The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: October 4, 2136

The shuttle halted a few parsecs short of Venlil space, until the necessary repairs were complete. This delay tacked hours to our travel time, but none of the other options were reasonable. If the drive overheated, the ensuing explosion would bring about our swift demise. I wondered how the passengers reacted to our sudden stop, and my refusal to explain any details.

Chauson hadn’t taken any convincing to come to our aid, even after he processed the murky truth. He was pacing back and forth now, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. With his quadrupedal stature, the Zurulian barely surpassed the human’s knee. Noah was biting his lip, and I assumed the predator was holding back a reaction to the “adorable” scientist.

Now was not the time to divulge that wrinkle to our new friend. Especially when that furry guy was the potential ally we were most optimistic about. I sorted through the shape-conforming vac suits, picking out one designed for small quadrupeds. Strong magnets fixed a standardized toolbox to one sleeve; serving on a few science vessels prepared Chauson for basic repairs.

“Thanks again for helping us. Do you think this is something you can handle?” I asked.

“I’ll do my best, Tarva.” The Zurulian wiggled into the suit, baring his teeth in discomfort. The fabric must feel restricting in all the wrong places. “We only need it to hold together long enough to get a few parsecs. Let’s just try to minimize the stress on the warp drive.”

“Slow and steady,” I confirmed. “Oh, and remember, this is our secret. We don’t want anyone else getting wind of this.”

“You really think it’s someone here? Why would they damage a ship they’re on, with a, um…”

Noah rolled his arboreal eyes. “Predator. It’s okay. You can say it.”

Chauson winced. “Yeah. I don’t see the logic of that plan.”

“If everyone were logical, this all would’ve been much easier,” I responded. “It’s just a possibility, for now. Honestly, it’s more likely that it’s someone outside this group. But some people would sacrifice themselves, in a heartbeat, to ‘fight flesh-eating monstrosities.’”

“I can feel the love,” the human growled.

“You’d be better off to seek respect, rather than love.” Chauson struggled with his headgear, fumbling with the clip. “Love can be quite the fleeting emotion, you know.”

The quadruped flicked his ears with annoyance, and Noah helped him click the helmet into place. Those opposable thumbs were more useful than most species’ toes and claws. I was impressed by how fast the Terran picked up on alien nonverbal cues, given how little he had actually been told.

The Zurulian gave the tether on his chest a final tug, ensuring it was fastened. He shimmied into the crawl space, and there was a click as the emergency airlock unsealed. Left alone with me, Noah’s composition dissolved. A smile tugged at his lips, and he allowed a fawning look into his gaze.

“Seeing Chauson dressed up in a spacesuit, with those little teddy bear ears…Tarva, my heart feels real fuzzy,” the ambassador declared.

Amusement flared within my sternum. “No clue what a ‘teddy bear’ is. I guess Venlil aren’t cute to you anymore, if we’ve been replaced so easily.”

“Don’t go getting all jealous on me, now. Am I not allowed to think the entire galaxy is cute?”

“You think the Arxur are cute?”

“Damn you! You know that wasn’t what I meant.”

“You said the entire—”

“I know what I said. And honestly, maybe baby Arxur are cute. We think pretty much any youngling is cute, even the mean or ugly ones.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me. You’re really doubling down on that?”

“I am. What are you gonna do about it?”

A chuckle trilled from my chest, picturing the predator cooing at baby reptilians. That would be stretching their nurturing instincts a little too far for my liking. Humans’ fierce protectiveness of their offspring was something I noticed in their earliest transmissions. It would be interesting to meet a little primate; despite their eyes, their innocence and enthusiasm looked endearing.

It’s wonderful that Noah and I’s friendship is so easygoing, and that we can mess around now. He would’ve apologized for the implication before this trip, instead of recognizing that I was kidding.

I gave the human a playful headbutt. “I’m going to make us focus on potential culprits. We need to go over the list of species onboard, pronto. With any luck, we can clear most of them. Maybe all of them.”

“Fine.” Noah’s grin dissolved, and the teasing edge leapt from his intonation. “Let’s start with the Mazic. Even as a reluctant ally, I doubt he’ll ever like me.”

It was tough to reconcile President Cupo’s ridicule during Noah’s speech, with the potential of friendship. The human had attempted to brush any past incidents off, fielding his critical questions on our voyage with aplomb. At least the Mazic was touching on genuine topics, and listening to the given responses.

Still, mistrust flowed from Cupo at every turn. He stated himself that his vote stemmed from the Federation’s desperation against the Arxur alone. There was little more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose. Not to mention, that Noah’s first thought was that the President was only partaking in this foray to stir up trouble.

