Memory transcription subject: Chief Hunter Isif, Arxur Rebellion Command
Date [standardized human time]: January 16, 2137
Presiding over thousands of Arxur rebel ships, I found myself in a more familiar role than managing intrapersonal relations with social leaf-lickers. The Kolshians towed a sizable force of their own, and our sensors were able to confirm they were following us into Harchen territory. Secretary-General Zhao’s proclamation that the enemy possessed drones was eye-opening; we needed to catch up technologically, if we wished to contend with the main powers. The Dominion didn’t truly want to win, so they were content to remain stagnant.
This command ship is only a support ship, so it’s not a proper front-line war vessel. What’s important is that I’m in the thick of things and calling the shots.
Fahl was guarded by human encampments, who were unflinching as we warped into real space. I conversed with a UN commander briefly, before patching our forces into one comms channel. The pack predators were masters of coordinated action, and it would be useful to hear their insights during the battle. The Terrans were the only race that wanted to end the war, as proven by the Dominion and Commonwealth teaming up to keep the fray going. I was pleased to be fighting alongside the primates at last, for the first time since I saved Earth.
It had taken half a day’s travel to reach the Harchen homeworld, after mobilizing the rebel forces in a rush. The enemy possessed faster warp engines than us, so their emergence would be shortly behind our own. We couldn’t stop without committing to a fight, and that meant my team needed to stay on duty. Kaisal was growing cagey, stuck around Felra and the chatty humans. On the opposite paw, Olek and Lisa looked a little nostalgic, looking out the window toward the occupied planet.
“I spent a lot of time here researching whether the Harchen dabbled in AI. Humans have had AIs that could write songs and poetry for over a century,” Olek remarked. “Someone had to come up with something more…a true, sapient AI!”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “You don’t think it’s already been invented at home?”
“It’s unlikely. Meier would’ve used it to interface with the Feddies if so.”
“I knew Elias Meier, and he did not seem the hiding type.” My nostrils flared, as I strained to tolerate the scruffy conspiracy theorist. “The Kolshians are closing in on us, with the intent to eliminate everything we’ve worked for, and you’re spouting your nonsense, Olek?”
“Yeah. Would you rather I say we should get our wills in order?”
“‘Wills?’ I do not follow.”
“Your last will. You know, the document stating what you wish to be done with your assets after your death.”
“Why the fuck would you care what happens to your belongings after you die?! You can’t use them or gain from it.”
“Because the people you love are still there, and you want them to be taken care of after you’re gone. If I die in battle, my meager credits are going to a Venlil foster mother who adopted a human. That’s the kid I mentioned earlier, you know, and I still want him to succeed in a world where I’m not around.”
Lisa offered a solemn nod. “My possessions are to be divided among my family. I recorded a message for them to see…if I’m KIA.”
“Hss! Love this, care that. You humans wish to talk others’ ears off even after you’re dead?” Kaisal hissed. “You won’t see them receive it. It’s not like they can send a response to your decomposing corpse!”
I raised my snout diplomatically. “Unlike most Arxur, humans are upset at a loved one’s passing. Irrationally so.”
That applies to me, first realizing I was defective by mourning my parents’ death. I see the humans’ points about wills; I’d want my Dossur friend to be okay in my absence.
“You would be upset if I…died, right, Siffy?” Felra asked from my shoulder.
“No, I risked everything to save you because I didn’t care if you died.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice, and I focused on some last-minute battle calculations. “You know that answer. You just want me to fawn over you like a human.”
“Maybe I do. We’re about to go to war. I’m…a m-mechanic. The fighting at my research station was scary enough.”
Kaisal gave an audible scoff, picking up on the rodent’s stutter. I had an inkling that the scrawny advisor would latch onto this as proof that all herbivores were frightful animals. While I wanted to show solidarity with Felra, just to spite the bigoted Arxur, displaying empathy didn’t come naturally to me. How did other sapients express understanding of fear? The only response I was familiar with was mockery.
Tensions brewing minutes before combat was less than ideal, regardless. Lisa eyed Kaisal warily, while Olek minded his own stomach. The human fished a stout stick of meat from his pocket, which he had to be forceful to tear with his flat teeth. Felra gasped, and I only then remembered how the Federation abhorred this. Scaring my Dossur friend worse than avoidable was the last thing I wanted; my job was to protect her. The previous time she tried to observe us eating meat, it culminated with her puking, despite sincere efforts at tolerance.
“Oleksiy Bondarenko. Don’t you dare consume flesh in front of Felra!” I snarled.
The human stopped mid-bite. “Sorry. Wasn’t thinking. Let me just wolf it down real quick, so it’s gone?”
