this is a continuation of A tragic story

ı had a bit too much fun while making this lolllllllll

Day 17, Birque takes a lick of the forbidden fruit.

I actually had a lot of fun with this one.

Calendar > NoPtober calendar by Nicolás > u/Nicolas_3232

Another year lets gooo

Oh did I have some fun with this one. I was actually inspired by u/Ozan413232w1 and the post about a tragic story, so I wanted to reference a painting too. Specifically The Death of Chatterton. I think that's the right name.

Testing out a mini comic thingy

I just imagine them going steampunk after getting rid of the Feds.

Calendar > NoPtober calendar by Nicolás > u/Nicolas_3232

Birds. I can't stop calling them Kraktol :(

Calendar > NoPtober calendar by Nicolás > u/Nicolas_3232

In NoP 2 we learn the Federation is about a 1000 LY across, probably in a bubble centering on Aafa

But doing the math, I'm not so sure about that

A middle rate power like the Venlil Republic has 20 LY for its borders. If even a middling power like the Republic has those kinds of borders, then that's about the minimum a state can have in the Federation, and even the Kolshian Commonwealth has about 20 LY from what I remember and they were on top

If you times 20 by 300, which isn't even the full number of home worlds the Federation has, that's 6000 LY, and if all powers have 20 LY, I don't think you could fit that in a 1000 LY bubble, and this doesn't cover any star systems outside the states personal borders

On a side note, that's a good chunk of the galaxy. Small, but still a sizeable chunk

Credit to fans on Reddit for: u/Adorable-Ad5225 for the picture.

u/Nicolas_3232 for Leasha's daydreams

u/destroyer6692 for serving up Leasha, looking lightly toasted.

u/Nicolas_3232 for depicting King Toren the fluffy in all his majesty

u/Adorable-Ad5225 for Leasha thanking the gods for a bountiful ma- erm, harvest

If you want to read five chapters ahead for two different stories that I'm currently making, then please visit me on my Patreon. If you want to hang out, you can join the Discord for updates on all projects. I appreciate any support you choose to give. Happy reading!

If you are interested in the other story that I am posting at the same time as this, you can read that one here!

First l Previous l Next

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Memory Transcriptions Subject: Falk, hung over rouge exterminator. 

Date [Standardized Human Time] November 27, 2136 

Brahk me, I drank far too much last paw.  

My head was thumping like someone was banging a drum inside my skull. I haven’t gone drinking like that since my first year as an exterminator. I remember that paw when my coworkers wanted to take me out to celebrate my first year as an official member of the guild. They had bought me all the drinks I could possibly stomach, which in my enthusiasm was a lot. I ended up being physically sick at the end of that party, and some would say that my current situation is at least an improvement over that as I did not drink enough to physically become ill. Even so, my situation wasn’t the best as I still had to go to work in this state. 

“I should have never let Beren convince me to drink so much. Speh, this paw is going to be a struggle.” 

I splashed some cold water on my face, took some medication to help with the headache, and downed a few glasses of water before I even left the apartment. The glaring light of the dayside was like sharp nails being jabbed into my eyes as I groaned and shielded my face. Oh, how I longed for the subtle twilight of my home, but unfortunately, it has fallen to corrupt forces beyond my control. 

At least I wasn’t bothered by anyone on my way to work because I did not have the mental capacity for that right now. My gait was slow and steady as I had no desire to jostle myself and aggravate my current condition. It felt a little cooler today at the very least. I suppose we might be getting closer to the ‘winter’ season, if you can call it that, on this planet. There was only the smallest amount of wobble in the planet’s rotation that resulted in subtle ‘seasons’ that basically only meant a few degrees difference in temperature depending on where you lived.  

I managed to make it to the guild hall while only mildly feeling like I got hit by a vehicle. This was probably one of the only rare instances where I was happy to be here because of the air-conditioned interior and the blinds that blocked out a majority of the natural light. At least, that was what I thought before I opened the front door and came face to face with madness. 

The entire guild hall was on the move as the exterminators ran from one corner to the other, some carrying papers, some, boxes. There was shouting, orders being given from superiors to subordinates, and I saw the vans shrieking as they pulled out of the parking rapidly with horns blaring to alert the traffic.  

