Chapter 32: Discovery
On the terminal screen was a Trilaxin; an avian race that Joseph remembered hitting on once or twice while he was on the cruise. They looked as if someone had shifted the slider more towards the ‘bird’ part while creating a harpy from myths. The one that was staring at him with mild confusion and no small amount of ‘looking important’ was, apparently, the contact that his brother had been trying to set up the prototype communications for since they had gotten back in touch. It explained the late call, since Robert has since adjusted a clock to reflect the solar cycle of the planet.
She wore a pretty standard business suit that had long slits in the sleeves for her wings to poke through and was covered in feathers of baby blue, highlighted by an off-white plumage on her chest and neck. There was possibly more that ran through her midsection but the attire hid everything below. Her beak, though perhaps a bit small in length, was an onyx black with the soft tissue inside to match.
Although none of the items in frame gave him a solid sense of scale, he wagered that she was perhaps around Pan’s height, though much less substantial on account of their more hollow bone structure and lesser packed muscle. Her features were fairly narrow and toned for what muscular tissue he could pick out from the chest up, with her arms being the expected mammal/bird hybrid that ended in three talons and a ‘thumb’ about two-thirds the length through. Her eyes were a striking sapphire blue that currently conveyed concern for his state of dress and apparent exhaustion.
Joseph blinked a few times and waved another stray hair out of his vision. “Yes, I’m Joseph. Sorry, i was working off some energy when you called. Nice to meet you, Miss Herrin.” He gave a polite bow in response, unsure of what formalities would be appropriate and deciding to adopt the Atmo’s preferred greeting.
“Sil...” She corrected, giving him another once-over before shaking her head. “You’re Rob’s brother and i don’t want to have to listen to him go on about being ‘Miss Herrin’ for the next however many cycles. Feel free to forget formalities.” She rolled her eyes at the designation.
“Nice to meet you, Sil.” Joseph nodded, far more comfortable knowing that she was close enough to Rob to use his nickname. He preferred people use his full version until he liked them, and if Rob liked her, then she was probably going to be easy enough to get along with. That, or she was going to dive him up every available wall. It was usually a mixture of both, but it beat the stuck-up persona that she had imparted upon him with the initial greeting.
“And you as well.” Her feathers waved somewhat as her posture relaxed, the slight shimmering effect dazing him momentarily. “We are short on time, I’m afraid, so we’ll have to be concise. You think to have contacted a black-listed species?”
Joseph started on removing his wraps as he answered, no longer worried about offending his conversational partner for being distracted. “Yeah, Rob said the Atmo are listed.”
“Atmo? Insectoid, big blades, peace loving?” Sil asked with a startling eighty-degree head tilt.
“Mantis-spider centaur? Yeah. As far as peace loving? Well,” Joseph scratched his chin with his free hand, the other being tied up by loose leather. “Mama isn’t much for it, but Violet’s taken a bit of a shine to sparring. Even made her protective equipment so she didn’t gore anyone we put in front of her, though that’s just Pan so far.”
There was a small clank that came from the terminal. Sil had apparently dropped the water she had reached for off screen. “Wait, you taught them combat?”
“Just Violet, but yeah. She watched me shadow-box once and spent the better part of the next day copying what she seen. Best she could, anyway. I figured it’d be fun to teach her.” Joseph replied while working on the wraps on his other hand. “She’s gotten pretty good, too. I wouldn’t be too pleased to find her against me without gear on.” He chuckled to himself. Sil, on the other hand, cradled her head in her wings.
“Joseph, how many Atmo are you in contact with?”
He raised a brow at her. “Just the two. They saved me from drowning when i got here and we’ve stuck together ever since.”
She raised herself to look at him again. “Anything special about them? Physically, i mean. Colour, size?”
“Well, Mama’s like... eight feet tall. Blue. Violet’s about...” He held a flat hand to his chest. “This big. She looks like an orchid mantis and has a sort of clear, secondary set of scales. Looks pretty in the light. She’s purple but fire makes her clear scales pearlescent. Pretty energetic kid. Helpful too.”
Sil breathed a heavy sigh that ended in what sounded like a quiet train whistle. “I’m going to fucking castrate him.”
