Memory Transcription Subject: Ensign Sifal, Arxur Dominion Fleet

Date [standardized human time]: October 18, 2136

“Heard and acknowledged, Admiral.” Commander Vriss set the comms unit back in its cradle with an audible click as final as a falling blade. He turned to face the troops, and every gray-scaled face in the dropship was fixed on him, hearts in our throats, waiting to hear the news. The Commander held his facade just a moment longer before he cracked a triumphantly eager show of teeth. “Assembled hunters, we have achieved orbital supremacy over the planet. The day is ours.”

A roaring cheer erupted from my fellow soldiers, thrilled at our victory. I fancied myself as having a quieter temperament, but I still couldn’t help myself from savoring the energy in the room. The Arxur Dominion Fleet was undefeated in any conventional fight, granted, but the Battle of Earth had been anything but conventional. We’d arrived late, and the defenses were already crumbling before we’d even reached the inner system, where the Human homeworld lay. The Federation’s Extermation Fleet had already managed to breach the atmosphere with a handful of bombers before we could stop them. It wasn’t a clean kill on our part, but at least we'd endured that our fellow hunters had survived, on the whole.

The Commander eventually held up a clawed hand for silence. “With the immediate threat dealt with, we are cleared to head down to the surface and help with rebuilding,” said Vriss, with his usual calm. “This is our first encounter with true sapients. Fellow hunters, not clever prey. These ‘humans’ are the very same apex predators who held their ground against us on the Gojid Cradle, proving through strength and savagery their right to conquer it. They may be new to the galactic stage, but our Chief Hunter sees potential in them. Therefore, and let me be blunt about this: humanity is not to be fucked with!” he said, eyeing us all in turn. “Earth is the heart of their territory, and we are their guests. You will respect their ancestral hunting grounds. To that end, you’ve all been hand-selected for this mission for your obedience and level-headedness.”

That held up. I was a ship’s engineer. I hadn’t been planetside in years at this point, but my trade taught me how to keep my temper in check. Machines were underwhelmed by the threat of my wrath, to say the least.

“Again, given their performance on the Gojid Cradle, we strongly suspect that humans are pack predators.” Commander Vriss briefly paused from his prepared statements to reminisce. “Nobody coordinates rifle squads that effortlessly,” he muttered, then continued a bit louder. “To that end! You’ve been issued additional rations in the mess hall, and additional rations for the field. Do NOT. Eat. Anything! Without first receiving permission! I cannot reiterate this enough, but this is Not. Our. Territory!”

This time, the response was an even mix of acknowledgement and of Arxur simply lowering their fanged maws and glaring in silent resentment. Extra rations or no, devouring a fleeing Federation civilian during a raid was one of the only times most of us got a decent meal. A rescue operation clearly wasn’t a raid, but I still understood their feelings. I mean, we’d saved this planet. Didn’t that entitle us to gorge on a couple free animals? Were the humans so greedy about the Gojids they’d captured that they couldn’t share, even with their rescuers?

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I held a claw up to my maw, pensively. Perhaps it was a pack predator thing? Gojids were well-known as a hardy slave species. Plenty of the mines on our homeworld had a handful of the prickly brown furballs toiling away. Maybe these new ‘Human’ pack predators had put a few Gojids to work, and then gotten overly attached to their captives? Humans were bipedal mammals, too, if I recalled the briefing correctly.

Commander Vriss waggled a claw at us, already a few steps ahead. “We don’t know what human customs are yet,” he pointed out. “They’ve been spotted working hand-in-hand with a subsidiary predator species called ‘dogs’, and they’ve been oddly protective of certain prey species, such as the Gojids and the Venlil, above and beyond what can be explained by territorialism. In defiance of Betterment’s ethical teachings, Humans may still retain certain emotional attachments to their cattle.” Several soldiers hissed in disgust, but Vriss held his hands up in a submissively understanding gesture. “I know, I know, they’ll learn the proper way of behaving as apex predators eventually, but we’ll force the issue when the Prophet-Descendent, in his savage wisdom, wills it, and not a moment sooner.” Vriss’s eyes flashed with an air of impending violence towards the disobedient. “Are we clear, soldiers?”

Dissatisfied grumbling was his only reply.

“I said, are we clear?” Vriss repeated, forcefully.

A reluctantly murmured “Yes, sir,” was coaxed out of the assembled.

“Good,” the Commander said. “We’ll be touching down shortly in one of their main economic hubs. Their old seat of power, the former headquarters of their United Nations. New York City.” He nodded decisively. “It’s been bombed rather thoroughly, so our orders are simple: help our fellow hunters back on their feet. Show the humans our strength, that they will know the glory and power that could come from joining with our mighty and savage Arxur Dominion. Together, Prophet willing, we will bring a final end to the Federation!”

That bought a few cheers from the troops, but not from me. Interstellar diplomacy was above my pay grade. That kind of big picture stuff was the domain of Admirals and Prophets, not officer cadets like me, only a few short years out of the Academy. I think I just… I think I just wanted to see what humans were like, up close. These were the first aliens we Arxur had ever met. Just imagine: real life aliens! Sure, the Federation existed already, but they didn’t count. What did it matter if a Venlil or a Gojid tried to talk to us? They were prey. They weren’t people, not really. Not like us. But another fellow hunting species? The first we’d ever discovered? It was hard not to feel excited for a chance to meet them. And better yet, to learn from them. Yeah, that’d be really something. A little secret knowledge from an alien species might go a long way towards jumping my career a few steps forward. Earn a few commendations, climb the ranks… then I’d be really set. The elite officers didn’t get beaten all the time, or have to go hungry for days on end like the rest of us did. I just needed a clear head and something like a plan...

I leaned my head against the viewport as the Earth below us rose to meet us, idly thumbing a piece of Venlil jerky in my pouch, and I daydreamed about what it might be like to finally earn the right to feel full.