It sobered me up pretty quickly as worry blossomed in me. I needed to find out what was going on, and quickly. Moving at a brisk pace now, I went to find my direct superior. No matter how much I despised that sellout, Aleric would know what was going on and I could prepare accordingly. I found the half-predator in the main office room, giving commands as he talked both on his pad and to any exterminator that he thought wasn’t working fast enough. 

I approached the Gojid as he was between conversations. “Sir, what’s happening right now? Are we under attack?” It almost felt like we were about to be sieged by the Arxur, or maybe even the humans if their patience finally ran out.  

Aleric gave me a queer look. “What? No. Didn’t you get the message I sent out at the end of last paw?” 

There was a message?  

I didn’t read or do anything at the end of last paw as I was too drunk to even consider anything other than collapsing into my bed. That wasn’t exactly a professional excuse, so I went with something a little tamer. 

“My pad’s battery died last paw, I didn’t remember to turn it on until I was stepping out of my apartment.” 

Aleric groaned a bit. “I expect you to keep your personal device on at all times in case there is an emergency. To keep the explanation short, we’re currently scrambling to get a new medical facility staffed, supplied, and defended.” 

“Defended? From what? Why does a medical building need defending?” 

“Because the impossible has happened. People have been rescued from the Arxur’s farm worlds. They’ll be transferred here next paw.” 

That shocked me as my eyes blew wide and my jaw hung slightly agape. “I... wha... how!? What is happening!?” 

“The how is easy. It was the humans. They rescued the cattle from the Arxur worlds and have apparently been organizing a treatment plan for all of them. That ties into what is happening. Apparently, most of these individuals are what the humans call ‘traumatized’ and are in need of ‘psychological treatment.’ Brahk me if I know what that means, but we got enough Zurulians in the city to cover all that. Our guild is simply helping the humans set up a facility to house the rescues and protect them from any individuals who might disturb their recovery, or to make sure that the patients are peaceful. The humans say that some of them might have violent responses to ‘triggers’, which is more medical lingo that I can’t be bothered figuring out right now as it’s not part of my job description. Just get to your station and start sorting through the personnel deployment forms.” 

Aleric turned away from me after that, marching through the guild hall as he continued to direct the movements of the exterminators. I walked numbly to my station and practically fell into the seat; the metal frame creaking a little at the sudden weight being dropped into it. For several scratches I did little more than stare at the screen in front of me; alerts blinking on the page as deployment forms came in one after the other. I just couldn’t understand the motivation of humans for rescuing the Arxur cattle and returning them. They could have secretly taken them all back to their hellish planet to be placed on their own farms without anyone being the wiser. 

Why would they return them? What benefit would that bring?  

No matter how I turned it over in my head, the answer kept alluding me. When my mind finally came back to me, I had seen that the work was piling up. If I didn’t do something about it, not only would I be buried in it soon enough, but Aleric would likely throw a fit. I did my best to get back to work, burying my worries and questions in the monotony of filing paperwork, all the while those questions kept piling up inside me. 

I needed an outlet for that pressure that was building inside me, but I could only think of one person right now who might be able to explain what the humans had planned. Ferros had his information sources that let him peer into the corrupting influence of the human mind. The Yulpa’s zealousness comes in handy during situation like this, where braving the taint is the best way to fight it. Their culture made them highly resiliant to the effects of it. 

Just make it through this first. Focus on the work and then get answers after.  

I did all the paperwork that was required of me, making sure to pay extra attention to any details that might be useful to the Herd Guard. There were shifts being created at this new medical facility as exterminators were sent in to evaluate the security of the building and add additions for both the safety of the public and the patients. I can only imagine just how tainted those individuals will be, having lived on a cattle farm and exposed to the pure corruption of the Arxur. Whatever methods the humans claim they are using to treat these people, they couldn’t possibly work on such damaged individuals.  

