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The Nature of Predators - Arxur Cattle World Battle (5/6)
🕑 Added 2025-01-02 12:00:09 +0000 UTCMemory transcription subject: Zarn, Federation Infantry
Date [standardized human time]: March 4, 2137
There was no question in my mind that I would die today. It was just a matter of which bullet would connect with my flesh, and how long we could hold out. With the humans and the Arxur joining forces, the Federation would be routed in a matter of months. The predators outclassed us; they were wired for death and destruction. Warfare was so ingrained in their psyche, that they saw it as just another hunt. We posed few difficulties to them.
“ZARN!” Rumi shrieked. “Where is this ‘dangerous’ species? We could use them right about now.”
“They’re not coming. I’m so sorry, Rumi,” I said, sniffling.
The words had barely escaped my mouth when a deafening crack split the air. Its intensity was reminiscent of a thunderclap. A formation of angular craft zipped toward us, flying so low to the ground that a downdraft would crash them. Their speed was reckless as well, exceeding the safe atmospheric velocity by a wide margin.
Not even the Arxur would attempt such a maneuver. That had to be the humans. Were they coming to finish us off? There was no way a species of their intellect ensnared us by accident. I didn’t see how they were going to target any weaponry at such velocity, anyway. Maybe they were coming to watch for their amusement?
However, to my bewilderment, the Arxur pivoted their attention away from us and began shooting at the aircraft. Hundreds of ear-splitting pops detonated in a matter of seconds; it took me a moment to realize it was the human planes spewing bullets in response. The projectiles were fired in such quick succession that they blended into a seamless stream of noise. It was a grating symphony of death that didn’t let up for an instant.
The reptiles in their path were obliterated before they could react. Many of them were so riddled with bullets that their organs perforated their skin. And as the first wave of humans emptied their ammo, their partners dove in by the rear flank. Shockwaves punched through the air, sucking the breath from my lungs. The dazed Arxur remnants were struck by concentrated blasts, which churned up plumes of dust in their wake.
The human payloads cut a swath through the hillside, and ripped living material apart like putty. In all my years fighting this brutal war, I had never seen such vicious weapons. My thoughts became a terrified jumble: these new predators could squash us like insects. Their sheer killing power suggested a capacity for violence we couldn’t fathom; their savage techniques had been perfected over millennia. If they wanted to kill us…
My Federation comrades must’ve had the same thought. At least a third of our soldiers were fleeing the battlefield, and others were paralyzed with shock. A handful were lying prostrate on the ground, and had tossed their weapons away in a gesture of submission. The burning desire to run almost overtook me, but it crossed my mind that the humans had not hit us. Despite their hypersonic approach, they had avoided our troops with perfect precision.
“D-dangerous is an understatement, Zarn,” Rumi hissed, nestling closer to me. “They fight like demons.”
I flicked my tail in agreement, still zeroed in on the action. Realizing that their enemy was wounded but not dead, the human jets began to circle back. And to my disbelief, the Arxur did something that I didn’t know they could do.
Spotting the inbound bombers, they broke ranks and sprinted back toward their farm. The Arxur retreated.
In their hasty retreat, several reptiles tripped and tumbled down the hillside. The slope made it difficult to run at full speed without snapping your neck. Not that they could’ve evaded an angry jet plane on flat land either. The humans were unrelenting in their pursuit, gunning them down in prejudice.
Nobody on our side knew how to react to the Arxur retreat; it was a novel occurrence. Nervous chatter broke out among our forces, and questions about our mysterious allies abounded. The Federation officers attempted to restore order, but I knew their reassurances were false. They had no more clue about what had transpired than the common soldiers.
A second group of aircraft appeared on the horizon, and we watched their approach with bated breath. One of the officers had the presence of mind to shout, “Hold your fire!”. The Federation shouldn’t provoke the humans, at least until we determined if they were friend or foe. All it took was one soldier shooting out of panic to set off a war.
