The Nature of Predators

Memory Transcription Subject: Quana, Jaslip Soldier

Date [standardized human time]: February 4, 2161

Even with the local government on Omnol turning a blind eye to the open rebellion in the enclaves, I wasn’t sure that the Jaslip Independence Brigade would enjoy much success without outward support. Our heads hadn’t cooled off one bit toward the Consortium, since the downfall of the Federation equated to our forcible relocation and Esquo’s glassing being for naught. However, tempers had leveled out toward potential allies, such as the humans; assistance would be needed to unravel a machine like the Krev’s institution. Earth hadn’t committed any sins against us, and we’d later learned that the United Nations proper had tried to resurrect our species with their Osir project. That’d won a lot of credibility with our people. For now, the Jaslip and human babies had stayed with their original families, since transporting millions of infants for a month and “swapping” them was a headache.

Humanity cared more about saving the Jaslips, having only seen our skeletons, than the Consortium ever did. The Krev didn’t care about our lives back at Esquo, and they forgot to even care about that elusive “greater good” when it seemed all would be lost, in this era. They would’ve let the Federation exterminate us rather than divulge the truth. They executed our kits on television just to discredit the very movement I’m in, but we’re the extremists!

The Krev didn’t dare to use explosive measures, with the United Nations arriving to sort out the Tellus debacle. Aulan, the Independence Brigade’s leader, wanted to talk to them, but I didn’t see how that was feasible. Getting Jaslips off of Omnol, which was a haven for “heartless terrorists” in the KC, would be impossible. We’d hunkered down to use old-school guerilla tactics, in an arctic climate against the Resket guards sent to quash us—just like old times on Esquo. I thought back to what General Radai said about his training, learning how to take flashbang grenades to the face because of us. It would be simpler if the Smiglis would help us, especially after their sovereignty was overridden to suppress us, but they were too preoccupied with handling cultural sensitivity studies for the Consortium. We needed fighters.

“Resket soldiers, closing in on these tunnels.” Cherise, who I felt lingering guilt over snapping at a month ago, was peering through binoculars over the hill. As the lone biped here, scouting fell to her. I worried for the human on account of the fact that she was still here, rather than enjoying her species’ salvation. “We know the plan. Blitz them and hold them off—while we relocate assets and personnel.”

I flicked an ear in acknowledgment. “Yeah. Cherise…”

The human’s brown eyes were obscured beneath her combat helmet. “Quana, you’ve been tap dancing around me for more than a month. What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve never gotten angry at you, just because you were…luckier. You’ve been a good friend to me, and you deserve a fuck ton better than someone who will take their issues out on you. I don’t know why you’re still here.”

“Because the Consortium’s fucked up, and I’ve already gone this far. Sunk cost fallacy.”

“That’s why ninety percent of the Tellish stayed with Hathaway? I would’ve thought you wanted to go back and meet the United Nations liaisons.”

“Well, I don’t. Thanks for finally asking.”

“I…deserve that. I do care about you, but in the heat of the moment, it’s like something snapped and I just…stopped caring. Like them. I’d like to think I’m not that person, yet the guilt: I can’t look at you the same. I’m so ashamed that it curls my claws, and it hurts to…”

The human raised a hand, sighing. “Let’s just forget about it, Quana. It was months ago, and I made sure to give you plenty of time to process your shit. If you say it’s not really you, I believe you. Make a mental note to yourself that I’m not your enemy.”

“Done.” I ignored the jittery feeling of the anti-hibernation drugs, which hadn’t helped my unease over this confrontation with the Reskets, and my admission of guilt. “Go home, Cherise. To Earth. You’ve done enough. I want you to be happy, and it’s almost like you’re here running from the UN.”

“With the things I’ve seen and done, I can’t see those people and call myself as human as them. I could leave, but I can never go home. I’m not a quitter, you know.”

