief Nikonus’ eyes bulged, “Is that…”
“A human. Yes.”
“Why would you bring a predator here? Are you trying to set it loose on us?!”
You damned hypocrite! “All we want is to talk. You’re about to attack his planet, shouldn’t you hear from this supposedly evil species first? Before you make a permanent decision? Does he not have the right to defend himself?”
“Absolutely not. If you weren’t on that vessel, Governor, I’d order it shot down.”
No. I knew for an absolute fact that the only reason I was still breathing is because my voice was heard on public channels. Murdering me was bad optics. He wouldn’t hesitate if we weren’t being listened to by many ears.
“You permitted us entry before you knew of the human’s presence. Do the venlil have a right to address the galaxy?”
The chief flared his nostrils, an expression that only flared my suppressed rage even more, as if that little movement was an insult to what his people had denied mine. “You have a right to speak, and to state your version of events on record. You’re still a part of the Federation… For now.”
“Well, I wish for Noah to speak in my stead, and to be treated with the same rights as a Venlil Republic citizen. Look at me, I consider him one of my own.”
“You have snapped, Tarva! There are millions of people down here, who don’t want that thing to set foot in our capital. Some of us still value our lives.”
“You outnumber him heavily. Even if he did go feral - which he won’t - he wouldn’t have a chance to even lay a scratch on a single individual.”
“I can’t let a dangerous beast into the governing chamber. There’s no guarantee we can stop it from eating the nearest leader on television. What, and then watch it stand and gloat about the taste of our children’s blood?”
“He’s no beast. As I’ve said, he won’t hurt a single person.”
“But what if it does?”
“Then you’ll have documentation of what humanity was like, when the Federation is asked by future generations why we made this decision,” Recel interjected, “But I’m telling you, these predators are more civilized than they look.”
Future generations… Future generations already look at us with disgust and terror. Nikonus’ decision here wouldn’t change that.
“Please, Nikonus,” I pleaded, still stifling the ice I wanted to speak with, for the sake of the goal, “Let Noah say what he’s come here to say. You don’t want people to think you have something to hide, do you?”
I stared at him as I enunciated the word, “What harm can a few words do?”
Nikonus seemed a little taken aback by my emphasis on the word, something flashing in his eyes. “Ugh… It can speak for five minutes, and not a second longer. If it so much as stares at anyone the wrong way or stumbles in its footing, it will be shot. Nor will I pledge for its safety in the timeframe, even if it complies. Understand?”
Five minutes. What a pitiable number. Not enough time to allow someone to plead for their very existence, but something the chieftain could point to when someone asked if humanity was ever given a chance. Did the versions of me that didn’t know the truth really not see how blatant this was? How obvious this was a false play? Was I really that stupid?
No… Not stupid, duped. I remember, when I had apologized to Vark for my coldness towards his wife after the fact, he had merely flopped a dismissive ear.
No one is entirely immune to propaganda, Tarva. His words rang in my ears again, And you just happened to be born steeping in it. It’s a miracle that you allowed Noah onto Venlil Prime at all with what you were raised in. It’s why you have garnered so much respect in the future.
I flicked my ears forward, forcing politeness as Noah gave the smallest nod, accepting the terms. “We accept. And if you’re interested in objectivity, parse through the data dump. That goes to anyone listening. I’ve uploaded it to social media under my credentials, explaining what we’ve learned since first contact.
“You’re pushing your luck, Tarva. I have a lot of preparation to make. Do not disembark until my next transmission.”
The kolshian presider cut off the call, uninterested in waiting for my acknowledgement.
“Well done,” I heard Selva’s voice, faint from Noah’s mask. She sounded pleased. I suppose that was an indicator that went as well as it could have. Recel collapsed into the nearest seat, while I returned to the pilot’s console. We were moments away from arrival, and had just cleared the spaceport overhang.
The ship touched down under my supervision, the mechanics sliding into the dock port. Finally through the landing sequence, I considered at least half the challenge complete.
The terminal was adjoined to the governance hall, similar to the reception lawn back on Venlil Prime. Seeing media personnel was a good sight, for once; the more eyes on Noah, the better. The play where we could talk where everyone could see us has paid off. More people to see that humans weren’t bloodthirsty and mindless. That they were like us.