“Wait, what?” Joseph struggled to keep his voice down. Seeing someone who wouldn’t look out of place at a governor's office threaten someone with such language caught him somewhere between amusement and shock.
“Not you.” She waved a wing. “Rob told me I would need to look some things up after i was done talking to you, but we’re only five questions in and i already need to call in favours to review the reports to deal with this. ‘Violet’ sounds different enough from what the overview read for me to need to look into it.”
“Any idea why they’re listed?” He asked, hoping to re-rail the conversation. “Better yet, could i have an explanation for what that even is? Rob said it was for ‘pre-contact observation’ or something. It’s been a while, i don’t remember the exact wording. Kinda had to fight for my life a few times since then so details get fuzzy.”
Silva straightened up, seeming more comfortable talking about something she knew rather than to just preparing a reference list, though she winced at his mention of almost dying on several occasions and shot him a worried look that he shrugged off. “The ‘black-list’ is for species who have yet to achieve space travel and as such are not to be contacted. The Union has had more than one issue with being revered as gods when they attempted. They watch over them to ensure no one gets any idea of deification or abusing their power to enslave burgeoning races.”
“Ah, that... that makes a lot of sense, actually. So why are the Lilhuns on it?” He asked with a frown.
She returned the confused expression, some of her milky plumage rolling down her chest in a wave. “Lilhuns?”
“Yeah they look like cat people with a bit of dog in the face... sorta...” He struggled to describe them visually, thinking it would be much easier to just show what they looked like. “Wait... I think she should still be up? Tel! You there?” He turned in his chair to call out the door. Silva gave him a look that he raised his index to. A moment later he could smell traces of peppermint and a curious Tel popped in the door, blood from a wolf stained a fairly well made leather apron as she was apparently in the process of cleaning one of the kills for storage.
He pointed at the grey Lilhun, careful not to touch the fluids that splattered onto her protective covering. “These guys. It’s okay, i just needed a visual aid. Thanks Tel.” Tel stared at him a moment with a raised brow before he shooed her out the door, the Lilhun taking almost no interest in the bird-person on the screen and only sparing a glance at her before she left with an annoyed huff. He may have been dragged along with her whole ‘what am i?’ routine, but he figured the best way to get revenge was to let her stew in his lack of attention to the game. Based on her reaction, it was working.
Joseph corrected his seating as he continued his line of questioning, ignoring the irritated cook with a smirk on his face. “Why are they on the list? Rob looked ‘em up and they’re nowhere on the net.”
Sil stared at him with an open beak. “You live with two black-listed species?”
“Well, technically i live with a mix of two between eight inhabitants. Two Atmo, the rest are Lilhuns.” He placed his wraps on the desk and rubbed his wrist. “Those guys got here on their own after the Union made a point to glass half their colonized planets. Sounds like something that would hit the news somewhere, but there’s nothing on them anywhere.”
The Trilaxin burned a hole in her desk with her stare, the feathers on her head almost vibrating as she muttered to herself in disbelief. “They did it. They actually did it.”
“Did what?” Joseph stopped rubbing his wrist and spoke in a firmer tone as he faced the terminal directly.
She shook her head, more waves of feathers radiating from her centre. “They started the experiments.”
He shifted back in his chair. “Like, ‘drugs and medical testing’ style of experiments?”
“No, no.” Sil shifted her gaze to him after denying the assertion. “What do you know about the Station Thirteen Incident?”
He paused to think. Vague articles of the event were among the assorted required reading that Robert had given him before he went on the cruise, though that was long enough ago that the specifics were spotty at best. “A gang killed a... I can’t pronounce it. Centipede baby. And a human woman lead the family into taking them all out, right? Big ‘ol ‘feel good’ routine about love conquering all?”
“Basic, but yes.” She confirmed with a slightly exasperated sigh at his simplification. “Joseph, what’s the thing Humans are known for?”
“Besides endurance?” Sil offered a shrug but gestured for him to continue. “If not, pack bonding?”
“Pack bonding.” She laid her wing tips on the desk as she nodded. “Joseph, Humans are the only species who pack-bond with others not of their own. Yet a Human woman incensed a group of twelve Ji’kril’ex into slaughtering forty eight gang members. They are fundamentally a pacifist species. It never should have been something that would have even considered, much less executed.”