I curled a tail frond around her wrist. “I know, but I’m telling you it’s okay to. You risked everything to fight for us, and to fight for what was right, even when you had nothing to gain—and everything to lose. You’ve never had anything good your whole life either, for a dumb fucking reason, just like the Jaslips. I’m not okay with using my friend as cannon fodder. We are losing. Why don’t you go celebrate humanity’s victory? Take a win for us all.”

She could take a message back to the United Nations’ personnel on Tellus, but only if she is willing. That’s my best friend, who we’ve asked too much of already.

Cherise shook her head with stubbornness. “I sacrificed too much to see an end to meaningless suffering as a win. This is a cause that’s for something…and a friend who I’ll always care about, no matter how much she spits at me. We fight the Reskets together. It might be hopeless, but hopeless is what I’m used to.”

“If you insist,” I growled. “We both know what must be done. Kill them by traditional means or take them down with us. Blow the tunnels with us all inside, like you said you would’ve done to the Tellus caverns. The human way.”

“Not just humans. Predators get the job done. The Feddies were wrong about us being scary on the outside. The mind is far scarier than any eye orientation.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s show the Reskets as much dishonor as they can stomach.”

Over the snowy incline, I could see the towering pink shapes of avians, who were sprinting at high speeds that no other species could match; their massive bodies meant we had large targets to shoot at. The Reskets were clad in combat armor, and were toting a varied arsenal to deal with any Jaslip Independence Brigade attacks. The fact that the Consortium still refused to let us leave, and sent their bird enforcers after us, said it all. The Jaslips weren’t going to settle for anything less than our freedom and kicking them out. I steadied my tail fronds on the trigger, with a large gun mounted on my side. Cherise’s breathing was low and calm, as she steadied a white-painted rocket launcher on her shoulder. There had to be hundreds of them versus six dozen of us.

Aulan twitched his ear as a signal, and IEDs erupted on the pathway in front of the tunnel. Several Reskets in the immediate vicinity of the detonations found themselves mutilated, though they’d spread out and gone through the snow, expecting some shady tactics. Jaslip fighters attempted to flank the squad, who were also ready for that; the avians whirled around like it was a telegraphed move, firing a slew of bullets. Cherise unloaded her rocket into a cluster of birds, finding that they hadn’t brought any vehicles—they knew we’d just blow them up. Surely they brought some mobile support. I turned my gaze skyward and switched on an infrared lens. Drones were looking straight at us, which proved we didn’t have the element of surprise.

“Move! Clear out!” I barked. “Take out those drones, before they calibrate a fucking orbital strike.”

I popped off an armor-piercing round into an automaton, and sliced through its processor to terminate its flight. My barrel swiveled to pick off another one, as the Reskets rallied from our initial explosions. Jaslip fighters had rolled flashbangs into their midst, alongside more lethal weapons, to both disorient and maim them. However, the long-legged birds were wise to this, and they kicked several back toward our positions. I watched shrapnel bathe snowy fur in purple fluid just ahead of us. My eyes locked onto the last drone I could see, and I picked it off. Now, I could focus on the alien hostiles, but was it too late?

Hundreds of hostile guns locked on to fire at every trace of movement in the snow. The Resket forces were a well-oiled machine, having trained for these exact circumstances; their command must’ve been smarting from the humiliation we handed them, when their attempts to relocate us from Esquo dragged on. It was a source of great shame, for such a proud race. While they were still much easier to spot and hit, their white armor was a step up in camouflage. I supposed Tanet had seen the benefit of an enemy not seeing when they were coming. Cherise’s hands seemed to load the next shell too slowly; yelps continued to come from around us, as other Jaslips were picked off. Saliva built in the back of my throat, the dread too much to swallow.

We have to take as many of these bastards with us as possible. We can’t surrender every tunnel, every city block, every place of residence down to the last tauya, to their control. The Jaslips won’t surrender. The Consortium must realize we’re not worth the hassle, if we don’t quit. They’ll keep making us a mockery and killing us for whatever their goal is on a given day, as long as we’re under their foot.