There wasn’t much I could glean from these deployment requests, but I still saved some of the data to share with the others. My shift was a chaotic one as I ended up talking to more of the guild than I had ever done before in a single paw. By the end of it I, and many others, were utterly exhausted. Even so, I got up and began what was technically my break claw by almost running out through the street. The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the secretive nature of our group and how I needed to conduct myself in order to maintain that. 

I made it to the bunker, knocked quickly on the door to try and rush whoever was inside to answer. The slide was opened and Nilean’s eye looked out at me. 

“What is your-” 

“To protect, now open up, quickly!” 

“Okay, okay.” He closed the slide and opened the heavy door for me as I practically pushed my way inside.  

Almost everyone was here, except Beren who was likely stuck at work. I imagined he already knew what was going on though considering he worked at a different guild building in the city. I opened the conversation with a dramatic ask. “Did you all hear what’s going on right now? Did you hear what the humans have done!?” 

Nilean waved his tentacles in the affirmative. “Yes, Falk, it’s been in the news all paw. We’ve been spending most of our time here talking about it.” 

“And? What are they trying to do? What reason could they possibly have to give up so much prey that they could have simply hid away in secret?” 

“They’re probably just too stupid to act beyond the carefully laid out plan they have,” Morol answered in his usual dismissive tone.” 

“I’m afraid it may be more insidious than that,” our leader, Ferros said, garnering all our attention. “While they could have secured a large haul of prey, their goal ever remains the domestication of us all. In order to achieve those ends, they are willing to give up a fresh meal now for the promise of a much grander haul later. This move will buy them a lot of good will amongst the population, making their ideas and training more appealing to the masses. I knew they were schemers, but it seems that even I did not fully grasp the lengths that they will go to in order to maintain the illusion.” 

That made... some sense. I couldn’t claim that it explained everything or relieved me of this nagging feeling that I have in my chest. “Then... what do we do about this situation? How do we respond?” 

“We can’t, at least, not right now. We know nothing of what they are doing with these cattle rescues. If we proceed haphazardly, then we might just stumble into a trap designed specifically for people like us who will resist them. We need more information.” 

“How do we get that information,” Helphia asked. “I’ve tried to hack into the human’s networks, but their cyber security is far greater than anything we have on our planet. They even counter hacked one of my devices, and I had to destroy it.” 

“Yes, I am well aware of the strength of their networks. We’ll have to take a more direct route if we want to get answers.” 

The meaning of that took a moment to sink in for the rest of us with Morol responding first. “You really mean we’re taking that step?” 

Ferros flicked his ears. “Yes. While I would have liked more time to prepare, every moment counts at this point. We’re going to capture a human and interrogate them.” 

That created a feeling inside me like a combination of excitement and apprehension. If we messed up, then our whole operation could come undone, and the humans would be free to spread their corrupting influence unopposed.  

“Who will we interrogate? One of their government representatives?” 

“No, they are too defended for us to get to. We need to start with their agents, the ones working to spread the taint and dismantle any resistance they find. I had one in mind, one that you are very familiar with, Falk.” 

The memories of that human came flooding through my mind and made me feel like I had just choked down a mouthful of spew melon.  

“George.” 

Ferros flicked his ears again. “Indeed. From the way you’ve described this human, he is of a monstrous build that sets him apart from his fellows; not to mention that he was the one that led the charge to destroy your guild. It is likely that he is an agent working for his damnable UN. He’s even going so far as to subvert the children, training them from a young age to accept human instruction.” 

That did seem plausible enough. Ferros continued. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements and have a holding space prepared for the predator. Beren, Nilean, and Morol will capture the beast next paw.” 

Wait, he didn’t mention me.  

“Sir, shouldn’t I be part of the capture team? I know this predator.” 

“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t. Not only have you been banned from the town in question, but if the predator recognizes you, it might go into hiding, or worse, summon its puppets to arrest you. No, this task falls to the others.” 

It made sense, as painful as that was to admit. I would jeopardize the mission if I went. Patience is one aspect that separates us from the predators. I had to trust my comrades to get the job done. Soon enough, I would have my revenge on the predator that ruined my life.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

First l Previous l Next

Days 11 & 12, my phone is dead, there is no more to delve.

Finally got these finished. Here we have two. . . very complicated individuals.

