The Nature of Predators

Memory Transcription Subject: Tassi, Bissem Alien Liaison

Date [standardized human time]: December 22, 2160

The sudden appearance of warp signatures on the sensors drew a lot of attention across the auditorium, since we knew it wasn’t one of the SC’s members. It was unlikely to be the Shield either, since their Duerten founders harbored nothing but disdain for the Kolshians. Who else could it be, riding to the rescue; or was it someone arriving to follow through on Korajan’s prior suggestion of helping the raiders? I watched with a bit of anxiety, fearful that this might be a setback in a tense defense. This was the downside of not being synced into military command, and getting information with a bit of a delay. It was difficult to focus as our vessels kept chipping away at the hostiles, and the formation adjusted to make room for the newcomers. Of course, it must be friendlies; humanity had to lower the disruptors to let them in, after all!

You jump to worries too quickly, Tassi. After everything that’s happened since first contact, you’ve become quite swift to assume the worst. Let’s hear what the Yotul has to say.

“We’ve lowered the disruptors for moment, as it appears we’re getting…unexpected reinforcements. We received a message offering aid in our defensive efforts,” Onso announced, ears pinned back with distaste. That was enough to let my feathers settle a bit, hearing that these reinforcements were a boon to our cause rather than a hindrance. “The Federation remnants want to save their precious founders. We’ll take the help, but those oppression-loving shits aren’t allies I would’ve chosen.”

Secretary-General Kuemper seemed surprised. “I didn’t expect Mei—our request for them to help us to actually work. The Drezjin and Malti were quite loyal to the Kolshians—”

“Enough to bomb us. We don’t have diplomatic relations with those two for a reason,” Korajan huffed.

“—so I’m not surprised to see them spearheading the attack, alongside the Yulpa and the Shield’s own Tevin: whom you do associate with. You know who their friends are, Korajan. Most of these ships are manned, but we can make use of them. Eighty-thousand craft is a lot: half a thousand per Remnant species.” She wishes she could’ve gotten that much support from the SC; I can hear it in her voice. “It seems like they sent almost all of their military to aid Aafa, though they might have ideas about…liberating it afterward.”

“They better not. We can’t just let the Kolshians go—and go to them, of all people. That will not be tolerated, and after maintaining relations with the Shield, they must know that! Angering us would be a grave mistake.”

“That’s a problem for after we rout the invaders. UN command has established contact; I’m going to transfer that to the speakers, so we can hear their intentions. It’s a great sign that they’re willing to work with us.”

A human male voice was speaking over the lines. “—welcome party later, fall in and fire on the invaders.”

“No, you owe us answers. Why are the Arxur here? We can see the fucking banner, so don’t tell us it’s not them!” a Yulpa voice shouted, irrational with fury. “You do fucking work with those predatory abominations! You let a raiding party in.”

“Those are drones, not with any, um, carnivorous entities aboard. It can’t be a raid. It wasn’t our first choice, but they came whether we liked it or not, and they’re helping. We had no idea you were coming; there might be a way to keep them away from you, if you want to offer support back here. It’d keep you safe.”

“Safe, with the Arxur around? You are fools at best, and savages more likely. We’re going to do our duty against the enemies of civilized preyfolk. You interfere, and we’ll put you back on the list of predator sacrifices with them.”

“Now isn’t the time to fight them. Aafa is at stake, and these Arxur you hate could be taken out for you, by the current enemy they’re fighting. Just listen—”

“We don’t have to listen to any more of your talking. These are the Arxur, who ate and bred sapients as cattle, and you think we should wait for them not to be distracted? It’s just the same as when you said, before the whole galaxy, that they would be isolated—and here they are! Either you’re in bed with them, bald-faced liars, or you have no semblance of control of them; you can’t vouch for them protecting Aafa. This is a golden opportunity to eradicate their ships. There are two enemies here, and by the Spirit of Life, we’re fighting them both!”

The Sapient Coalition delegates, including Secretary-General Kuemper, watched slack-jawed as the Yulpa led a Federation charge against the Arxur. The Malti had rebuilt their old tube-shaped bombers, according to a barely composed Onso, and had them primed to fire. The Terran leader was quickly encircled by her advisors, since that exchange had taken a turn she didn’t expect. What should the humans even do about this? They weren’t partial to standing against the entire galaxy on the Collective’s behalf; after all, even their own allies were barely tolerating their escapade. The Carnivore Alliance compelled the Bissem-Sivkit craft to stand up for Kaisal, but we didn’t want our ships dragged into this mess.

Besides, it was too important to become unfocused from Aafa—the drones had to be stopped, or billions of Kolshians would die. While some had been evacuated to long dormant colonies, many had refused to abandon their homes, which would be trading one hellscape for another. The United Nations wavered at the prospect of interference in this Remnant assault, given that would entail starting a war with a polity that held just shy of a hundred-fifty species in its membership. That was a reason Naltor wasn’t keen to take them on either; it would set their sights on us as carnivores to become predator sacrifices. Our diet would make it quite easy for them to select us as a target for their hatred. So we all watched as the Federation remnants barged into the middle of a tooth-and-nail defense, and the Malti fired hundreds of their bombs onto the Arxur’s tails.