The aircraft hovered over our position, allowing me to get a closer look. These appeared to be slower vessels, with open cabins and propellers on top. Their lurking was ominous, but at least they weren’t attacking us.
One of the vessels was sweeping the perimeter, with a masked human hanging out the side. It seemed like they were searching for something. A crazy thought popped into my head, and against my better judgment, I waved my arms at the ship.
The aircraft veered toward me, and the human waved a hand at the troops below. The nearest soldiers took a few steps back; the “move back” meaning was clear enough. The rotating blades were deafening up close, and the wind stirred in the chopper’s wake. The vehicle lowered itself onto a vacant patch of grass, and its occupant hopped out.
“Zarn! Thank God you’re alright.”
It was unmistakably Dawson’s gruff voice. The burly human had a massive gun strapped across his back, and was decked out in layers of armor. The gear alone must have weighed more than me. The predator approached with quick strides, despite the cumbersome equipment. A rush of anger surged through my veins as I recalled the humans’ betrayal. How could they set us up, and then pretend to be our friends? Our lives were, at best, expendable to them.
All I could think about was how much I hated predators. Confronting Dawson was a bad idea, given that it might aggravate the fully-armed humans. However, I was not thinking with my logical brain. There was too much resentment and pain boiling in my blood.
“You filthy, lying murderer! You knew the Arxur would see us coming,” I said in an accusatory tone.
“Like you said, we needed to draw them out of their fortress. They think with their bloodlust, not their heads.” Dawson’s words were matter-of-fact, as though the humans’ ploy was common sense. I expected the direct insults to rile him up, but his calm demeanor never faltered. “We knew they couldn’t resist an easy target, er, no offense. And you would be out of their long-range weaponry’s reach, so they’d have to come to you.”
“Offense taken. You used us as bait.”
“Don’t put it like that. I told you from the beginning that our plan was to lure them to us, and that we needed your help. We never meant for you to get hurt. I swear it, Zarn. The Arxur mobilized quicker than we thought, and I’m sorry they beat us here. Truly.”
The sincerity in his voice made me question my anger. While the primates had used us as cannon fodder, I could see the logic of their plan. The Arxur had overextended, and left themselves exposed to a counterattack. They thought they were corralling us, but in reality, they were a target themselves. In their rush to feast on us, they had come without a single aircraft or missile in tow. If the humans actually wanted to liberate the farms, this was our chance to get through the gates.
I wanted to believe that Dawson cared about me, like he said he did. Why was his smooth-talking so disarming? In fairness, the humans had attempted to rescue us, when it was obvious they could have just razed the entire battlefield. They had disclosed their intentions as well, from the moment they enlisted my help. It was my decision to go along with it.
“Every soldier that died; it’s my fault,” I muttered.
Dawson paused for a moment, then extended an arm toward me. My heart leapt into my throat. Was he going to strangle me?
The human squeezed my shoulder briefly, before stepping back. “You’re a hero, bud. We’re going to save millions of people from awful conditions, because of your decision. Listen, our medics are en route, and we’ll treat your wounded. Your casualties were much less than a war, or spending a winter here. You saved lives.”
“I…I hope you’re right. You’re really going to free the captives? What do you gain from all this?”
Millions of helpless, tasty morsels don’t tempt your predator instincts at all? I added to myself.
“It’s the right thing to do. That’s a good enough reason,” he said. “They’re storming the farms as we speak, and we’re about to join them. Want a lift? The chopper is waiting.”
“Alright, just—”
“Not so fast,” Rumi interrupted. My friend had been lurking by my side, listening to the entire conversation. “You don’t just get to whisk Zarn away and leave me here.”
Dawson cleared his throat, fidgeting with his mask. “And who are you?”
“I’m Rumi, this guy’s best friend. Who are you?”
“Dawson. The guy who saved your best friend’s life.”
“Cool. Well, Dawson, you don’t seem as non-sentient as Zarn said. Can I come with you?”