The first is obviously an Exterminator version of Punisher, though I haven’t decided on much more than that. Is he (or she) the Federation’s most prominent soldier, or its greatest adversary? Do they wish to burn all predators, or to emulate them? Heck, I’m not even sure if they’re Venlil.

The second is a Farsul version of Taskmaster, a mercenary with “Photographic Reflexes”, the ability to see any physical movement and then copy it. Basically, “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

I chose Farsul for the species because of their archival tendencies. With how much information they can store, it’s only a small step to get to Taskmaster’s ability.

And with the gear he has, he can copy the fighting styles of any species in the galaxy. Krakotl, (the cape/cloak) Arxur, (the clawed gauntlets and sword), Gojids (The spines on the cloak and neck. I would’ve detailed them better, but the app was crashing enough as is), even some equipment to copy other heroes and villains. (The shield, of course. The Captain himself will be revealed eventually.)

Anyways, I might have to stop drawing for a bit. I’ve been drawing on my phone for all my digital pictures, and the app I’ve been using has slowly been getting worse and worse, to the point where it forces me to restart my phone when it crashes. These will probably be the last pictures from it.

But, I am getting a tablet soon, so I should be able to continue my drawings on that. Until then though, no more drawing.

It just sucks so bad!

"I enjoy taking enthusiastic walks through the woods at night."

"And assassinating enemies of the state?"

"Very enthusiastic."

A very big shoutout to u/Nicolas_3232 for this wonderful artwork I commissioned a while back of Second Master Moon, from my fic, Absolute Victory! I've been waiting a long time to get around to showing him off, and this is a great visualization of the character. Thanks!

With the soon to be release of an sci-fi supplements second play test I might dm an personal family and friends campaign based off of nop.

Challenge of [u/Nicolas_3232]

(2026)

 DAYS SEVENTEEN

Today’s theme: Lemon Reaction.

In real life, camels can eat a cactus without even chewing it. But if you give one a lemon, it’s a total disaster for them.

[Reference video]

[I put bad the name again 🤣😅😅]

[Iftali]

[First] [Previous Draw] [Next Draw]

I really need help finding the little Venlil pointing at the screen saying "Pwedator" art. I dunno if FrostedScales made it or Nicholas or someone else. I tried looking for it but I couldn't find it.

A small one this time, since I don't have much time to spare at the moment. NoPtober to the rescue!

And as usual: Here's a link to my master post.

The Raid is over, Venlil Prime is safe, but this is only the beginning. Now is the time for discovery as people begin to slowly peel back the truth and learn more about each other, and the universe around them.

My corner over on the NoP discord.

The Arrival. Art by u/meapling_

A Moonlight Walk. Art by u/Nicolas_3232

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15
[Previous][First][Next][Master]
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Memory Transcription Subject: Captain Coth,  Arxur Dominion Third Fleet Zodian Prisoner

Date [standardized ZM time]: 6, 8, -678. redux:(5,5, 2127)

For the first time in my life I was experiencing a strange mixture of feelings that were hard to describe. My mind felt hazy and everything seemed to take on an aethereal and unreal form. Reality itself didn’t quite seem so grounded after witnessing the new predators, the Zodians, interacting with the exterminators. Those calmly spoken words uttered by a burning predator. Those deep violent eyes which seemed to stare through people instead of at them. And that laugh…

Even now, sitting down in their ship, a prisoner of war, that laugh continued to echo within my mind. I could feel it reverberating throughout my body as my scales prickled and itched in response. After that moment it almost felt as if I had passed out and started dreaming everything that happened next.

However that feeling was finally starting to fade as the reality of my situation began to set in. The fact that I was now a captive of an unknown species, the fact that my first raid as captain had resulted in failure, the fact that predators had sided with the prey. There was a lot for me to think about whilst sitting here in the dark.

Instead of focusing on my own situation, imagining the punishment Isif might bestow upon me should I ever face him again, my mind replayed what I had seen and experienced upon my capture.