“Provoking predators?” Loxsel cackled. “I approve.”

General Naltor seemed to have forgotten his directive for the Sivkit to remain silent. “The Arxur are your allies!”

“Yes, and no. It’s finally getting interesting! Prey versus baleful beast; a contest which will confusticate all the rapacious menaces. The forever-walkers are enfeebled, and do not assert themselves; their lack of viciousness is an endless source of disappointment, though Nishtal showed a flicker of the war savages with their storied past! However, they are tame. But the Arxur—the Arxur will not bear such insults!”

“Yes, I doubt anything less than retaliation will cross their minds,” Zalk scoffed. “Nevertheless, the Arxur are at a two-to-one deficit. Even having drones, that is a massive disadvantage.”

“Until the prey become frightful and scatter, for they cannot fathom the guileful ways of the carcass-cravers! That excludes the doormat humans choosing parlays before predatory tetchiness, of course. This contest will bring only misery to the rabble-rousing cattle. Lo, the Malti’s entrails shall be liquified to flotsam, with real casualties! They shall rue the day!”

“You sound like you want them to get clobbered by the grays.”

“It’s not about that; I upbraid you for suggesting so, simpleton! Can an entertainer not be excited by the prospect of bonafide casualties? Bellynigh, they are; bellynigh, I say!”

As Loxsel waxed poetic about the disaster of epic proportions unfolding, the Terrans were anything but amused. What should have been an infusion of allies that gave us overwhelming odds was breaking out into infighting; the Arxur were wheeling away from the unknown enemy where possible, though they couldn’t turn every ship without becoming easy pickings for the invading drones. The Yotul and Venlil stepped up and got in the hostiles’ faces, despite the fact the former had been keeping back. They didn’t want to witness an utter breakdown in our formation, as the two sides began throwing shots at each other and the invaders: a three-way bout. Some SC vessels were caught in the middle, or forced out of position to avoid the crossfire.

“We need to defuse the situation.” Secretary-General Kuemper hurriedly placed an outgoing call onto the screen, as she’d seemed to decide that the Arxur might listen; there was little chance of getting through to the Federation. “I’m going to offer concessions to stop our forces from tearing each other to pieces. Time is of the essence. We’re open to ideas, if you want to approach our staffers.”

“How dare you?” Kaisal’s indignant face appeared with roared words, fangs bared like he wanted to rip Kuemper to shreds. I noticed several SC delegates trembling at his appearance, binocular eyes narrowed to yellow slits. “We come to help you save this worthless planet, and your friends shoot at us—while you do nothing to stop them?”

“I understand your anger, and I am deeply sorry. Look, we don’t know what to do, but we know we don’t want another galactic war between our entities. I’m asking you to disengage, rather than to lose valuable ships and lives needlessly. Retreat from the system for now, and we could bring you back after—”

“You spineless weak-bloods! You’re siding with preyfolk that hate you and dream of a day they can wipe you from existence, instead of us, after we’ve stood by your side time and again? They attacked our ships without provocation, and you want me to roll my belly up before the watchful eyes of my subservients?! To let them shoot us in the back, losing thousands of ships unanswered. Never! We won’t!”

“Kaisal, we’ll personally replace every ship you’ve lost, if you just don’t return fire now. You have every right to retaliate later, should you feel it’s worthwhile to go up against three-digits worth of species again, though I don’t think any of us are eager to repeat the past. What you call weakness is us trying to keep peace; we’re strong enough to know fighting is not worth the cost. Loss of life isn’t worth it. Let us rebuild your ships, and at least for today, preserve Aafa.”

“You won’t give the Arxur ships. You’ll let my fleet die so you have an excuse to send us back into exile. Humans never go against the prey! They make your decisions for you.”

“That is absolutely untrue. We work hand-in-hand with our allies and are unyielding in our goals of peace and progress. We do keep our promises, like how we stopped them from wiping you out post-war in the first place. Who else do you think thought your lives were worthy of sparing at all, for a better future? Is that weakness, Kaisal?”

The Arxur’s breaths were strained from fury. “What a great concession, Secretary-General; you let us live. I guess we’re forever in your debt, despite the fact you wouldn’t have won your war without us—and humanity would be dead! Have you all forgotten what you owe us? Shoot those Federation mewlers!”

“I can’t do that, Kaisal. After Aafa is preserved, we can talk about it, though. We appreciate all of your help…”

“I tire of your talking, leaf-licker. If you won’t fight beside us, there’s nothing to say. The Federation idiots must be dealt with, and you’re mad to think you’ll ever have peace with them. Pretend you’re like your prey friends all you want: they won’t abide your existence. We will.”