A growl rumbled in my chest, as the UN soldier turned his back to hide the jerky. Felra leapt from my shoulder, making me wince at the sizable drop for her small legs. I assumed that she was fleeing from what was an atrocious sight in her culture; while I bore witness to herbivore reactions before, I never cared to understand their primal feelings. Avoiding the subject recently was one of my prouder judgment calls. I’d eaten meals alone, sending the humans to their own quarters too, to keep carnivory out of the Dossur’s eyes.
I make sure that she has everything she needs, but I know enough to keep our nutrition processes separate. It’s better that way.
Felra couldn’t run off too far, so I tailed her with purposefully slow movements. Kaisal’s dilated pupils tracked the rodent, as she skittered over Olek’s boot. The Arxur’s hunting drive must be triggered by the fleeing prey; I was close enough to intercept my advisor if needed. Rather than running past the conspiratorial human, the Dossur had parked herself atop his laces. Her whiskers twitched, and she stared up at the jerky stick.
“Can I…” Felra’s eyes twinkled with uncertainty, and she paused for several seconds. “Can I try that, Olek?”
The brown-haired human spit out his mouthful in shock. “WHAT?”
“Can I try your flesh meal? Unless it’s an affront to steal your feast.”
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Despite the impending battle, I was utterly distracted by the unfolding scene. My maw was slackening with disbelief, and I replayed what Felra just asked. The Dossur were natural herbivores, not a cured race; herbivores licked leaves. That was the Dominion’s entire basis for considering them non-sapient! Why would the rodent want to consume something so taboo, and out of her diet’s bounds?
Lisa and Olek, having spent months around Venlil and then Harchen, both seemed to be having difficulty processing Felra’s request. They must have familiarity with the typical Federation response to meat-eating, which was to decry it as an abomination of nature. Kaisal looked like he was about to burst at the seams, wheezing from a lack of breath. His eyes fixed upon the Dossur like she was a defective of her own right.
“Why?” Olek managed.
Felra swished her little tail. “I’m curious. There must be a reason you ignore what carcass-food is, when you’re capable of eating plants.”
The male human shot a glance at me. While I wasn’t violent, I think both the primates understood that anyone who was a threat to Felra would find themselves on the wrong end of my claws. Uncertain of myself, I gave him a slight nod of approval. The Dossur’s reaction tickled my own curiosity, though I was worried she would puke it up. It never crossed my mind that she’d want to try meat, let alone learn to tolerate seeing it.
Lisa interceded. “Hold on. She doesn’t have the enzymes to digest it. It won’t kill her without the allergy, but we don’t want to make her sick.”
“Good point.” Olek inspected the side of the stick he hadn’t bitten from, and snapped off a small morsel. “She’s also tiny, so I’ll give her a teensy bite. Here, Felra.”
The Dossur rose to her hindlegs, grabbing the piece. “Thank you for sharing. I…I hope this will help me understand predators better.”
“Why are you wasting your rations, human? Food is too precious to throw away,” Kaisal hissed.
Olek raised a nonchalant eyebrow. “Even so-called herbivores eat meat on Earth. I don’t see the issue.”
“It’s prey! It can’t eat real food; it is the food.”
Fury surged in my heart like a wave in a tempest. I launched myself at Kaisal, feeling my blinding temper get the best of me. The scrawny Arxur was slammed into the sensors console, which indicated that the Kolshian force was less than a light-year out. However, the perils of combat meant nothing compared to someone calling Felra food. I thrashed my tail against his own, eliciting a crack from the bone. My fangs brushed against his throat, and traced their way down his windpipe.
“I…hrr…will kill you. This is your final warning,” I growled. “I told you never to speak to her like that again. And you said you’d do whatever I said when you took this role!”
Pain laced Kaisal’s pants. “I misspoke.”
“You sure as cruelty did. Insolence is inexcusable for my underlings; you can thank the ‘prey’ for you getting one last chance. Don’t make me make her see what I’ll do with your corpse.”
“I won’t, Your Savageness.”
I released the Arxur, who barely suppressed a yelp as his fractured tail smacked the floor. There would be no medical treatment for Kaisal, when the wounds were intended as punishment. I didn’t want to follow Betterment’s execution policy, but I’d lose control of my people with too much leniency. Besides, Felra’s welfare was an area I didn’t take any risks with; there would be no mercy when she was disrespected.
Olek looked at me with wide eyes. “Are you good?”
“I expected a more loyal, obedient second out of a defective; that’s all,” I huffed. “Sorry, Felra. Assuming you still want to, you can eat your…gift from the human.”
“Uh, unless he’s gonna wall slam me if you don’t like it?”
“I will most likely not. I do not wish to scare off humans when I need your alliance. Is that not obvious?”
Lisa raised an eyebrow. “You like us. Admit it.”
“I tolerate you. I cannot cause bodily harm to you at will, even when you call me a ‘softie.’ As pleasant as it would be to disprove this notion, Zhao would notice your absences if he checked in.”
“Uh-huh. Sure, big man. Meanwhile, you let Felra believe you were human, because you ‘wish you were one of us.’ Your words.”