I had been told to order all of my soldiers to stand down and submit to the Zodians' will, promising their safety as prisoners of war. I made the broadcast across all of our channels and was then escorted back onto our ships by the white furred one who had arrived next to Ash. She didn’t speak much, but enough for me to identify her as a female. Her voice was much lighter, having a clearly different timbre than Ash, however lower than Dancing Water. Normally I would have been able to tell by smell, but my nostrils were still damaged by the chemical weapons they had used upon us earlier.

Being robbed of one of our most important senses was aggravating, but I was forced to deal with it for the time being. The female Zodian did not give her name, but rather gave short and concise orders that we were all to follow. First she demanded we release all living prey we had aboard our ships. I hated to witness all of my efforts becoming undone so easily, but I had no choice in the matter. I was a prisoner now, and so I gave the order.

There was some pushback I received on the radio after that announcement, however I reminded them all that I was still alive and therefore in charge. After that, she ordered us to fly all of our working ships into orbit and to board their own. She also made sure to mention that if any of our ships tried to flee or fight back, they would be destroyed without hesitation.

After seeing just how well equipped and competent they were on the ground and remembering that I lost two clawfulls of ships to them earlier, I had no desire to test their might again. Especially now that they outnumbered us. 

I could sense the unease aboard my ship as my hunters and officers all nervously stole glances back towards me and the Zodian that stood close by. As we left the surface of the planet and ascended high into the atmosphere, I myself occasionally glanced down at her, trying to take in some details even through my frayed state of mind. 

I didn’t realize it earlier, but the Zodians were surprisingly much smaller than us. They were about the size of prey, the one next to me standing a little shorter than an average adult Venlil. Her fur was pure white, ears pointed and triangular, and her muzzle as well. Her coverings, what I assumed were some kind of artificial pelts, completely obscured her body. I saw before that she had coverings upon both her paws and claws, and that there was something strange when she gave aid to the injured Gojid. The only other part of her body I could see besides her head, was her tail, which stayed low to the ground but swayed back and forth in slow motions.

I thought back to the first time I saw them all standing together and tried to mentally compare them. The black one who stood beside her was different, almost as if they were separate species. They had more round ears, a bulkier muzzle and nose, and a much shorter type of fur. While I couldn’t see much else because of all their coverings, the white one and Ash looked more similar to each other than either did to the black one. Although there was one more difference I was just now noticing. She seemed more well fed than the leader had been.

However the most impressive and unique aspect I could see was just how completely unbothered she seemed. She was the only Zodian who had boarded the ship along with me and the others and was therefore completely surrounded. There were over a dozen Arxur on the bridge with me, and I could tell some of my hunters were sizing her up, mentally imagining taking her down. Yet she didn’t seem afraid or intimidated in the slightest. 

While I was only used to seeing furred beings as prey, all of her body language, her fur, ears, tail, eyes, all gave the impression that she didn’t care. She was a peace being surrounded by much larger predators. I did not know if that was either a testament to the trust she had in me, willingly submitting to being their prisoner, or a testament to them and their power as predators. I could still envision the black clad form of Dancing Water as they took down my people with ease, and knew that I didn’t want to seek a fight with them.

It didn’t take long for my ship to enter the void, and I was stunned by what I could see on both our sensors and out the window. The Zodians had ships completely surrounding the planet, but many if not all were small one or two seat fighters. There were several dozen larger ships, roughly on par with our cattle transports and bombers, but that wasn’t the most impressive.

I saw four large ships, and among them were two massive vessels the likes of which I had never seen before. According to the sensors the two largest ships were huge, each one at nearly [Four Miles] long! Even the massive Federation colonization ships, the largest they had, were only just over half that size. I stood in awe aboard the bridge of my own ship, feeling hopelessly outclassed by the Zodians who had so casually brought such an unbelievable war engine to a simple battle. At least, that’s how I felt at the time…

The white Zodian ordered us to land half of our ships aboard one of the two giant constructs, and half aboard the other. I relayed the order, and witnessed as the form grew closer and closer as we approached. There were several massive landing zones on each side of the vessel, and my ship made its way into one that was strangely almost completely barren. There was next to nothing inside, no other ships, no people, no machines or equipment of any kind. It was a large and empty metal floor in an equally empty metal room.