The Mazics would be my prime suspect, if it weren’t for the fact that their figurehead was present in the flesh. Surely a planetary leader would send a stand-in to carry out devious plans. Why would he cause disruption to his planet’s governance, other than as a show of good faith?

“Cupo came himself,” I replied. “It would be like me going on a suicide mission. I wouldn’t be the first candidate the Venlil proposed.”

“Leadership is important, I suppose, but that isn’t a full exoneration. Ugh, alright, what about the Nevoks?”

“You’re just picking the ones you don’t like first.”

“So what if I am?”

The Nevok representative put on quite the performance for the predator, perhaps with the belief that playing up her derision would impress him. Tossa’s haughtiness had the opposite effect, though. Her ability to quarrel with Noah suggested either she was brave, or the heated dislike was mutual. Predetermined hate was a fine motive to ensure human diplomacy failed.

However, the Nevok government had more to gain from trade than most other species. The Terrans would be creating more ships than anyone, in their rush to fortify their fleet. A lucrative defense contract could keep them sated for years; war was profitable for manufacturing powers.

“I think Tossa dislikes Laulo more than you,” I snorted. “The Nevok Imperium are using you for economic benefit, if you hadn’t already figured that out. They don’t accomplish anything from getting us all stranded in space.”

Noah scratched his chin. “But what if they did get something? What if someone like the Krakotl paid them off?”

“While the Nevoks could be bribed, their price would be steep enough that you could buy a whole colony instead. If I were an outside actor, I’d do it myself, or find a cheaper entity to do my bidding.”

“It doesn’t have to be their government, Tarva. It could be a rogue actor; a single person who was swayed, and broke with official policy. We don’t have to assign blame to an entire species.”

“Sure. But I think you just want it to be the Nevoks, so that you can gag their diplomat.”

“That is a baseless accusation.”

“Right…I’m going to move on. That just leaves the Sivkit and the Yotul.”

It would be simpler to make a determination about Axsely, if we had gotten more than a sentence out of her this whole trip. She displayed more skittishness than the rest of us combined. What if that extreme terror stemmed from concerns of the predator catching her treachery? That, or her pre-existing fear had driven her to act against humanity.

However, her open cowardice didn’t mesh with the profile of a martyr or fanatic. I’d expect a little more hatred and reproach from such an enemy, after witnessing the sadistic behavior of Sovlin. Though it was a long shot, it would satisfy me if the humans captured that officer during their war. I wouldn’t blame the UN for executing the Gojid on the spot.

If Sovlin somehow survived, I’d want him tried in our courts, for throwing a wounded Venlil in a filthy cage, with a predator. Not that Marcel was ever going to eat Slanek, but that was the captain’s intent. That’s attempted murder.

Noah tilted his head. “Right now, the only thing the Sivkits are guilty of is a poor choice of personnel.”

“That’s a bit harsh. Everyone copes with fear differently.” I pinned my ears against my head, recalling how disastrous first contact was. “My diplomatic advisor passed out at your initial smile, but now, he loves humans. Axsely might warm up to you too.”

“Axsely?”

“That’s her name.”

“Gotcha. Now, onto the Yotul.”

I sensed the marsupial was Noah’s favorite. That said, of the species onboard, uplifts had the most to gain from a ploy. Outfoxing a predator was the ultimate display of intellect; it would be the swiftest way to silence any “primitive” jabs. This sabotage could be a calculated risk, to garner respect from some Federation peers.

Come to think of it, Laulo was the one who blurted out that the cooling shaft was the culprit. The fact that it was just as he said was an oddity of itself. That he hadn’t wavered, while being discredited and badgered by his colleagues, was even stranger. Either the Yotul had familiarized himself with mechanical knowledge to impress the human, or he had known about the pipe’s defectiveness prior.

That alone is pretty incriminating. I’m surprised I didn’t catch onto that sooner.

The puzzling bit was why Laulo would offer that information, if he was responsible. Someone who was setting up a drive explosion shouldn’t want that problem rectified, before it paid dividends. The uplift might’ve known that a diagnostic would reveal the issue, and decided to cut his losses. He could always move onto Plan B.

My tail drooped between my legs. “How did the Yotul know what the issue was, immediately?”

“Well, just because he’s an uplift doesn’t mean he’s an idiot.”

“I didn’t say that, Noah. Every other passenger, including myself, and you, had no idea. We’ve been around ships our whole adult lives.”