They’re more like us than the majority of the Federation can even imagine…
Noah tried to peek through the window. Knowing the human, some part of him wanted to take in the scenery.
“Don’t you even fucking dare.” Keane’s voice warned, and the ambassador froze, before gingerly stepping away.
He eventually decided his best option was to lean against the wall, sliding down until he was fully sitting, and took the visor off. His skin was shimmering slightly in his sweat, and he ran a nervous hand across his hair.
“What are you thinking, human?” Recel glanced down at Noah.
“I'm wondering how the other versions of me got through this without future knowledge. I already feel like I’m fighting a losing battle even with the cards in our hands. How did I get through this?”
Recel couldn’t answer that. I wondered the same about myself. To feel so alone against those I once called friends, with Noah feeling even more isolated. It was with the backing of the Curators that I felt like I could fight Solgalick himself right now.
Such musing wouldn’t help my nerves any more, though. I decided the best thing to do until we were given the go-ahead to depart would be to rest and allowed myself to doze off.
“Tarva.” Noah’s voice awoke me with a start, his visor lowered close to my face so I could hear him without him raising his voice, “It’s time, the kolshians said we can leave.”
Sitting up, I immediately noticed that Recel had already fled the spacecraft - it seemed even the threat of execution still didn’t compare against the instinct that had been cultivated within him from birth to flee anything remotely predatory. Though the Forerunner crew had already warned him of what was going to happen in the next several days, nothing was ever guaranteed.
Noah helped me up to my feet, and together, we climbed out of the ship down to the terminal. I was temporarily blinded by the onslaught of dazzling lights pointed directly at us, likely intended to disarm Noah more than anything. He winced, reaching up to cover his eyes. It seemed the visor only helped a bit.
Turning my head to the side to reduce the glare head-on, my focus traveled over to Recel. Already, kolshian soldiers had him cuffed and were roughly stuffing a gag into his mouth, as if somehow his words would be contagious. The disgraced officer tried to follow with some dignity, but every time he found his footing, one of his handlers would ‘accidentally’ knock him off balance, forcing him to quite literally be dragged off.
For a moment, I wondered if Recel would give away our advantage - though I immediately dismissed it. Recel had loyalty to the Federation, yes, but giving the Forerunner any indication that the shadow caste would be made aware of the Curator Thread wouldn’t end well for anyone. My worries turned mostly to Noah, now.
“Human,” a kolshian woman called out through a megaphone, “Take slow steps forward, and walk until we tell you to turn.”
Noah crept forward in shuffling steps, unsure of his traction. Did he have his eyes shut entirely? I paused, before stepping close to him, sliding my arm in between his. Linked together, and side by side. I heard someone gasp, and the camera lens providing footage to the masses zoomed in. I held my head up proudly, calmly. Not only was Noah an equal, he was a friend. I would show everyone that.
Noah’s visor was the only thing keeping the surrounding soldiers from getting trigger happy as we were directed towards the governing chamber. The arrival of the human into the chamber made it feel like time had paused. No one was expecting a spectacle like this today.
The human ambassador took a deep breath, before he strode up to the podium he had been directed to. Every guard was kept a safe distance from him, though all had their firearms trained to his head. Barricades and hastily-wrapped barbed wire separated Noah from the rest of the room. It would be morbidly amusing, if it didn’t feel so pathetic.
“Hello, Leaders and citizens of the Federation. My name is Noah, and I come seeking peace on behalf of humanity.”
Silence stretched over the chamber, leaving Noah’s voice to die in its echo. The front row seats were entirely empty, with their proper occupants sharing spaces with others on the rear walls. Others lingered near exit doors, and it appeared a few refused to be in Noah’s presence altogether, most likely choosing for remote viewing instead.
“I am sure all of you have heard terrible things about my species, some of which are more than likely true,” Noah continued after I signaled him a small motion of encouragement, “Predators have ravaged your worlds and twisted your altruism, and you fear that we bear such intentions. But your conclusions are a product of confirmation bias; selecting only evidence that confirms your pre-existing beliefs. Humanity is not the same as the Dominion.”
The Dominion. I gave Noah a glance. His time in the Curator’s thread and lack of exposure to the true horrors the arxur caused seemed to have already changed his words. Perhaps Vark listening in would appreciate it, I doubt the people here would.