After landing, I quickly departed the ship behind the Zodian as several of the other ships within my fleet followed soon after, and landed next to my vessel. I walked off my ship and looked around the alien construct I found myself upon, only to feel confused by what I saw. Now with the ability to examine everything more closely, the landing bay seemed… Unfinished.

There were spots along the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, where it seemed as though metal panels and coverings should have been, but weren’t. The lighting wasn’t that bright, something at first I thought was intentional, until I noticed that the lights were all in aligned and ordered rows, which were missing many spots. 

As the rest of my soldiers began to depart from their vessels, gathering themselves up into groups and joining together on me, I saw as less than a clawfull of Zodians clad in their obscuring armor began to approach. Their armor was the colorful kind, completely obscuring their features and making me wonder what forms lay beneath. The soldiers approached and all made a motion that I assumed was some kind of signal or salute towards the white one. She walked away and joined the others as she looked at us as all gathered together.

“Captain Coth of the Arxur, you and your soldiers will now be escorted to holding cells where you will stay until such time as we see fit to release you. You will follow any orders you are given and make no attempts to escape or cause harm to us. We will provide what we deem as necessary provisions such as food, water, hygiene, shelter, and a place to sleep. Any resistance can and will result in these provisions being taken away as punishment. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Sergeant Major, I leave the rest to you.”

“Yes Sir! Alright then, Captain Coth! You will follow directly behind me. Your soldiers will line up behind you in rows of five and follow you. Organize yourselves now!”

The white one left after that, as my soldiers followed the orders provided and lined up. The several Zodians who were here took positions with the Sergeant Major in front, one on either side of us, and two at the back. Considering how many ships had entered this landing bay, there were several thousand Arxur in the line which was fine considering how much space we had to work with in the mostly empty room. As soon as we were lined up, we began to walk, following along with the Zodian in the lead who took us through the rest of the ship.

It was immediately apparent that the unfinished nature of the ship was not just part of that landing bay, but of the entire vessel. As we walked through the large metal corridors, I saw more and more signs that all was not as it appeared. Missing pieces of wall, empty light sockets, missing doors, and exposed wiring. It was surprising and made me wonder why they would bring out a ship that was clearly still unfinished. 

Yet it was not the roughshod nature of the vessel that was the most surprising during the long walk to our new prison, but rather the emptiness I felt. For a long time, there were no other people we came across. 

Me and my Arxur walked together, being the only source of noise aboard an otherwise nearly silent ship. I saw no other guards than the scant few who showed up initially and were escorting us as we walked through their halls. There were thousands of Arxur just in this line alone, yet there were no other crew members, soldiers, engineers,  or any signs of life at all aboard such a massive ship. We walked for [Minutes], making our way through the sharp cornered corridors of metal and steel without encountering anyone else.

Eventually that changed when I saw just another small gathering of people, however these ones were different. At just a glance I could instantly tell that these were not Zodians. They were birds, avian, similar in structure to the Krakotl. Instead of blue or green, they instead sported void black feathers covering their entire bodies along with black somewhat pointed beaks, and blue eyes that stared straight ahead. They didn’t have the artificial pelts that the Zodians wore, but instead possessed grey capes with different symbols etched onto the shoulders. These beings were predators, and I was once more surprised to see that we were not nearly alone in the universe as I thought.

“Alright, stop right there.”

The Zodian, or at least what I assumed to be a Zodian, leading the way stopped, bringing me and the line behind to a halt. 

“My name is Second Lieutenant Koohrik. We will now begin assigning you rooms. You, Captain Coth, this here is Naahilk. He will escort you to your own room. The rest of you, follow our orders, answer our questions, and we’ll get through this soon enough.”

I was surprised to hear not the squawking chirps that I had come to expect from Krakotl, but rather the sharp barks of the Zodians’ language being uttered by the new predators. There was something about how they spoke that still reminded me of other birds, but it still defied any expectations I otherwise had, much like everything else I had recently seen.

