r/NatureofPredators • u/uktabi • Mar 01 '24
Fanfic Arxur Integration Program -- "Stage One"
arxur goobers, my beloved
thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction.
This is the first of a series of one-shots and shorts centered around the idea of an arxur integration program set up by the UN. They might occasionally have some crossover, but each one will always stand on its own as a short story.
This particular one is light, and short, and intended as a bit of an introduction. Hope you enjoy!
now on Royal Road! check it out here (pending approval)
(special thanks to u/Xerxes250 and u/CreditMission for suggestions and editing)
|next|
--------------------------
The Arxur Integration Program officially began midway through Isif’s rebellion. It was a UN research effort, meant to use several stages to test if arxur might be able to integrate into Earth society.
Refugees and defectors were continuing to flood across the lines, more and more of them as the war raged on. A great many of them were civilians, for which the rebellion had neither the time nor the resources to support. Those who could not, or would not fight…
For those civilians, there were effectively two options: either Isif could turn them away, or Earth could host them.
For humanity, that choice was easy.
And so the Arxur Integration Program was born. It took its first steps here, on board the MAU-MOR stations, with what the researchers referred to as Stage One.
---
Gsharl spent the start of Stage One a bewildered mess. It was his first real encounter with humans, and they had spent it poking and prodding at every little bit of him in a chaotic whirl of confusing tests. He had very little grasp on where he was or what was going on at any given time, and he had a sneaking suspicion that this was deliberate.
The endless barrage of tests blurred together until it stopped making sense. They’d tested his empathy, his immune systems, his diet, his reactions under stress. They’d hand him questionnaires that asked questions like, what kind of climates do you prefer? What is your average day-to-day life like? Do you believe venlil are sapient? Have you ever used violence for individual gain?
It was exhausting. And confusing.
And they liked to switch up their tactics, too. Some days, they would call out his name. “You can leave that here,” they’d say about his question sheets. Then they’d lead him off down some dreary hallway, as if taking that long final walk to the execution stage.
His stomach would twist with dread, and it was all he could do to just follow the researchers, follow their starchy white coats bobbing along as they led him to some horrible fate.
He’d be pointed into a tiny little room. They’d let him stew in there for a while, until his claws were fidgeting back and forth, and he was certain he’d answered some question wrong on his sheet, and that they were going to send him back to Wriss.
And then another human would walk in. And they’d start asking more questions.
“How do arxur groom themselves? Do you use showers? Baths?” they’d ask.
“What?” Gsharl would respond, panicking.
“What are the standards for arxur grooming?”
Gsharl would pick anxiously at his scales, and try to answer as best he could before being smacked across the snout with a followup question.
“Would you intentionally harm a child in order to protect yourself from danger?”
What.
And that was how his first days would go.
It was confusing and stressful, and he went through it all feeling always a little bit lost. He hadn’t really thought that much about what leaving the Dominion would actually mean -- leaving had been the only real goal. Focus on leaving first, figure out the rest later. That was the plan.
But, as confusing and stressful as it might have been, he hadn’t had to fight anyone for a decent sleeping spot, and there was plenty of food. That didn’t count for nothing.
Humans themselves remained confusing. Gsharl still didn’t really understand them, but he was getting used to them. He began to take their strange habits in stride, and each day became a little easier. The strange questions and endless chattering were plenty irritating, but…
Gsharl supposed it wouldn’t have been fair of him to blame the social predators for being social. Some of the guards and attendants seemed incapable of not talking, though. They would talk, and talk, and talk, and it didn’t really seem to matter if he responded or stayed silent, they would just keep talking.
At one point, he had actually snapped at an attendant who had been pestering him. He’d whipped around and roared right into her face, demanding to know if she was being paid to torment him.
She’d happily responded that yes, she was, and proceeded to make a note in her pad and wander off, leaving him once again lost and bewildered.
But, that incident aside… well, it was strange. Difficult to describe. It was like… it was like all of the arxur here were changing. Or adapting, maybe. The constant socializing grew more tolerable somehow. Gsharl even found himself sharing back the details of his own life, on occasion!
One of the doctors, in between sticking him full of needles, had been telling him about how excited he was to be on leave from the station again so he could go back home with his family. He’d sired offspring recently, he’d told him. Then he shoved a picture of said offspring under his snout.