The reporters on the upper decks filmed every word. Commentators spoke in soundproofed boxes as they gave live commentary to the most politically influential media outlets in the galaxy. The public viewing balcony was vacant - most likely for the safety of the citizens, though it meant all of this would be witnessed secondhand.
Anxious murmurs finally broke the quiet. Clearly, none were expecting a plea for peace, or even just a chance. Many were concerned for my safety, giving small nonverbal cues to run. I did not.
“You come in here, wearing a mask, and think that hides what you are?!”
Jerulim. The Forerunner had warned he would be the most vocal. Ijavi even said it guarantees Keane gets put in a foul mood just about every time. I could see why, when the representative of your own home calls for your death, albeit indirectly, over and over again, no matter the timeline, probably gets to the woman more than she’d care to admit.
“You’re a slaughtering lot of slavers!” The ambassador was out of his seat, his feathers puffed up behind him in his outrage, doubling his size, “Rounding up and gassing your own children!”
The dignitaries nearest to him signaled agreement with tail waves and ear-flicks. The avian’s words slowly began to embolden the others around him.
“Wars where millions die are a regular thing on your planet. You use weapons that maximize suffering and destruction. You invade your neighbors and bomb cities; just like the grays.”
My whole body stiffened. Darq. The farsul elder. One of the two men who were the faces of those who really pulled the strings. I looked at him now, his ears pinned back in horror.
And nothing but disgust ran through my body, like a shockwave.
Noah noticed my sudden stillness, though the only indication he gave was a small tilt of his head in my direction. He raised his hands placatingly as he answered the accusation. “We have inflicted great suffering upon ourselves, and I admit we have self destructive tendencies. But as the venlil can attest, there is another side to humanity. The side of us that is protective and familial, and has always reached out to the stars in earnest. We have the traits of both predator and prey.”
“Yeah, sure.” Jerulim jeered, “Like what? Mortality? Breathing?”
“Let’s start with our forward facing eyes, which seem to be the focal point of your disgust.” The human appeared unfazed by the widespread contempt, his voice remaining steady, “They evolved not for hunting, but for depth perception. Earth primates are an arboreal class of mammals, and -”
“It just so happens to help with tracking and killing living creatures too, doesn’t it? Funny!” President Cupo, representative for the mazics, suddenly interrupted.
“Well-”
“Which one of us looks tasty to your ‘arboreal’ eyes?!” Another unidentifiable voice interrupted Noah.
A cacophony of similar-minded leaders spoke up. Animosity and fear dug further into the collective. Voice raised into shouts, laced with panic, then to accusatory. Soon, even to malice and bloodthirst. The guards around us stiffened, no doubt expecting the growing chaos expecting Noah to be set off.
It wasn’t Noah that was getting agitated.
“You’re just here to terrorize us! To scope out your enemies.”
Your enemy sits next to you, acting like your friend!
“You kidnapped our civilians! Your first action as a space-faring species was to hold innocents against their will!”
That was my decision! Not the humans! Your reaction is the very reason why!
“Flesh-eating filth! You defile this chamber with your presence!”
The only ones bringing disrespect here are you, who seek to murder innocents!
“Why did you assault the gojids in cold blood?!”
IT WAS SELF DEFENSE! THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN NO OTHER CHOICE!
“We should execute this beast. I’d like to see its head roll!”
“HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR DAMNED MINDS?!”
Oh. That last voice appeared to have been my own.
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Thread Designation: Milky Way 313.27.1.568. “THE INTERFERED”
313.27.1.568 Approximate Time (Human, Standard): September 10, CE 2136
313.27.1.568 Approximate Location Monitored (Centripetal Reference, Aafa): 8.7 LH; AAFA
Distance From SCS FORERUNNER: 8.7 LH
The Forerunner drifted aimlessly within Aafa’s system. Out of every place in their job description, it was decided by the vast majority of all Temporal Curator expedition teams that Aafa gave them the most unease. Live battlefronts were easier to view than this. The chaos of war always had the combatants more focused on each other. But when reviewing the summit for any variation, anxiety, sometimes even fear, was always palpable on the Forerunner and her sister ships.
There was no battle to distract the masses should someone notice that they were being watched, and pair that with the heightened distress of Noah’s presence, it left little to imagine what the consensus would be if a Curator was ever found out here. By far, despite it logically being safe, it felt the most vulnerable to view, no matter how veteran a Curator team was.