Cherise fired a rocket that took out several avians, before abandoning the heavy munitions and switching to a mounted machine gun; it was propped on a rock that afforded perfect cover. The rapid-fire whir was music to my ears, as she opted for a spray-and-pray strategy. Her firearm consumed the ammunition belts lying on the ground with insatiable hunger and speed. Aulan gave the signal for the final explosives to be triggered, using up the last of the bombs we’d hidden along the path. Nothing could stop the Reskets’ advance, however, and more just kept coming. I could see their own charges clipped to belts, waiting to bring the roof down on us. They wanted to destroy our infrastructure up-close-and-personal, where neither Jaslip nor Smigli anti-orbital interceptors could intervene. Besides, firing on Omnol would be an act of war that might make the hermaphroditic natives respond.

“We’re getting fucking slaughtered. We need to fall back,” I told Cherise.

The human stiffened, continuing to fly through bullets on her machine gun. “One second. They’re not on us yet, even as fast as they run. Not gonna get another shot at using this bad boy, and I’d hate to let it go to waste.”

“You’re going to get shot if you stay here; they’re going to take you out as soon as they get a good look. Two-thirds of our forces are dead, I’d wager, from the bodies I see on the ground. It’s over. Aulan’s already pulling everyone back, so if you want to stay with the team—”

“No, I get it.” Cherise abandoned the machine gun, though I could sense her reluctance. “This would be a good death, you know.”

“The fuck are you on about? There’s no such thing as a good death. There’s no reason to seek one out.”

“If you say so.”

The primate didn’t expand on that last remark, though it sparked an immediate wave of concern for her mental state. If she was staying with the Independence Brigade in a deliberate effort to get herself killed, then I couldn’t let her stay with us in good conscience. For the time being, I settled for whirling around and dragging her toward a staging area atop the tunnel; we had to get further back pronto. I could feel a bullet skirt over the fur of my shoulders, coming from a sidelong angle. Aulan waved to us from barricades he’d set up, and I slid behind one with ragged breaths. Cherise sat down next to me, back pressed against the concrete. Whatever my friend had stewing in her brain, I wasn’t ready for either of us to die.

Everything that we’ve been fighting to achieve means nothing if we eat a bullet now. Anything that’s worth dying for is worth living for too.

The Independence Brigade leader was considering a strategic retreat; it was brave of him to be on the frontlines with his fighters at all, given his importance. At least the Reskets wouldn’t know how significant he was and target him. I began to turn my thoughts toward getting Aulan out of harm’s way, so that the movement would have its leader. We could cover his retreat, though I found myself daunted peering down at the Reskets. They were like a swarm of suvrels—hundreds of pink mites in the snow, descending on us. We’d be lucky to hold out for a few minutes, but that would buy Aulan enough time. Maybe I could get him to take Cherise with him, since she was important for the hope of connecting us with the United Nations.

“If they’re going to blow up the tunnels, we do it first,” Aulan decided. “Let them start to set up their charges, and we reverse the tide. I’m done retreating, done losing ground to these kibblarhans.”

Cherise raised a hand in a tentative gesture. “I’ll stay and watch. I can trigger the charges from here. The rest of you should make a run for it.”

“That’s not happening,” I objected.

“I’m asking Aulan, and he knows it has to be someone. I’ve served my purpose. I’m willing to take on one more mission.”

The Independence Brigade leader thought for several seconds. “One person can’t stave off a horde, though I appreciate your unwavering courage in the face of death. There’d be no failsafe to ensure that it goes off, if it’s just you. You can stay with the team to defend the area, however. There’s snowmobiles stationed back there for us to ride off on, so—”

Aulan’s words were cut off by the explosions of gas tanks, as a Resket rocket slammed into the waiting escape ride. Alarm flickered in our leader’s eyes, while he struggled to conjure a backup plan. Precious seconds ticked away, and the hostiles were following the footsteps in the snow; they climbed up atop the tunnel, taking shots at us. I muttered curses, realizing that we were doomed. Our position was about to be overrun, and after how poorly the initial defense had gone, we must be outnumbered ten-to-one. I hoped that my family would remember me as a hero, not as the resentful, cavalier fiend I’d become.