NO! Rumi, you do not want to tag along, I screamed in my mind. How could I warn my friend without giving away the humans’ secret? Federation soldiers had given their lives so that our plan could work; we were already committed. If I opened my mouth now, it would jeopardize the entire mission. Our people would not work with predators, especially after witnessing the humans’ power firsthand. I prayed that Dawson would turn him down.
“Sure, as long as you’ll be chill. Climb aboard.” Dawson crossed his arms, and a hint of displeasure crept into his voice. “He said I was ‘non-sentient?’”
“Not quite. He said he wasn’t sure if you were sentient.”
“I…I see.”
Rumi followed the human onto his ship, and beckoned for me to join them. I couldn’t help but notice a crowd of Federation soldiers watching us with keen interest. A sigh of resignation was all I could muster. Who else would go into an enclosed, moving box with a pack of predators, willingly? This was going to be a long day.
A/N – More AU! The humans come to the rescue, and Zarn confronts Dawson about using them as bait for the Arxur. Rumi tags along for the chopper ride, since Zarn can’t warn him about humans being predators in front of all the other Feddies. What will happen when or if Rumi figures out what he’s trapped with? Will the humans succeed storming the farms?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
kabhes
Sapient, not sentient. Why does everyone at HFY switch these up?
John
MVP
Just Some Grass
You were at chapter 137
John
Can anyone help me find where I left off? Life kinda got in the way and forgot about NOP and that I was still paying for Patreon. Would have been around August 2023. The last I remember was the one empathetic Arxur spy showed up at the galactic species meeting.
Aured
this is a fascinating arc
EliasArt2Life
If Zarn’s responsible for all the soldiers who died, he’s also responsible for all the people they’re about to rescue.
EliasArt2Life
Yeah, but to be frank, it was hard enough to get them to agree to allow “mysterious allies” to call the shots. NO WAY were they getting them to agree to act as bait.
EliasArt2Life
Wow! A stampede where no one is stated to get trampled and killed! In all seriousness, it’s nice to know that the Federation’s proclivity towards stampedes was around so early. Rumi is endearing in every universe, it seems. Are the humans in the chopper wearing masks, or are they plain faced since no one out of the know is supposed to be in there? Either way, Rumi will probably figure out the truth rather quickly. It’s the soldiers around the human medics I’m worried about. I hope that, even with NOP coming to an end, we still get side stories and miniseries of it for a long while. It would probably be better that way, so that Prisoners of Sol can strongly establish the world and characters before giving side stories.
un_pogaz
That battle is won, now it's time to enter the real horror. Despite all their preparations, entering the farm will be a shock.
Gumcel
“Many of them were so riddled with bullets that their organs perforated their skin.” lol. I see what you meant when you said the early drafts were more hfy.
Byron Ritchie
Glad to see you’re still doing some nop content even if it’s just continuing this neat little au/proto-nop
Alekss Žukovskis
not telling your comrades about being bait is shitty. didn't even park vehicles and tell them to bolt at first opportunity.
Xilacnog
Also, I'm picturing space A-10 Warthog and "the hills are alive....with the sound of BRRRRRRRTTTT"
Xilacnog
Will the humans succeed in storming the farms? My dear author, the real question should be if they're playing Wagner as they do.
Kevo
It’s funny you ask will the humans succeed in the assault on the farms knowing you also said this is more HFY
PhycoKrusk
I have no actual idea, but even if it didn't feel any better in the moment, I still suspect I would rather be told "You can't save everybody" than "You can't save anybody": At least I could save _somebody._
TrendyLaws
It is interesting that even in the “Prototype”, you write the dual mind of the prey characters like this. Zarn can’t stop imagining the worst possible read of the humans actions, until he’s proved wrong without a doubt, and even then he’s suspicious and guarded… but also he can’t just ignore the mounting proof that he’s wrong, he just doesn’t want to confront that yet, so the boundaries shift to this all being a long game plot. It’s all quite compelling.
Yonael Blackwood
Noice.
Noname1225
Amazin gun run lol, can't wait to see what happens at the farms
