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The Nature of Predators - Arxur First Contact (What If?)
🕑 Added 2024-12-15 12:00:12 +0000 UTCThe icebox on the floor reminded me how meager the rations were, which sent my hungry eyes to the viewport. It was a monotonous job, guiding the stealth cruiser through the edge of Venlil space. The hope was always that the prey would wander off alone, and plop themselves into our jaws. Fresh meat would beat frozen, aged food any day.
There was never much traffic in this region, which was curious. No Federation colonies or institutions were established within a 10-parsec radius. Although it was Venlil space, they had zero interest in defending it, or even venturing out this way. Why the weaklings would quarantine a large region, for centuries, was a peculiarity.
This is a dead area; I don’t know why I took this route. Perhaps I’d just like to discover whatever drove them off.
My eyes narrowed at my sensors screen, noting the faint dot at the edge of its range. Hopeful thinking suggested it was a lone ship, but the likelihood of it being a comet or space debris was higher. I heaved a tired sigh, and revved my engine in that direction. Even if it was a particularly stupid Venlil specimen, they would run before I got a visual.
The quickening of my heartbeat kicked in nonetheless, craving the thrill of pursuit. Saliva surged in my mouth, and my stomach growled with insistence. Giving in to nature, I dialed in the coordinates and floored the acceleration. Minutes of travel time blurred into an eternity, as worked up as I was by my mental imagery.
A good hunter would keep their wits about them, and restrain their urges enough to outsmart their quarry. Drawing a shuddering breath, I tried to analyze the sensors screen. The figures seemed blurry through the haze of bloodlust, but the indicator wasn’t running away. It was warping right toward my position.
“Now this is interesting!” I purred. “Have the Federation learned how to attack?”
I reached to power up my weapons, but realized I had done it subconsciously when the target was spotted. The other vessel dropped out of warp, before any anti-FTL pulses could be launched. I was more than happy to oblige a little scrappiness. My cruiser emerged into real space, and granted me a view of a small, decorated ship.
The foreign craft was too primitive to be of Federation make. It had one of the most inefficient FTL engines I’d seen in awhile, and it lacked a single external weapon. Perhaps those prey weaklings had recruited another uplift to their cause.
The comms beacon flashed with an incoming call, and my truncated jaw slackened. Was this some attempt to plead for their lives? A strange feeling tickled the back of my mind, but I didn’t know why. It didn’t add up, that the Federation would wander up and request a chat.
I rehearsed a threatening line in my mind, and tapped the accept button out of curiosity. This should be amusing, if nothing else. Images flicked onto the screen, of a fleshy creature I’d never seen before. Its eyes gazed directly at me…forward-facing. Inky pupils scanned my form, with interest rather than the fear I’d come to expect.
It can’t be. We’re the only predators.
“Hello,” I growled. “I’m Graozu of the Arxur Dominion. Nice to meet you.”
My reverse-engineered translator barked a few words, which was telling of itself. That meant the Federation database recognized the alien’s language, and that told me they were a known species. Was this a prey species with anomalous binocular eyes? Had the galactic community quarantined this sector because of that?
The creature bared its teeth, strikingly similar to our amusement. “The name’s Noah. We’re here seeking friendship, on behalf of the human race. I can’t believe we ran into you, mid-flight!”
Those fangs were much flatter and smaller than ours, and its form looked weak by comparison. If it was a predator species, it wasn’t impressive as us. I tested Noah by flashing my serrated fangs, and letting my mouth fall open. The pilot didn’t even flinch; his own lips stretched wider. A display like I had just done would send the Federation running for the hills.
I squinted at him. “What sort of mission are you on? You don’t look like a warship.”
“We’re not. Ah, you do look like a warship though, if I might say so.” A light rumble flowed from his chest, which seemed to be a chuckle. “To answer your question, we’re searching for life-bearing worlds.”
My eyes widened. These humans were searching for prey, as one of their first missions? It was exhilarating to find a kindred spirit, at last. This could be the partners we needed to turn the tide against the Federation. Perhaps there was finally someone worth of sharing the galaxy with; someone who wasn’t frail and weak.
“If you’re searching for other lifeforms, my advice is not to go there unarmed,” I hissed. “You will find only paranoid peoples with an exceeding lack of intelligence, who can’t tell their ass from their head. They’ll attack you on sight.”
Noah blinked. “What? So you’re saying there’s more aliens, but they’re venomously hostile to other species?”
I laughed. “Just to people like us. They couldn’t even look at a species like you and I, without wanting us dead. Feeling fear and revulsion.”
“Uh, hi, this is science officer Sara, speaking,” a softer voice chipped in. “I beg your pardon? I don’t see a resemblance between ‘us’, with respect.”
You have to be sure they’re predators, before you make a fool of yourselves to the warlords.
A low growl rumbled in my throat. “Let me put it this way. How does your species feel about eating other animals?”