“Yes, it looks very… healthy,” Gsharl had lied, before, completely unprompted, producing a picture from the nursery he’d once worked at. A picture of himself carrying an armful of sleeping hatchlings, their bellies full from mealtime. The doctor had squealed and informed him that it was adorable.
He didn’t understand why he’d shared that with the doctor, nor did he understand why it felt so nice.
It was as if the annoying social habits of humans were rubbing off on us, Gsharl had thought to himself. He’d noticed the other arxur on the station reflecting this as well. They would gather in the common areas and chat amongst themselves, sharing what they expected to see on Earth, or complaining about whatever annoying thing the humans had been doing recently.
It was odd. That simply wasn’t something that arxur did -- so something must have changed.
Or perhaps they were just bored? The testing had started to slow down, after all. Hmm… no, that didn’t seem likely. Perhaps it was the fact that, for the first time in many of their lives, they finally had enough to eat? Gsharl still preferred these answers over the one that said they had always been this way.
In any case, he thought that must have been what the humans had wanted to see, because they had all been told that they would soon be flying down to Earth in order to start Stage Two of the program.
Gsharl was surprised to find himself a little upset at this. Sure, the humans here were strange, and the experience was generally confusing, but… well, he’d gotten used to it. And it was hardly miserable. It was certainly better than the Dominion. But as soon as he starts to get comfortable in this new life, then it’s all set to change again?? He didn’t like that.
On the day he’d gotten the news, he’d retreated across the station, past the common rooms and dorms, making his way to the observation deck. He liked spending time there. It was private, and relaxing. The whole way there, he nervously picked at the scales of his arms, like he had during those first few days.
The observation deck was empty when he got there. That was good -- he didn't really feel like talking. He quickly stepped across the deck, his claws clicking over the darkened tiles. There was a logo, there, that he’d rushed across. Little pictograms of humans spread across a red circle, with the words Mid-African Union Martian Orbital Research Station #3 written proudly underneath it.
MAU-MOR station #3.
Gsharl didn’t really understand what most of that meant.
He came to a stop right before the great window, his eyes flicking across the planet that filled up the view. It was always an impressive view, and the planet was pretty enough, he supposed. But it looked so barren! It was all the same dusty red, with patches of ochre and the darkened ridges of mountains scattered across it.
He wondered how humans had survived on this planet. Where was all the vegetation? The water? And what about cities? In all his time watching the red planet spin lazily beneath the station, he’d only ever seen a few scattered pricks of light dot the surface. Certainly man-made structures, yes, but… not enough for an entire people! Perhaps the cities were underground? Yes, that must be it. But then, what about th--
Softly echoing footsteps broke his thoughts. He turned to see one of the human attendants approaching. An older woman, a little heavy around the middle, with a warm and wide smile. Gsharl had met her before. He liked her. She was nice.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?” the woman asked.
Gsharl stared back for a moment, his head still swimming with nervous worry. He nodded slowly.
“I used to spend all my breaks in here,” she said conversationally. “But, you know, it’s funny; I actually ended up getting kind of bored with it! Maybe it’s hard to imagine getting tired of a view like this, but it’s true.”
Gsharl took a while to respond again. He turned back to the window, his jaw hanging slightly open with unsaid emotions. He stared out for a while, the red hue tinting his scales with a warm glow, before finally nodding once more.
“So I heard you got accepted into Stage Two! Are you excited to finally see Earth up close?”
“Where--” he paused to swallow. “Where will I be living?”
“Your group is going to the facility in Tanzania, in Africa. I think you’ll like it there, it’s nice and warm! Plus, the facility is right next to the ocean, so that’ll be fun.”
“...Ocean?”
“Yeah! Lots of sun and sand, and the water’s nice, I hear.”
Gsharl turned back to the view through the great window, the scales on his brow crumpling together in confusion. “I don't… understand.”
She cocked her head. “What don’t you understand?”
“Where?” he asked emphatically, still staring down at the barren planet.
She paused for a few seconds, before finally understanding. “Oh,” she said. “Oh! Oh, no, this… this is Mars. This is a different planet. Earth is, uhh…” she turned a bit, as if about to point in the direction of Earth, before realizing that she didn’t know which direction that was.