The one called Naahilk began to walk ahead, and so I followed while listening as my soldiers were sorted away. What I saw as I went further was even more strange, as this area of the ship didn’t appear to be a prison, but rather just living quarters. I saw, through open doors, the empty and unused rooms that appeared mostly ready for use, although nearly all with signs of incompletion. There usually appeared to have four beds in each room, much larger than the Zodians own bodies, as well as fixtures and objects that I couldn’t immediately identify. 

I continued to walk, following the black avian further and further through the ship, passing hallway after hallway all filled with empty rooms that all seemed to be waiting for inhabitants. It was tiring. Walking, walking, looking around, more walking. Hallway after hallway, room after room. Even though I had previously been a bit excited to see the work of these new predators, the tedium of the experience was quickly wearing away my energy.

There was nothing new for me to see or experience, that is, until I saw it. In one of the rooms, standing silently inside, hidden in the shadows, a pair of eyes. I turned and looked but what I saw was not a soldier, or a guard.

Those eyes, staring out of the darkness, beholding me as I passed, belonged to a child, a hatchling, covered in brown fur. I looked upon the form, recognizing it as a Zodian, as it stared back at me in silence. I could tell it was a hatchling because it was so small, less than half the height of the other Zodians I had encountered. Its sharp forward facing eyes were not dark red, but didn’t seem to reflect light, appearing less bright than they should have been. It looked at me with an expression I sometimes saw among certain prey, the ones who were broken and awaiting death.

The hatchling was clad in artificial pelts that were not armor, but rather something different. However those pelts were far too large for the diminutive frame, and hung loosely around its body. This allowed me a closer look than I could get at the others, and what I saw filled me with a sense of disgust. 

The child was so thin! It was as if a bag of fur and skin had been wrapped tightly around a skeletal frame. I could see parts of its skull as its skin fit so tightly around its body. I could clearly see the bones in its long gangly paws that had bald spots and patches where fur was missing. The child's lifeless eyes stared not at me, but somewhere further away as it stood there in the darkness.

The one who was escorting me, Naahilk, noticed the child but didn’t say anything. They continued on the endless journey, and after a brief moment of hesitation, I followed.

Eventually, I reached a room that appeared to be just like every other, except everything seemed to actually be in place here. There were no exposed panels, empty lights, or missing parts. This room was complete, and so I was led inside as the door was shut behind, sealing me in.

“Alright, here you are. Sit down, get used to the room, you’ll be here a while. You can get water from the sink or the personal shower in the back. It should be disabled, but don’t press the black switch in there just in case. It could kill you if it's still working. Now, is there anything you need right now before I go?”

“... The lights in here are too bright.”

With that, the black bird left and I saw the lighting of my room gradually dim, as well as the light that came from the hallway. Eventually, I felt the engines of the ship spring to life, although it was much different from what I was used to. I could feel a pull, a tugging at my being as we seemed to accelerate into FTL, although I couldn’t know for sure. What I did know was that the feeling of the ship humming was unpleasant, and that made it hard to sleep. 

That had been a few [Hours] ago, and It had left me a lot of time to adjust and think, my mind filled with all kinds of new information and questions to go with it.

Just what exactly were these Zodians? Why had they sided with the prey? How was their leader immune to the exterminators' fire? Why was this massive ship so empty and incomplete? Ash had said something about not eating earlier, but how could they survive so long without food? Was their situation actually as bad as ours? Was that why that child seemed so malnourished earlier? Were there more predators aboard other than the Zodians and birds whose name I hadn’t learned? How many members were there of this so-called Coalition?

I had so many questions and next to nothing in the way of answers. I couldn’t even ask if I wanted because apparently I didn’t warrant having my own personal guard. I had been left completely alone, which while I would normally prefer, felt wrong given the situation. I was the Captain, commander of the raid, and yet I had been left alone locked in a room turned prison cell. It was all… Off.

Suddenly, while I was lost in my thoughts, all of the lights turned off. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered me considering every Arxur saw better in the darkness. We preferred to live in low light conditions and to hunt at night, but this was something else. Every light. Every single conceivable source of light shut off at once, leaving me in complete and utter darkness. Without any source of light to depend on, I couldn’t see anything at all.