“Hss, for what it’s worth, I wish I was human as well,” Kaisal offered, with a sour note in his voice. “To have the luxuries you take as guarantees.”
“That is what we are fighting for, unless you’ve forgotten,” I spat. “Regardless, I will not harm the leaf-licking primates unless they endanger Felra.”
The Dossur dismounted Olek’s shoe. “So I’m good to go. Here goes nothing?”
Felra was holding the jerky like it burned to the touch, but slowly brought it closer to her face. Summoning her courage, she managed a tiny nibble. The Dossur passed the predator food around in her mouth, and her eyes rolled back with thought. It was surprising that she didn’t spit it out at once. In fact, she swallowed it down without gagging.
That’s something I never thought I’d see an herbivore undertake, without being tortured into doing so. It must be a big deal to Felra; even the humans look like they’re watching history.
I resisted an odd urge to collect her. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I really want you to pet me,” Felra shot back.
“You little…I defended your honor, and now I try to be nice and care about you. After all that, you rehash this degrading nonsense to rile me up? Be gone, rodent!”
Kaisal‘s eyes lit up. “You want the, um, rodent gone? May I remove the Dossur through the airlock?”
“What? No! I don’t actually want her gone, you unworthy runt!”
“But you just said…I don’t follow. Sorry.”
“Read the room,” Olek chimed in. “Isif says he wants her out of his sight, or that he‘s regretting not leaving her at Mileau, at least once a day.”
Lisa nodded. “And means the opposite.”
Felra skittered over to her water saucer. “To answer your question, Siffy, I feel okay; the taste was very strong, and it lingers. The texture felt phony. I don’t know if I like it, but I think it’s best to wash it down.”
Having been distracted long enough by the deranged Dossur, I resumed my watchfulness for the Kolshians pursuing us. It seemed doubtful that the UN forces padding our ranks would deter them from snuffing us out. An Arxur seeking peace was the worst thing that could happen to the Federation; in Nikonus’ eyes, it surpassed the damage that human benevolence had done to their goals.
Olek and Lisa found their posts in the nick of time, readying themselves to pass along relevant insights. Kaisal nursed his wounded tail, and verified that our assets were ready for action. Commanding an entire fleet did seem easier with multiple sets of eyes, rather than making decisions without any assistance. I hopped away from my post for a brief second, scooping Felra up. The Dossur had been keeping her distance, to avoid distracting me.
“They’re almost here! You need to focus,” the Dossur said. “You don’t want me to stay out of your f—scales?”
I sighed. “You’ve never been in space combat. I wouldn’t want you to be scared alone. We are in this together, yes?”
“You’re so sweet, Siffy. Together.”
Thousands of enemy ships were ripped from subspace, as they encountered humanity’s FTL disrupters around Fahl. I prepared to communicate with my forces, and the Dossur perching on my shoulder gave me confidence. For the first time, an Arxur was going to see what the Federation were truly capable of. Two predator species, with a guest herbivore among them, needed the power to overcome the Kolshians. Anything short of absolute victory would discredit my prowess beyond repair.
The United Nations reissued the command to hold our positions, and we waited for the Commonwealth to wade into whatever traps the humans packed around Fahl. After seeing the buffs given to the Sol system, I suspected Terran-made defenses would offer some interesting surprises. Automated Kolshian vessels forged ahead, fearless against any hidden technology. The primates took no actions to prevent them from closing in on the Harchen homeworld and our joint formation.
As an ambush predator, the basic cues screamed trap, although I couldn’t figure out the details. It was odd how the Terrans positioned us so deep within their turf; this was proof that Zhao trusted me not to launch an opportunistic assault against the Harchen. However, I was the only non-human party who assessed anything was amiss. The Kolshian fleet continued pushing toward the edge of orbital range, and readying target locks on Arxur-built ships.
“The humans are not doing anything. How sure are we that it’s not a set-up? They could be working against us too!” Kaisal barked.
I flared my nostrils. “They’re on our side. Whatever they’re really up to, it’s hiding in plain sight.”
“It is.” Lisa pointed out the viewport, to the life-bearing world we were clustered around. “More like hiding in the biggest object in sight.”
Staring at Fahl’s emerald surface and vaporous clouds, many signatures were visible, rising through the upper atmosphere. Standard air defenses didn’t climb that high; they were only meant to counter raids and troop landings. A full understanding hadn’t established itself, but I cackled when I guessed what the humans were intending. The planet, which was supposed to be a soft target against orbital strikes, was their weapon of choice.
With the Earthborne predators, offense and protection were undertaken in the same breath. Human resourcefulness often impressed me, with their ability to view space strategy from new angles and compensate for their deficits. That out-of-the-box thinking might be all that could stop the Kolshians from crippling our insurgency in its infancy. I hoped that, once the dust settled, this plan would shake out in our favor.