“I mean... Losing a kid sounds like a great reason to start ripping heads off, if you ask me.” Joseph crossed his arms. “I know I’d go on a fucking warpath.”
“I’m sure you would. As would a lot of humans. That’s the problem.” She stated firmly.
“I don’t see an issue.” He replied flatly.
“What is a Human’s first instinct when they are shown a species that has not known war for centuries, are friendly and accepting to a fault, but are physically equipped to be outstanding shock troops?”
“I don’t know. Befriend them?”
“And teach them combat so that they can defend themselves.” She continued while giving him a pointed stare. “Sound familiar?”
“Wait, so Atmo are listed because of what Humans might do with them?” He raised his voice an octave at the implication.
“Because, assuming the proposal actually went through, they continued to do so. The suggested protocol after Station Thirteen was to test new species with their interactions with existing Union members before accepting them into it. There would be a heavy focus on Human interactions. Humans would had to have proven to consistently turn them into war machines for the listing to stick, as they are the most likely to care enough to worry for their safety and ‘take them under their wing’, as it were.” Sil waved a wing and preen at her own joke before faltering to a darker tone. “If that’s the case, then they would have deemed it necessary to eliminate them before Humans could start.”
“What, just nuke the planets? They might get taken in by aggressive Humans, so fuck em? Wait... Is that what happened to the Lilhuns? They have some weird fucking interaction with my species so the Union started making a planet sized marble collection out of their solar system!?” Joseph gave up trying to keep his voice under control. Sil bolted back with wide eyes as she tried to calm him down.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“I can’t say anything for sure...” She hesitated before throwing her wings in defeat. “But, yes, i think so.”
Joseph threw his hands up. “Why not just kill the fucking Humans then? Surely that’s better in the long run than just fucking dropping bombs on everything one of us is willing to spend time with.”
Sil dropped her head and breathed out heavily. “That... That’s politics. I don’t think you would get it.”
He crossed his arms defiantly, his scowl darkening his face. “Enlighten me.”
She glanced at him upwardly and sighed. “One; humans are the third most ubiquitous race since their introduction. They’re everywhere and rather good at spreading out. Two; they pack bond with alarming proficiency.”
He flicked a hand. “So, what? They didn’t find out in time that we tend to like people?”
“They didn’t find out in time how much you make other species like you.” She explained quietly. “There are twenty eight species in the Union and, so far, nine have stepped up in favour of an alliance with humans outside of the Union.”
“So nine species have suggested we stay allies even if the Union went to shit?”
“Nine species have began talking in the background about taking over the Union with the humans since there are talks of doing something about them. Enough so that there are people whispering about war preparations.” She clarified.
“And you know this how?” He gave her a skeptical glare which she sheepishly avoided. He took a moment to breath as he connected the dots. “The Trilaxin’s are stepping up to bat for the Humans. Thus why you’re talking to me about all of this instead of sending my coordinates to a Planet-breaker or something.” Joseph concluded. Sil nodded.
“Though, to be fair, i still don’t know where you are. This worm-hole tech is... I really have no idea how Rob’s boys did this.” She admitted with a flourish of her wings towards the screen. Joseph raised an eyebrow but decided that now was not the time.
“So the Atmo are either on a shit-list for extinction, or soon will be, and the Lilhuns fought back the Union when they found themselves on that same list. What’s their deal? Humans have a fondness for turning friendly weapons into deadly friendly weapons, so i can see that i guess. Why were the Lilhuns put to the axe?”
Sil shrugged weakly. “I’ll find out. I could be wrong on both accounts but i don’t think so. All i know is that the private chats started calling the species that started taking your side in the discussions ‘Corrupted’ and that this is starting to get out of hand. Tensions are getting high and any premature moves might be ‘the straw’.”
“Corrupted?”
She nodded. “Human pack-bonding has been listed as a ‘memetic hazard’ internally. Species that are exposed to Humans with any degree of regularity start to display cross-species bonding themselves. Why do you think that there are so few of you openly in space now? You’re all on allied planets or Sol. They don’t want you ‘corrupting’ more species and causing a chain reaction. Mix that with your proclivity to rally with any nearby allies when enraged?” Sil took a breath. “Your species is very good at waging war, Joseph. You’re very creative when given the chance. Give a Human a mix of species and a reason to fight? They will find out exactly how to cause the most damage with each. They want to keep the tools at your disposal as limited as possible and the number by your side as low as possible.”