The Arxur disconnected from the call, and his drones ramped up the attack on the Remnants simultaneously; they carved up the Malti tube bombers with prejudice using their railguns, while also zipping toward the Yulpa ships—the same class used to capture predators from across the galaxy. The invading drones had turned their focus away from the two powers, who were busy killing themselves, and went for discombobulated SC ships. Those friendlies were herded back toward where the Collective and the Feds were fighting, so that they’d get cut down by friendly fire. The humans had made no indication to step in on any side; there was also no time to retreat back toward Aafa, since the invaders were pressing toward the UN’s formation at full speed.

On Naltor’s holopad, I saw a Bissem ship wander into an Arxur’s plasma beam, before getting rammed by a slew of Malti missiles intended for a reptilian target; the Collective drone had the nerve to duck behind our vessel, using it as a shield! The Selmer general looked furious, before he decided to be the first to call for a retreat. If the grays were using us as cover, then we’d use their chaotic firefight as interference to get out of here. Various Sapient Coalition members saw our departure from the shitshow, and a few joined in. The Yotul and the Venlil were getting cut down without support, after attracting the enemy’s attention, and the humans had lost a few thousand ships to friendly fire. The chatter across the room rose in pitch, as leaders and representatives called for their species’ forces to be pulled out.

The invaders pressed past Caato, pushing the SC back toward Aafa. What was left of our defensive line faltered, desperately spitting munitions to acquire any room to backpedal. The hostile drones had spotted an opportunity to break us altogether, popping off a few, well-placed antimatter warheads to scramble our forces even further. The battleground was quickly becoming everyone for themselves, without any semblance of cohesion. The humans, Yotul, and Venlil soon wouldn’t have any of those fifteen thousand SC ships to back them; the Krakotl seemed like the only ones in this hall who were ride-or-die with the UN today. The grays and the Remnants were still cleaving through each other’s vessels, only turning an occasional glance toward the invaders; they’d both lost tens of thousands of ships, and didn’t seem to be helping us any longer.

The Terrans can’t fight the enemy alone, and there’s no mounting any resistance with the Remnants and the Arxur slaughtering each other. I think Kuemper is about to call for a retreat, trying to save whatever ships she can and hope to regroup.

“Half of the United Nations’ vessels are down. I fear we may have to consider what we can send to the…next engagement with these drones. There wasn’t enough allied participation here before, and what little we had is up in smoke,” Kuemper sighed, evident frustration seeping through in a rare display. “We’re going to unload every antimatter missile and remaining explosive we have to cover our retreat. Run as far away as we can, until we have a chance to…prepare for warp.”

“What’s to stop them from chasing us? They’re breathing down our necks!” the Harchen ambassador called out.

“They won’t come for us if we head…away from the planet. Everyone who’s already ducked the fray, just head to the system’s outskirts. To think we apologized to the Yulpa; I hope they’re happy with what they’ve done. Screw all of this! There is never any option to be moral or just in this organization. You can expect my resignation when I get back to Earth.”

The Secretary-General stormed out of the auditorium, evidently unable to corral her anger at the Yulpa and the Arxur alike. The shock of having the Terran leader erupt in anger, and announce that she was through with the Sapient Coalition, stirred quite a buzz throughout the chamber. With the humans walking out amid a war meeting, I knew that Aafa was as good as gone. When they gave up the defense of a planet, chalking it up as a loss, there was no one left to fight for it. The SC ships hurled everything they had, trying to blow everything in their immediate wake sky high to facilitate an escape. I barely registered the mines and cloaked stations that tried to cut down a few bombers, or the last Arxur and Remnants duking it out as the enemy, having moved well past Caato, ignored them.

Having fallen into disunity and division, the Sapient Coalition forces here were the antithesis of what we saw at Nishtal; they’d collapsed beneath the weight of old feuds that flared up at the wrong time. I couldn’t blame Kuemper for walking out in disgust, since we were seeing hideous pandemonium play out despite the highest stakes. The powerful lasers on the Aafa’s moon were still under UN control, and aimed into the heart of the hostile fleet. However, they achieved very little against the enemy’s liquid armor. It proved a simple waltz into orbit, to blanket the world below in a hail of explosions. Unimpeded, the final flank of the drone assault did what they’d come to do. Fiery plumes dotted the planet’s surface, as the SC delegates watched billions die on a screen.

There weren’t enough expressions of horror and mournfulness for the Kolshians. I wished that we’d been able to do more, fighting with what we had, but our efforts had been sabotaged from within. Our few hundred ships wouldn’t have made a difference alone, and Bissems had to protect our own world; it was clear that the Sapient Coalition couldn’t always be relied upon to come together. Even the Arxur, who promised to stand with us in the Carnivore Alliance, prioritized pride and reprisal over the greater good. We had to get our affairs in order, or else Aafa could be only the first planet to suffer for the galaxy’s disorder. I wasn’t sure what would come of this humiliating defeat, but I knew that relations in the Orion Arm were complicated.

The Collective and the Remnants had fired the first shots of a new war, and the SC just proved that they weren’t the least bit ready to grapple with that fallout. I hoped the powerful, peacemaking humanity who’d shown up at Nishtal, emboldened by the support and diversity of their allies, would find their way back into this forum’s helm.