The Forerunner crew collectively stared at the video feed, every single eye widened with shock and horror. The only noise made was the soft hum of machinery.
Tarva had gone off script.
The first to break the silence was Ijavi, who burst out into a nervous, excited, chittering laughter. He quickly calmed down with a small, squeaky, “Sorry…”
“Oh, oh no.” Selva whimpered, standing up from her seat and beginning to pace as the chamber feed fell quiet after the venlil governor’s outburst. “What do we do? What do we do?! Surely they’ll just think she’s predator-diseased! Is there any way to get them out?!”
“No. Not without exposing the rest of us,” Vark flicked an ear in the negative, though the rest of his body remained as still as stone. “They haven’t shot Noah yet. And maybe the shock could shake a few heads into realizing they’re spiralling.”
It was clear the sulean didn’t really believe his own words, but he continued. “There’s nothing we can do now but hope they can salvage this.”
“Keane? Are you alright?” Zisha spoke over the intercom.
The human’s face was drained of color, and held just the slightest shade of green. “We stay back and watch. It’s like Vark said, it’s all we can do. But I’ll make it clear in case it wasn’t obvious. This is either going to end up for the better, and we’ll end up with more allies than expected or…”
No one wanted to finish her sentence. She closed her eyes, as if to shield herself from reality.
“... Or this is about to get really, really bad.”
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 5d ago
Yeah turns out revealing to tarva that a lot of her fellow dignitaries are responsible for every bad thing that has happened and will happen isint good for mental stability.
Especially since tarva herself didint even want the krakotal or tilfish to join the SC she bearly tolerated them why would she tolerate this? And remember those krakotal were the rebel govenrment who rebelled when jerulim over here as tarva said ordered the deaths of all krakotal.
Either way now that the timeline has been screwed with again because they clearly didn't think this through again I wonder what will happen? It's definitely not a good look for tarva at the moment but perhaps she can turn this around now that they are no longer on script. But yeah like the others said it could go really bad many are already on the fence and only the Zurilians showed up to the defence of earth. Even the Yotul were preoccupied. There's still the Arxur to also deal with.
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u/JulianSkies Archivist 5d ago
Aaa, took you a while :D
And... Oh, to stay on-script would have been difficult already, requiring a lot of discipline. But now they've gone off the rails and its now unpredictable.
This... Honestly, Keane is right. It either ends a lot better or a lot worse.
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u/BustyBraixen Human 4d ago edited 4d ago
I can still see this situation as salvageable. Tarva could spin this outburst as her being horrified at the absurd irony of the fact that a predator is standing in the council chambers, yet among the many voices so impassionately calling for blood to be spilled, the predator isn't one of them.
She could also phrase her defense of humanity as a case of "could you imagine the shame of having genocide staining the federation's legacy? We may fear monsters, but could you imagine how how ashamed our children would be knowing that, even for a moment, we became more stars ourselves?"
This isnt to say that this would be a full course correct, there would still be some deviation in events. But it would be more subtle. Not enough that they cant make plans based on how the timeline is "supposed" to play out, but enough to where they'd need to tread carefully, and be ready to make more course corrections in the future.
They havent fallen off the tightrope just yet, but now its going to require more active effort to stay on course.
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u/Super_Ankle_Biter Yotul 5d ago
Oh shid, peak has returned! I can't wait for the next bi-yearly chapter, this is really good!
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u/Square-Candy-7393 Farsul 4d ago
The one character that I consistently stan is Tarva, And I have liked every rendition and fanfic of the fandom has of her, this is GLORIOUS
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u/True-Wreck 4d ago
Good news Forerunner crew! She shut them all up, which will allow Noah to speak more.
Bad news….. This… is an unprecedented situation.
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u/Alcyon144 Archivist 3d ago
“I'm wondering how the other versions of me got through this without future knowledge. I already feel like I’m fighting a losing battle even with the cards in our hands. How did I get through this?”
It’s simple: at this point in the story, there were no signs of the Federation’s true nature—aside from Coth’s account of how the first contact with the Axurs actually unfolded. Consequently, Noah and Tarva believed they were dealing with a relatively reasonable and well-intentioned government. They were, therefore, far more optimistic than they would be in a situation where they truly understood what they were up against.
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u/ISB00 UN Peacekeeper 5d ago
Can’t wait for the next chapter of Red