Joseph dropped both arms, allowing them to swing freely at his sides. “You think the Union will take up arms against humanity because we make friends?”
“Because you make a lot of friends. You make dangerous friends out of previously not-dangerous friends and have the drive and leadership to point them where they need to go with whatever tools they need to make things happen if you feel they are threatened. Yes.” She affirmed while steeling her gaze. “In the less than two decades that you have been in the Union, your kind has gathered a third of the governing species to your defence. It’s the only reason Sol isn’t a black hole or a ‘marble collection’, as you put it.”
Joseph raised a hand and rested his temple on his thumb, his index bracing itself on the bridge of his nose. “Does Rob know?”
Sil chirped in laughter. “Know? He’s responsible for two species by himself.” She trilled a bit at the end.
Joseph dropped the hand in time with his jaw. “What?”
Silva winked at him. “He’s quite charming when he wants to be. He’s had a bigger part in organizing things than he would admit. Anyhow, time’s up. I’ll look more into the Atmo and Lilhuns. Hopefully call in a favour to get access to those experiment logs for you.”
Joseph opened and closed his mouth, each attempt at speaking met with a dry throat as he stared at the floor.
“And Joseph?” He looked back at the terminal. “I’m sorry for dropping this on you. I know it’s a bit much all at once.”
“Y-yeah. A bit.” He admitted with a weak nod. It wasn’t every day you’re told your species is considered a threat to an entire galactic superpower because you’re likely to cuddle a roomba during a thunderstorm.
“Take care, I’ll be in touch when i have everything on my end.”
He returned the wave. “You too. I’ll be here.”
The terminal went dark and the call ended. Joseph returned to staring at the floor for a while, working out what the hell he just learned.
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They walked through the settlement, fires that had long since been put out marred the buildings that had been constructed with charring and dull cinders. Several of the structures had fallen under their weight once the supports had burned enough, spraying their shrapnel across the beaten pathways. The dens that they had made for the smaller groupings to feel comfortable were all that remained, them laying outside the sphere of hazard and now serving as medical bays for the injured.
Everywhere he looked there was evidence of a struggle. Claw marks across the walls and blood throughout the gate. Several workers with improvised splints or cauterized wounds to stymie the bleeding caused by something or other hauled hastily made beams to their new positions.
Atrox guided his mates through the crowd, both of them holding him by his loose tunic as pack members trying to organize each other and salvage what they could to repair what was able to be fixed passed them by. There was much work to be done to ensure the cold would not take them.
Temporary lodgings were lifted near the centre around contained fires that burned the unsalvageable wood for warmth. It wasn’t hard to follow the voices to his Grand Huntress, for she may be of small stature, but her barking orders carried through the bustle of activity with great clarity. Mi’low was currently chewing the ear off of one of the watchmen, the guard in question seemingly being the cause of the inferno that had befallen the base.
“...Get your Void-loving ass out there and you go explain to his mate how her bond got trapped in a fire!” The Grand Huntress yelled up at the guard, sending him running with his tail between his legs. The guard muttered an apology as he bumped Atrox’s shoulder on his passing, the hiss of pain sounding through gritted teeth. Mi’low caught Atrox out of the corner of her eye and motioned him closer. Seeing that she was not in a ‘receiving bad news’ kind of mood, he gave both his mates a kiss and sent them to assist with the efforts before joining his Grand Huntress.
She gave him a long look, her eyes lingering on the sling before she eventually tried speaking in a less scathing cadence. “You’re late.”
Atrox knelt at her feet, his head coming to chest-height on her. His knuckles felt the cold packed snow crunch. “Apologies, Grand Huntress. We were hunted by beasts.”
She scoffed, her tone softening with curiosity but still full of irritation. “Yet you live.”
“We were saved by another pack.” He watched her tail start swaying for a moment.