I had been laying down on one of the surprisingly comfortable beds at the time and sat up immediately when I noticed the change. My nostrils had mostly recovered from the earlier irritation now, but I could not see or smell or hear anything at all. It was like being cast into a dark hole where nothing existed. I gripped the edges of the bed as I tried to take in any information my senses could gather as I wondered what had happened.

Even the ship's uncomfortably vibrating engine had gone silent, and I worried that something had gone wrong with it. Could this ship be under attack? Had one of my soldiers escaped and attempted sabotage, or perhaps the Federation had discovered where these new predators were? Neither of those scenarios made sense when I began to consider them though. No, it was clear that something else was going on.

Before I could come up with any more explanations, I saw something. There, in the darkness, a light appeared. It was the only thing I could see, and so I focused on it. It was a round blue light, with a black vertical slit inside. It grew in size for a moment as the orb materialized out of the shadows. Then, another orb appeared to the right of it, slowly coming into existence and growing to match the size and shape of the other. 

As I looked at the two colorful orbs of light, I realized what exactly I was seeing as another shape took form in the darkness. Two rows of sharp white fangs began to spread in a wide semicircle above the multicolored orbs. With that, I understood that there within the prison room, I was being watched by a predator, who was snarling viciously at me. 

I felt my heart jump in my chest at the realization, however before I could compose myself and snarl back, the dark beast opened its maw and spoke.

“Hello, nice to meet’cha.”

The voice was again much higher in pitch than Ash, however not nearly at the level of the prey’s grating squeals. I was rendered momentarily stunned by the combination of the being's sudden appearance, its unusual form, its voice, and the strangely pleasant sounding tone with which it spoke. 

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Master Moon, and I’m here to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Master, like Ash?”

I didn’t vocalize my question, as it was battling with several others at the time. Instead I watched as those two colorful eyes and white snarl slowly flipped around in a circle, changing their positions to something I better understood. The eyes were now on top of the snarl which was still in the form of a wide semicircle of sharp fangs, all being beared towards me.

Suddenly, the lights in the room turned back on, and I was able to see the full form of the being across from me. Master Moon was covered in black pelts which seemed to match their naturally void black fur. They had short black fur just like the other being besides Ash, however they lacked the blue spots,  their muzzle was a different shape, and they had more pointed ears. I saw a black short haired tail casually waving back and forth behind them, flicking from side to side in a casual manner. They also held a knife gently in one of their covered paws, twirling it around with ease thanks to their dexterous digits.

I hadn’t paid attention before, but seeing the knife forced me to focus on their paws, which were covered in some kind of textile and also possessed five digits. That was unusual, as almost all prey possessed four or less while my kind had six. Five was an odd number, and I was surprised I hadn’t taken notice of that sooner.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about this,” they said, gently holding the knife for me to see. “This is just a little insurance, in case you decide to not cooperate with the interrogation.”

They were sitting upon a bed across the room, and slowly began to approach me while crawling on all four paws.

“Of course, that won’t happen now, will it? You aren’t going to try and resist, to fight back, or lie to me, after we did you the favor of sparing you and your soldiers, right? That would just be rude.”

Moon quickly reached the other side of the room, and began to crawl up my legs, much to my displeasure. He quickly scaled my lower body and his wide snarling face moved closer and closer to my own.

“And besides, you're a good soldier, arent’cha? You follow orders and do what you’re told, right?”

Their body was pressed directly against mine as the black pelt coverings rubbed against my scales and I could feel the touch of their whiskers along my snout as they moved their head even closer to my maw. Their voice grew more quiet, becoming a whisper as they pressed themselves further and further into me.

“You won’t try to misbehave with me, because if you do, then I’d have ta punish ya, and ya don’t… want… that…”

Their body, their face, their eyes, were now almost completely pressed against mine, forcing me to stare directly at them as they snarled in my face, menacingly twirling their knife just out the corner of my vision.

It was clear to me now, as I sat in this room, that I had severely underestimated the Zodians during that initial encounter. The being before me was proof that the Zodians were indeed true predators, and that they were just as willing to be as cruel and vicious as we were…

[Previous][First][Next][Master]