Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist
Date [standardized human time]: March 26, 2137
When the lab became accessible, I could see excesses of equipment; shadow caste workers must’ve been cleared out, but the traces of their presence were still there. A dirty plate left out on a countertop, a chemical beaker which had been hastily put away, and crimson blood samples still on slates under microscopes. The Kolshian chief waited as we passed the last prison cells, stepping into the deepest recess of the facility. It was rare that visible fright displayed on Tyler’s face, but I could tell that worrying about Slanek made him sick to his stomach. Sovlin and Samantha, meanwhile, were off in their own land, commenting on days long gone.
“Remember when you and…” the Gojid’s voice hitched, as Carlos’ name fizzled out in his throat. “The Takkan ambassador was taken prisoner by the Kolshians, and you snuck off to set him free. Was the prison similar?”
Samantha shook her head. “Not at all. It was on a tiny ‘quasi-satellite’ of Aafa, and while it wasn’t advertising its existence, it wasn’t too hard to trace where they took him. I don’t know why they didn’t hide him away. Maronis, care to comment?”
“That was an interrogation facility, a public one, for predator diseased individuals,” Chief Maronis replied. “Nikonus’ plan wasn’t to make Ambassador Wolrie vanish, but to blame him as an accomplice—and show that we had caught the predator in a deceitful act, a little too late. We turned Wolrie in to the public caste with the claim that he’d been overheard, telling Noah how to sabotage the engine. Their decision was to interrogate him, before he would’ve been returned to a cell up above our heads, where other publicly-known traitors, like Recel, were held.”
Aucel’s tentacles tensed up, and her tail bunched up as well. “My brother was not a traitor! You dragged Wolrie’s name through the mud too over being an accomplice. I believed your story, that a bloodlusting human sabotaged the shuttles. You murdered my brother, and now I find out, he wasn’t the only innocent person you wanted to smear.”
“There needed to be a reason why other species couldn’t attempt diplomacy with Earth. Every diplomat’s death, and selling the narrative that humanity turned an ambassador into an accomplice—because Noah couldn’t make it back to Skalga without dreaming about murdering an unsuspecting soul—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I hissed. “I didn’t want to listen to your rationale before, and I sure as shit don’t want to hear it now. Humans just wanted peace, and you didn’t care who got hurt along the way, if it meant their kindness failed.”
Tyler smacked his fist against his other palm threateningly. “Let’s not ask this sack of shit any more questions. I ain’t able to keep my cool through more of his answers. I wanna get to Slanek, no stallin’ or nothing.”
“I opened the door. The female predator asked me a question,” Maronis protested.
Samantha shook her head. “You answered it, but with way more grandstanding than was necessary. Let’s try again with a different question. Where the fuck is Slanek?”
The Kolshian chief took several steps back, before leading the way into the sprawling chamber. The right side seemed to be examination rooms and surgical suites, which left me shuddering to think of the implications. Off on the left wing, where Maronis was hurrying toward, were living quarters; cramped rooms with elevated, oval-shaped doors that reminded me of the brig on our ship. The first prisoners we passed were Dossur, which merited a pit stop from some UN soldiers. These must be the civilians the Kolshians snatched on their way from Mileau, and apparently dropped off part of the way to Kalqua. I was alarmed to see that the rodents acted petrified, upon sighting the humans—it didn’t bode well for how Slanek had endured re-education.
Slanek was much closer and fonder of Terrans than random civilians, even ones selected for being troublemakers, I tried to reassure myself. He wouldn’t crumble under pressure as easily. And I guess it’s positive that these Dossur weren’t ferried to Kalqua’s battle, to be killed with the Kolshian ships?
Multiple Dossur could be packed into the cells, though we didn’t stop to coax or sedate them amid our panic. Tyler was single-minded in marching toward Slanek’s alleged location, all but breathing down Maronis’ neck as the chieftain stepped through a sealed partition. There were more holding areas, exactly like the ones we just passed, but less of these were occupied. My eyes widened with shock; even my friend, who hadn’t wanted to pause for any other interruptions, skidded to a halt. The pensive visages staring back at us were humans—the more energetic ones pounded against the glass.
I knew that the Kolshians got their tentacles on some Terrans, who were left behind at a Dossur maintenance station. However, since those poor primates had been rescued back when Marcel got dosed with the cure, I hadn’t been sure what Maronis meant by “dabbling” in human experiments. It would’ve been difficult to elope in a hurry with predators, given there was no evidence they were moved to the Dossur homeworld. Less than a dozen total Earthlings were in this ward, which led me to conclude a single Commonwealth vessel slipped off with them in tow after initial successes.