“Another? Whose was it? Toril? Sunundra? What are they doing this far out? Besides making a mockery of my territory, that is.” She stopped to bark at someone to stop slacking before looking expectantly at him.
“None of them, Grand Huntress. It was another pack lead by an alien.” Mi’low’s tail stopped, the sarcasm and ire falling to a stoic iron.
“Rise.” He did as asked, the lack of an arm bracing his knee making the task slightly more difficult. “Follow me. I expect details, Atrox.”
Mi’low guided him through the ashes and rubble towards her personal quarters, a smaller hut that was mostly used to organize the Heads of the pack. Atrox watched the members haul ruined wood away from the buildings they once were, a question burning in his mind. “What happened here?”
“Heralt knocked over the pyre when the white beasts attacked.” Mi’low growled. “The fire did more damage than those creatures. Within a quarter-moon the entire base was aflame. It was but by the grace of the Hunt Mother that some of us awoke before we lay buried under a burning blanket of our den.”
Atrox’s ears drooped. They could not afford much more in the way of losses. They were near thirty strong before the winter, the cold taking them one after another until they managed a stable supply of wood. The hunting continued to suffer as the hunters failed to return, the wildlife gaining more audacious with their continued residence. “How many?”
The Grand Huntress paused for a moment, her ears falling in line with her tail as she recalled the losses. “Too many. Come.” She turned a corner and directed him into the room, taking a seat on a chair that was, admittedly, slightly too large for her. She crossed one leg over the other and folded her paws on her lap. “Report.”
Atrox resumed his kneel, the ground much more forgiving to his fist. “Yes, Grand Huntress. We travelled northwest for two days, as ordered, but came across evidence of activity.”
She flicked an ear. “Origin?”
“Fire. A large smoke cloud released near dusk every sun. We suspected it a lost group or natives. We decided it best to investigate before returning.”
Mi’low nodded. “Continue.”
“Yes, Grand Huntress. We followed the suspected activity until we were tracked by a pack of beasts. We ran but they were closing in on us. I dropped my mates in a shelter we found and tried to lead them away.”
Mi’low flicked another ear as she found fault with the language. “Tried?”
Atrox nodded. “I was bitten.” He gestured to his shoulder in the sling, the bandages having been removed a sun ago now shown the scarring tissue below. “I came across buildings and a pack who happened to be having an outdoor gathering around a fire. They saved my life, and upon letting them know of my mate’s fates, they saved them too.”
Mi’low leaned forward in her chair. “You claim it to be lead by an alien? Is it our enemy? The Union? No, you would not be telling me if it was Union. You would have been yet another of no return. They may still be an enemy however.” She chewed her cheek as she weighed the possibilities.
Atrox was about to deny the suggestion but a memory came to the forefront. The alien was not of the Union, but was he sure he wasn’t an enemy? The image of death staring him down and his core freezing under its gaze played in his mind, a slight electricity following down his spine. He took a breath and shook his head. “Only if we make it ours, Grand Huntress, and i pray we do not.”
“Oh?” Mi’low got off her chair to stare him down. “What is it that makes you think they are a threat to us? Numbers? Weapons?”
Atrox dwelled on how Huntress Pan introduced the biped. “They are lead by The Guardian, they claim. They are lesser and simply armed, but i dare not speak ill of their proficiency in combat. Even the weakest looking of them dealt with the yellow beasts without much in the way of assistance.”
The Grand Huntress flinched. “Whom claim an aspect of the Hunt Mother so blatantly?”
“He does not, Grand Huntress.” Atrox clarified. “His pack claim him an essence. The being in question seems to care not of the title.”
“Who be his pack. Anyone i would know?” Mi’low started walking circles around him slowly.
“The seamstress first-year, Pan, has claimed a position of the Paw.”
“The defect?” She slowed her pacing for a moment and gave him a questioning tone.
“Yes.” He affirmed.
“Interesting. Quiet girl. Mostly pleasant, from my memory. An odd choice but i suppose i can understand.” Mi’low commented with a claw to her chin. “Continue.”
Atrox felt compelled to mention that the ‘quiet girl’ was likely one of the more verbose and deadly, but bit back the urge in favour of not being yelled at for meaningless commentary. “Jax, first-year security and his bond, Harrow of logistics. Also a first-year.”