At least I had the presence of mind to make up with Cherise before we met our deaths. She was a good friend, the only alien that ever cared about me; I wish she had a chance to be happy again. It was selfish of me to ever drag her into any of this Jaslip rebellion shit…and I’m sorry for that too. Even if it was her choice.

That was when bullets began carving up the Reskets from behind, as hundreds of shooters flanked the avians out of nowhere. My eyes widened with shock, wondering where the fuck we’d gotten that kind of firepower from. Had Aulan had this trap planned all along, and kept it a surprise so they’d have no way of knowing? My confusion intensified further when the shadows that emerged weren’t wintry Jaslip pelts, but blotches of gray that walked at strange angles. A stealth vessel cruised overhead of the Reskets, chipping in with air support that massacred them with ease. The Independence Brigade had been all but forgotten in an instant, and without questioning our saviors, we rallied forward to help pick off stragglers.

The air support was pivotal in mopping up the majority of Reskets, though I had no idea who the ship belonged to. It didn’t look like any Consortium race I knew, and it didn’t feel like a human vessel; besides, I’d been around the primates for long enough to know that the shapes I saw weren’t their kind. With hundreds of new allies descending on the last few avians, the scene was taken care of inside of a minute. Satisfied that the last pink head had fallen, the newcomers marched forward—and gave me the first good look at them. Gray scales and truncated snouts, along with binocular eyes with vertical pupils; massive fangs poked out of their mouths at all times. I gasped with apprehension and a bit of revulsion, recognizing them at last: the Arxur.

“Hold your fire!” Aulan shouted, after ensuring that our ghastly helpers had no intention of firing on us. We did need help, but the things they had done…we had a lot of moral failings, but we weren’t cannibals. “Who is in charge?”

One of the “grays” lifted a clawed paw. “Operative Zefriss with the Arxur Collective. We’ve come as fellow carnivores, after hearing of your mistreatment. I’d like to take you to our leader to discuss an alliance.”

“Very well. If you’re here to take on the Consortium, then we have much to talk about; thank you for your help there. I’d like to bring what’s left of my team with me, since we make decisions as a movement. We’re fighting for transparency, so I won’t hide anything.”

“Naturally.” The Arxur’s eyes snapped toward Cherise, and narrowed to slits. “I did not realize you had humans in your mix. Is she a mercenary?”

“What?!” Cherise choked out.

“Never mind. I do not care; it’s fine as long as she’s on our side. The point is, with our backing, your rebellion will have much more of a snarl behind it. Chief Hunter Kaisal is going to ensure that you’re listened to.”

“I like the sound of that,” Aulan growled. Really, is nobody going to bring up the “they ate people” issue? They are monsters! “You had me sold at acknowledging our mistreatment, Zefriss. Lead the way.”

The reptilian lashed his tail in acknowledgement, and stalked off toward the stealth ship that’d touched down in the snow; it had ample space to transport hundreds of personnel to-and-from the surface. Aulan beckoned with the three-fronded tail, following Zefriss without the hesitation I thought was befitting the situation. I supposed Jaslips were desperate for aid, but judging by the expressions on the other fighters’ faces, I wasn’t the only one with qualms about allying with the Arxur. After exchanging a glance with a nervous Cherise, I padded up to the Collective ship with a great deal of suspicion. There was the argument that we wouldn’t have survived that encounter with the Reskets without them, and had fought by our side without asking for anything in return.

That didn’t make me like our movement allying with the galaxy’s most infamous monsters one bit more.