The shadow caste must’ve been running the same cruel experiments here, adjacent to the ones in Mileau’s system. These humans had been languishing under Federation integration attempts, which must’ve entailed fundamental changes to their neurochemistry and behavior. The fact they weren’t repulsed to see UN soldiers was a positive sign; it meant they hadn’t been persuaded that Earth’s government was backward and evil. I had never seen Terrans look this feeble, with thousand-yard stares and shaking hands a common trait among the victims. Was this the state the Kolshians would’ve left the entire human race in, had their original uplift succeeded?
It reminded me of how I felt under the predator disease drugs. A spectator in my own body, with stimulating thoughts locked far out of reach. I knew what it was like to have your personality suppressed under a haze of medication, with no end to the dreary days in sight. There was no greater part of any sapient that could be ripped away than their sanctity of mind. Seeing twenty years of my own misery reflected in binocular eyes, it evoked a painful level of empathy. I hoped the UN could free them from both the mental and physical cages.
“What the fuck is this?” Samantha spat, stomping her boot heel into Maronis’ tail.
The Kolshian chief’s eyes widened with alarm. “Don’t hurt me! I definitely warned you about this. You’re merely too aggressive, like the Krakotl. We thought you could become more docile…prey-like…more than the Arxur. Our ambitions went beyond curing you.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like, to be so medicated you can’t feel anything?” My hiss was low and ostensibly calm, though my tail lash betrayed my emotions. “For me, it was all because people derided my race and my loved ones until I couldn’t take it—with words that aren’t dissimilar to what Sovlin says now. I was deemed too aggressive for snapping. I deserved it for being a primitive, just like they’re predators. What, pray, was your ambition with the Yotul?”
“To direct your culture along proper avenues. We gave you so many gifts, that you would’ve never seen in your lifetime without us!”
Sovlin flexed his claws, stepping between me and Maronis. “That’s not the least bit true. I’m sorry, Onso. I didn’t want to hurt you; I like you, I do, and the jabs turned into a game for me. I was just frustrated with Tyler and my therapist for harping on my language, and my thoughts, and it’s so damn hard to change everything. I can’t do anything right, so I…pushed back in defiance. I know you’re smarter and better than me at everything, and I feel quite outshone by you.”
“You think I don’t know you’re jealous? It’s fine. It’s his fault, not yours,” I growled.
“But that’s also why I know your people didn’t need the Federation for shit. The fake Kolshian culture was fine for me, without knowing everything they believed in being a lie—then it broke me. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. It was easier believing the lie, easier not knowing the Gojids were changed too. Maronis, no gifts that you could’ve given the Yotul would be worth the mental anguish and the millions of deaths that come with it.”
“That’s—” Maronis began.
“I’m not done! You admitted not too long ago that your legacy was decline and decay, and your purposeless society is worth nothing. Your caste was an ignorant bunch of idiots living in fear, who wanted everyone else to be the same. All of us have suffered as a direct result of your actions: Onso and I have that so thoroughly in common. Aucel and Sam lost their loved ones to you, and Tyler is only here because his friend was almost driven to suicide—by your cure and torture of Slanek. Do you understand that?”
“Yes, but I just inherited—”
“You did nothing to change it! You excused it and created your own fucking mishaps, and the smug aura has returned after only a moment’s hint of remorse. So unless you want to apologize, I suggest you shut up and take us to Slanek—before I shove my claws somewhere you don’t want me to shove them.”
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Chief Maronis withered beneath the Gojid’s blistering scowl, and gestured to follow him in tail language. The humans might not have understood the exact words, but they could infer the meaning from Sovlin’s reaction. While we proceeded to what was hopefully Slanek’s locale, other Terrans set about liberating the cured test subjects; I knew what it would be like for the victims to cobble together the pieces of their mind. They were strong enough to find a way forward, but I didn’t envy that journey. However, if the Venlil we were sent to rescue was no longer himself, I wasn’t sure he could claw his way back. He’d been upset by his own personality before any of this, which led to him going off the deep end.
The most insightful bit of information was about my Gojid comrade’s state of mind. My ears angled toward Sovlin, weighing his unexpected, passionate defense of the Yotul. I had never believed he hated me, instead believing that he was long in the tooth and set in his ways, but I hadn’t considered a deeper struggle than that. The raw agony he’d felt, every time he discussed losing his family, told me he’d suffered as much as I had, albeit in a different way. His purpose for pressing on, seeking vengeance in their names, was a lie; how could he cope with his entire world being exposed as a falsehood?
To that old man, the humans’ revelations against the conspiracy must’ve felt the same as it did to us Yotul, when aliens tampered with our entire belief system. The Federation mindset was as ingrained, and fundamental, as any sapient’s identity…from Sovlin’s perspective.