“Jax. Jax...” She mulled the name slowly as she worked her memory, ignoring the bond as she apparently found it of no importance. “That black-fur who showed promise in his ground armaments training, no? Large male, small ambition?”
“I believe so, Grand Huntress.” Atrox shifted his sling when Mi’low simply nodded. “There was two i did not recognize but i believe i have seen you interact with Sahari.”
The name caught Mi’low in her tracks. “Black-fur female?” He nodded. “She’s one of the more devout. A fine follower, i doubt she would accept the designation without cause. You say she claim him an essence?”
“Yes, Grand Huntress.”
She started pacing in front of him, her tail close by her back. “This carries weight then. What of your return? They sent you well, obviously.”
“They sent me with a request for cooperation. They seek seeds and knowledge of cultivation as well as whatever we can spare of our metalworking. In exchange, they will impart us technological progress of our materials we have otherwise.”
“This is worth trading?” She waved a paw in his direction as if to suggest the trade unimportant.
Atrox nodded. “Their mastery of wood nears our metal tools. I feel they will lead further improvement with that as well. They also hold knowledge of ranged weaponry.”
Mi’low almost fell over, correcting her sudden stop by spinning her arms. “They made guns!?”
Atrox snorted as he failed to hold his laughter, earning him a glare from the Grand Huntress until he cleared his throat and composed himself. “No, Grand Huntress. They made a ‘bow’; a stick-like item for launching other sticks at velocity. I can verify its effectiveness. It came into conversation that there are many types, several of which fair far better than the one that fell a beast in a single usage, though they may require metals to construct them. Thus the request for our supply and knowledge regarding it, if possible.”
“Interesting.” The Grand Huntress braced an elbow with a paw as a claw tapped her cheek. “They offered us this for seeds and scrap metal?”
“I believe them cautious. The alien was... concerned... when i mentioned of many others on the planet. I think they seek allies over advancement of their own arms. Protecting the den seemed to take priority over expanding their influence.”
“He knows of war? Such caution is born of conflict.” Mi’low perked an ear.
“He knows of loss.” Atrox replied in a dark tone. “It was as if the Void itself blessed his path while the moon guided him on his hunt. He sought destruction of those who trespass. I was warned by the pack to never attempt harm of an insect they claim den-kin, lest i know of it too. I am inclined to concur.”
She crouched in front of him to draw eye-level. “An insect?”
“Yes, Grand Huntress. Two, though the threat was explicit. It seemed the pack agreed to the point of fury.”
“He tamed two of those living weapons?”
“He claims it his kit and kin. I fear suggesting otherwise may sour. The threat was not delivered in jest, i assure you.”
She rose to her feet. “He built himself a den under the influence of the Hunt Mother with her apparent blessings and bears harm towards those who seek to disrupt it, yes?”
“Yes, Grand Huntress. I think of him a dangerous being if perturbed, though a boon if appeased with promise of assistance. Do we ally?”
She walked to her chair to sit down. “Atrox, we lost six members. Only two to the beasts and more are claiming incompetence with promise of desertion for failing my oath. We have no hunters to collect us our meals. No food to sustain their replacements. Those that remain on their journey southeast will live on prayer and patience. Our den will die with us before first melt with little more than desperate cries for sustenance under the unforgiving chill. We must take action, no matter how unorthodox or unpleasant.”
Atrox sputtered, blindsided by the news. He raised his voice without conscious command as the implication dawned on him. “Then we fall vassal of Sunundra? Sink to the lowest? Surely you dare not suggest we wither like servants under her claw? What choice do we have but to grovel for morsels from the wench whom find us most amusing while showing our ribs through matted fur? Is this your command? To live dreaming of nights of fire and blood as pleasant pasts while succumbing to the humours of the despicable?”
“No, Atrox.” Mi’low quietly denied. “I’m giving you a choice. You may leave for Sunundra with your mates, much the same as others in hopes of following above the mud she tracks throughout her den, or... you can take me to this new pack with arms and whim.”
Atrox lifted his arm from the ground and judgment in his voice. “You seek to take it? To discard my warnings and throw in the face of peace?”
Mi’low flashed him a toothy grin. “I seek to test this ‘Guardian’.”