“It could be a lucky guess. Maybe Laulo’s studying to be a mechanic. We haven’t talked about our personal aspirations.”

“Even then, there wasn’t a trace of doubt. He stated it as fact, not preceded by an ‘I think’ clause. It was like he knew he was right.”

The predator was quiet, and I sensed him replaying the exact words in his head. Noah’s disappointment was obvious. Protecting the Yotul was the most passion I’d seen from the ambassador since his desperate plea on the Federation floor. Humanity would love to take a fledgling species under their wing, and explore the galaxy together.

My friend cursed, and slammed his fist into a wall. The human bent over at once, clutching that hand to his stomach. His binocular eyes were narrowed to slits, while his teeth were on full display. His uncontrolled breathing was animalistic, punctuated by furious grunts.

Was the Terran still in control, during this fit of predatory rage? My instincts shadowed my consciousness for the first time in awhile; I’d never seen sweet Noah like this. It took all of my willpower to step forward, and place a shaking paw on his arm.

“You’re hurting yourself more than the wall,” I squeaked. “It doesn’t feel pain.”

“I know that.” His lips twitched, as he nursed his injured hand. “But fuck! I don’t want it to be Laulo. The Yotul were a newer species, who don’t have historic prejudices against us.”

“We don’t know it’s him. Let’s not overreact.”

“But you were right. It doesn’t make sense how he knew, with such confidence, from that one sound. Why is the whole galaxy so unfair? Everyone is so fucking hateful!”

Silence was my answer, as much as I wanted to offer soothing words. I didn’t know how to handle an angry human, or at what point they presented a threat to those around them. It was possible that my intended response would exacerbate the problem; trusting Noah to calm down on his own might be best.

I took a deep breath, and turned my back to the furious human. It felt wrong to leave myself unguarded, at least while he was in attack mode. Forcing my eyes open, I searched through a mini-fridge. There was no ice, but hopefully, a cold water pouch would suffice. The burning in my chest eased once I stood upright, and the predator was back in my vision.

My claws wrapped around Noah’s wrist, clueing me into his racing pulse. The ambassador allowed me to move the aching hand, and it slackened in my grip. I gently pressed the water container to his knuckles. At least that would ease any physical pain.

“Thanks, Tarva. Uh, sorry for blowing up in your face.” The human’s dilated eyes met mine for a moment, before he looked away. “I have your support, don’t I?”

“Always,” I whispered.

“Good. Now let’s get back to the others, before Cupo barges in here, asking a million questions. Chauson’s going to be awhile.”

“We’re not going to detain Laulo, or at least interrogate him?”

“If I tie up the Yotul now, how are the others going to react? My explanation won’t matter. This needs to be handled quietly. It’s better to act somewhere that we’re in complete control.”

“Fair point. I can pull him off to the side when we land on Venlil Prime.”

The predator offered his uninjured hand, and I accepted it with an eye roll. Mischief played in his brown irises, as his fingers intertwined with my claws. One nail tickled the fur right under my paw pad, which caused me to yank my limb back. A hint of a smirk tugged at his face, as the affectionate moment of solidarity was ruined.

I pointed toward the control room exit. “Start walking, or I’m going to start calling you ‘Predator Noah’ too.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would, right in front of your dear friend, Tossa. Test me!”

“Fine, fine. I’m going now.”

Noah’s strides were poised and confident, a far cry from the raving beast I saw minutes ago. I followed him into the cabin, and our return caused the guests to break off their discussions. Axsely had been speaking with Cupo, but she skittered away at the human’s return. She couldn’t keep doing this for the entirety of her visit. There were going to be hundreds of UN personnel on site, when we docked.

“Welcome back, Ambassador Noah,” Laulo yipped.

“Thanks. You were right about the cooling shaft.” The predator’s tone was light with false cordiality, and he settled across from the marsupial. “Quite clever deduction. We’ll be back up and running within the next few hours, I hope.”

The uplift flicked his ears in acknowledgment. Under the human’s watchful eye, I trusted that the Yotul couldn’t pull off any shenanigans. We just needed to maintain a facade of normalcy for a little longer, before we could press our suspect on his involvement.

Part of me hoped that our theory was wild speculation; that it could be disproved, for Noah’s sake. After our lengthy ordeal, both of us were beset by paranoia. I hoped this investigation wouldn’t dampen the Terran reception to their new friends. If nothing else panned out, the Zurulians looked like they might be better neighbors than us.

This could still be a positive endeavor overall, that would lend humanity a diplomatic foothold within the galaxy. We didn’t have to let one rotten fruit spoil the barrel.