Knowing how much guilt he felt over Slanek’s predicament, I made a mental note to protect the Gojid, if the Venlil reacted poorly to his presence. Maronis had gloated that our Skalgan friend wouldn’t be happy to see the humans, but I trusted the primates to subdue an herbivore who was burdened by reignited instincts. However, something told me that, if any of Slanek’s anger still existed, Sovlin wouldn’t fight back due to his sense of guilt. I readied myself as we entered a secluded room, complete with a projector and neurocranial instruments. The dark-gray fur, and black tuft atop his forehead, was unmistakable…but I was instantly worried the Venlil we knew was gone.
If the Kolshians had tinkered with his brain to such extensive lengths, the damage could be irreparable. There was an apathy to his sluggish movements that went beyond what we’d seen with the drugged humans, and his eyes looked like they struggled to take in the new visitors. However, once Slanek realized that binocular eyes were staring at him, he squealed; his limbs began shaking, more profusely than they had before. Tears matted his cheeks, though his gaze still looked empty and disoriented. The Venlil struggled to duck behind his bed, as his legs twitched like he wished to flee.
“M-monster! Help!” Slanek pleaded.
I eased myself forward, signaling for Sovlin to stay where he was. “Hi, Slanek. It’s me, Onso. Do you remember me?”
“I’ve never seen you before. B-but I know the h-humans brainwashed me, and I can’t remember a lot of it. They f-fight the entire galaxy…I saw the war footage. Horrible things. Meat eaters. Made me k-kill people. They must’ve done the same to you. I don’t want to go back! I’d rather die.”
“Everything you’re telling me is wrong, Slanek. This isn’t you; you can feel that. You were very close friends with the humans, before the Kolshians scrambled your brain…and made you forget how they crippled the Venlil. I know that you were angry when that happened.”
Tyler tiptoed after me, with the biohazard mask covering his eyes. “Slanek, we came to rescue you. You can come home now. You were part of the exchange program; you were there for the empathy tests! The Kolshians wanted to wipe us out, but you fought to protect Earth—you lived there. How can you not remember any of that?”
The Venlil didn’t seem to be listening to a word Tyler said, shutting down at the sight of an approaching Terran. I flicked my ears at my exchange partner, warning him not to intervene. The blond human seemed dejected by Slanek’s condition, though I noticed him fiddling with his holopad. I took a cautious step toward the Venlil, resting a gentle paw on his shoulder. It was disheartening to find him in such a pitiful state; I wasn’t sure the person Marcel and Tyler fought to save was salvageable. The Kolshians succeeded in making the poor guy believe humans were monsters, wiping his memories of their shared past altogether. He was worse off than his likely state during first contact. There was nothing left of the person we knew.
We need to sedate him and take him to a hospital; there’s no way to convince him humans aren’t taking him off to be cattle “again.” The Kolshians broke him.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I whispered.
Slanek rocked back and forth. “F-family. Brother died…Arxur. It’s all fuzzy. Hurts to search…not there.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to push yourself. I wish you did remember, but it’s not your fault. We all will help you, no matter what.”
“Last thing I remember…the h-humans landed to kill us all. Bunkers. Cold. Then, it’s like I w-was unconscious, but not. Fragments and whispers to grasp at: mostly a name. Someone who meant the world to me.”
“Marcel,” Tyler interjected, startling the Venlil.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MARCEL?” Slanek bellowed, fur sticking upright. It was the first moment he looked alert during this entire conversation. “How do you know that name?”
“You remember Marcel. Uh, Marcel is fine! He and I are very good friends; he’s a great dude. You wanna talk to him?”
Samantha raised a finger. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Me neither,” Sovlin chimed in, keeping himself hidden behind Aucel and Sam. “Marcel was beyond depressed when Slanek was captured. He’s tired of life kicking him down. I can’t predict how he’ll react if Slanek rejects him.”
“No. Please!” Slanek wailed. “Want to talk to Marcel. M-miss Marcel.”
Tyler offered an apologetic shrug. “Uh, sorry guys, but I already called him…and he just picked up? Here.”
I retrieved the holopad from my exchange partner, to see a befuddled Marcel staring at the screen. Slanek leapt at me with disjointed motions, ripping the device out of my hands with desperation. His brief excitement deflated as he laid eyes on the human’s scarred face, though he didn’t react with the repulsed fear he had to Tyler and Sam. The Venlil’s ears twisted with confusion, and conflicting emotions rushed through his horizontal pupils. Captain Fraser, meanwhile, had watering eyes, and his face contorted with relief. The Terran soldier seemed unaware of how little his friend remembered.