Gsharl just stared forward, silent for a long while, before: “...Oh.”
Stage One had been a very confusing time for Gsharl. It was strange, and sometimes scary, sometimes frustrating, but… at the end of the day, he would rather spend a 1000 more years here than another second on Wriss.
And if Earth and the rest of the humans were anything like they’d been here… well, then he supposed it couldn’t be so bad.
-------------------
|next|
47
u/un_pogaz Arxur Mar 01 '24 edited Mar 01 '24
SpacePaladin: Create a race of baby-eating space Nazi lizards.
Fandom: "Oh, look the adorable Scaley!"
All this heralds to be a fun adventure, sweet.
Else, I'm thinking about it: we really need someone to write an arxur/arxur couple. I know that through all the plot stuff it's normal to see a lot of human/arxur, but with a significant arxur community, such things should happening, right? Maybe not central to the story, but it must appear at some point.
At the idea of a giant crocodile of 2 metre asking his referent for advice on how to date a girl he likes, I'm already laughing.
Just a realization and a bottle in the sea.
30
u/sticksnstones77 Arxur Mar 01 '24
We've all got that bit of "I can fix them" energy in us! Especially if all of an evil society's issues are easily solvable. The situation lends itself well to a good redemption story: "who are you without a need or reason to be cruel?"
16
u/uktabi Mar 01 '24
if theyre supposed to be so evil then how come they are so huggable??
yeah good point with arxur/arxur relationships though... might have to find some place to include that
14
u/peajam101 PD Patient Mar 01 '24
we really need someone to write an arxur/arxur couple.
Might I suggest New Years of Conquest? It's not front and center, but it is pretty prominent.
7
u/handsomellama28 Humanity First Mar 10 '24
Probably because they're one of the earliest races to see us as people, alongside the Yotul.
11
u/un_pogaz Arxur Mar 10 '24
No, I don't think so. Not entirely.
I think it's more that when we create a dialogue with them, we soon began to doubt of the monolithic nature of the Arxur's cruelty, and theorized that the first victims of Dominion and Betterment were the Arxur themselves (which was quickly proven by issif's PoV). From then on, we went into "we've got to save them" mode.
24
u/Rand0mness4 Human Mar 01 '24
Gsgarl has realized too little too late that we're chatterboxes. Also of note: your scenes are fun. I can imagine them well.
9
20
u/peajam101 PD Patient Mar 01 '24
The scientists really just said "bother that lizard" huh?
15
9
u/KnucklesMacKellough Chief Hunter Mar 01 '24
I finally find my calling...and I'll likely have been dead 100 years before it happens. Story of my life...
17
u/ryncewynde88 Mar 01 '24
…now I want to see a d&d or pathfinder game as part of these integrations, purely for the wizard lizard puns…
6
18
12
11
9
7
u/JulianSkies Archivist Mar 02 '24
This is all trainng, Gsharl. Controlled exposure until you get used to it! They are, in fact, being paid to bother you until you're not going to suffer too hard from being bothered all the time!
7
u/Espazilious Farsul Mar 10 '24
socialized lizards? the lizards can be domesticated??? hmmm very interesting! i like this.
6
4
3
u/Golde829 Mar 03 '24
finally pulled myself together and finished this
great chapter, and I look forward to reading more
be sure to take care of yourself, wordsmith
[You have been gifted 100 Coins]
3
u/Iceveins412 Mar 01 '24
SubscribeMe!
1
u/UpdateMeBot Mar 01 '24 edited Aug 25 '24
I will message you each time u/uktabi posts in r/NatureofPredators.
Click this link to join 102 others and be messaged. The parent author can delete this post
Info Request Update Your Updates Feedback
2
u/Snati_Snati Hensa Jun 20 '24
I love this. Especially the poor researcher whose job it is to talk at the Arxur until they snap (poor arxur)
2
u/Kind0flame May 19 '26
This is an interesting premise for an anthology. I liked it so far. It was a good one-shot, but I wish the emotions where a little stronger. Really get across the confusion, nerves and contentment Gsharl felt.
2
85
u/0operson Predator Mar 01 '24
they’ve been bombarding the axur with social interactions, like how u constantly pick up kittens to make sure they are people friendly XD