“Slanek! I’m so happy you’re okay…I’m sorry, sorrier than you can imagine, for what happened to you. Whatever they’ve done to you, it’s over; you’re safe. You can come home!” Marcel gushed. “Jensi! Come here—hurry! Oh, thank you so much, Tyler—you’re a real bro!”
Slanek pinned his ears back. “You’re…human. Should be terrible. W-why do I feel like I love you?”
“What?” Marcel’s weepy smile faltered, and his pupils darted back and forth, searching Slanek’s expression. His eyes darkened with realization. “Oh. You don’t remember me. Um, it’s because we loved each other. We were closer than blood brothers. We went through so much together, and there was nothing I wouldn’t have done for you. If I could trade places and save you from your suffering, I would. I wish I was there, Slanek, to tell you that it’s going to be okay. To protect you.”
“Why are you in my house? Did…did you capture my mother?”
Jensi, who’d just peeked into the frame, swooned with delight. “Slanek, what nonsense are you on about? The last thing you told me before running off was to take care of Marcel, if I still loved you—and that he’d be a ‘better son.’ I did what you asked, but you are my son. I was never looking for an upgrade. You have no idea how much it hurt t-to…lose another son.”
Marcel squeezed Jensi’s wrist. “We’re going to remind him who he is. It’s okay. It’ll be you, me, and Nulia. Oh, that’s right; she’ll be delighted to see Uncle Slanek! She, um…showed up on our doorstep. Lucy doesn’t want the responsibility anymore. That’s okay, because we can have our own family. It’s not too late to make a new life.”
“I want my old life! You’re a predator, from a race of killers. I don’t know you,” Slanek mewled.
“But I know you. The fact that you remember me at all means they couldn’t take what we had away from you. Here, look! I’ve kept these; I looked at them every day to think about you.” Marcel held up a printed photograph, with frantic enthusiasm. It showed a grief-stricken Slanek, sitting beside the human’s broken body in a hospital bed. “You were there when I was almost killed. You saved my life, and nursed me back to health. Can’t you see how much you cared? You didn’t leave me, even when you could’ve had someone without baggage…or scars. Like I won’t give up on you now.”
“You look…starved there. I look…sad? That looks real.”
“It is real! You were part of an exchange program between our species. I can show you all our chats. Hell, I’d be happy to have them again.” Marcel flipped a series of pictures in quick succession, rushing to find evidence for Slanek. “This is you being the first Venlil to visit Earth, standing with our leader. Oh, this is you with a can of potato chips: you can discover them all over again, Salt Monster! Here’s us at the camp on the cradle.”
“The cradle?”
“It’s a long story. We fought the Arxur time and again; together, we were unstoppable. I’ll tell you everything we went through, the good and the bad, and what really happened, with proof—not what the Kolshians said. I wish I could do so much over. But as long as you remember the slightest bit of what we were, we can get through this. Do you believe me?”
“My brain doesn’t…but my heart does. I believe you. Only you.”
“I’m so proud of you, Slanek. Our memories might be gone for you, but nobody can take what we had. Those nice people are my friends, your friends, and they flew across the galaxy to bring you home. I need you to go with them, and I’ll be here waiting, huh? You need anything, you call. I’ll be as patient and supporting as you need.”
“Okay, but they’re scary. I…think I’ll go with the Yotul.”
“Yes, go with the Yotul! No time like the present. One foot in front of the other, and you’ll be home in no time.”
“Talk more. Not ready. W-want to know everything.”
“We can talk for as long as you want once you’re safe on their ship. That’s all that matters. Please, be brave...for Jensi and I. I’ll be in touch very soon.”
Slanek’s shoulders sagged as Marcel disconnected from the call; I gently pried the holopad out of his paws, and returned it to Tyler. The blond primate gave me the slightest nod, gratitude for seeing our mission fulfilled. It was more than I expected, to see any trace of the Venlil’s old self still kicking. After sticking with my buddy through a ferocious fight, we could finally leave this rock, and return to a normal life. The galaxy could have a fresh start, just like Slanek, with humanity at the reins. All of us would be returning home to a new era led by the United Nations.
I wrapped my paw around Slanek’s shoulders, and coaxed him toward the exit before he had second thoughts. Sovlin sported an expression of visible relief, after how responsive the Venlil had been to Marcel. The Gojid caught me observing him, and gave me a grudging claw flick of respect. I returned the gesture with my ears, musing what kind of future the old man would have. It was then I noticed him guiding Aucel, with fatherly affection; it was clear he intended to bring Recel’s sister back to Earth, where Vysith and Hunter waited. The former captain might’ve figured out what to do with himself more than he thought.
With the last part of our mission complete, it was time for us to seek out new lives in well-earned peacetime.