“Uh, you’re asking if we do?” Sara answered, leaning in to the camera. “Most humans are omnivores, Graozu, so—”
“Oh. I see. You’re one of them.” I flared my nostrils in disgust. The thought of munching on grass like prey made me retch. “So you’ve tasted flesh, and you settle for leaves and roots?”
Noah raised his eyebrows. “Carnivores, I take it? You haven’t experienced the wonders of plant sauces, spices, and side dishes. We like a little flavor and variety with a nice, juicy steak. It’s not just ‘leaves!’”
Saliva watered in my mouth again, at the talk of meat. A nice cut of Zurulian sounded delectable right about now. Venlil had been considered a greater delicacy at one time, but prices were waning. Those prey could be bred a bit too fast, so it had become a common sight at markets. Maybe the humans would trade with us for some excess cattle…and ruin them with their ‘spices.’
“I assume you don’t hunt anything other than small creatures. Or you’re, bleh, a scavenger,” I huffed.
“This isn’t how I expected this conversation to go, but I’ll roll with it,” Sara said. “Humans are apex predators on our world. We’ve hunted creatures much larger than ourselves for millenia.”
“You’re apex predators?!”
“Sure are.”
“How? You don’t seem to have any natural weapons, or strengths. Is your ecosystem that weak?”
A predatory glint sparkled in Noah’s eyes. “Who needs ‘natural weapons’ when you have guns?”
A full-bellied laugh echoed from my throat, sending out thunderous vibrations. The humans’ didn’t seem like they could hold their own in a fight at all, but they were overly assured about their own capabilities. If their tools were stripped away, they could scarcely be called predators at all. I wasn’t sure they were worthy of sharing the galaxy or our catch with. They wouldn’t be fearsome enough to demolish the Federation, that was for certain, but those idiots would probably fear them.
It would take time to see whether this strange new species leaned more toward leaf-licking or benign ‘apex predators,’ but no Feddie herbivore would’ve claimed such a thing. I knew I had to bring this finding to the Chief Hunters at once, and let them decide whether we’d finally met true sapients.
A/N - This is an AU I wrote for fun two years ago, what if humans met the Arxur instead of the Venlil! I am aware it has since been explored in some fanfics, but I’ve just been sitting on this story and thought you guys might enjoy seeing it—early NOP flavor and all. How do you imagine this might’ve changed the events of the first book?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
fastinn
au timelines are exactly what the people want apparently (me too)
Sworishina
Dangit now I want a series. I'd read a whole dang retelling, no joke
Nachtmund
"This timeline is definitely 1000x times worse if it means Noah marries a lizard." Absolutely subjective, friend.
Nachtmund
Hey SpacePaladin, just letting you know I would pay top dollar for this. This concept is amazing. Human-Arxur interactions are my absolute favourite, I hope this continues!
DrewTheHobo
Fantastic! I’d love if this conintued! SpacePaladin writing his own fanfic lol
DragonCat
I looove this. Even if it’s just an au, I’d read it all if fleshed out. I like it when alternate versions of my favorite series are explored, and it’s a real treat when it’s from the original author
Khan333
Could definitely have seen this what if spiral into a full on Dominion civil war with Humanity helping fight the good fight against the betterment, at least until our tentacled friends at Aafa realize the boogeyman they’ve been using for the last few hundred years is about to dissolve into something harder to paint as pure evil… good stuff!
pogman
I mean, in a way, you are haha
Aerowarrier
Betterment would be very against the humans giving Arxur access to non-sapient food, but they’d likely not be able to repress information about the human’s existence, so that could very quickly snowball in people like Isif and maybe even other Chief Hunters who care more about simply feeding themselves rather than the pure brutality of their ways to join them. I doubt Betterment would really involve the Feds in this case so we could see an actual Carnivore alliance between humanity and the more pragmatic Arxur. Then without the case of the Venlil siding with them, I could honestly see humanity choosing to all but wipe out the majority of the Federation species, furthering that war and escalating it to the point that the Shadow Fleet would need to take part in it. Who knows how that would turn out, but with no Venlil around to prove that the herbivores are actually willing to protect humanity, our darker tendencies will almost certainly win out imo
Aerowarrier
Honestly I could see this starting the Arxur civil war MUCH earlier
Roscuro
O7
Guardian
Many thanks!
Katarina Cordes
Moar! Moar!
Sci-fi reader
The Arxur Terran Empire: Venimus ad epulandum Or how McDonald’s became the most powerful organization in the galaxy.
Alekss Žukovskis
the reality in front of you taunts you with its non-alignment to your dreams. Lizard wify
Enzo Leon
I'd 100% read a full series of this by you no joke. Even if it's a very slow bonus series I'd be all for it.
Yonael Blackwood
Honestly I'm in love. I'd absolutely devour a full AU from the original author's mind.
kabhes
It's interesting to know that the Arxur have markets. This is the very first insight to their economy.
EliasArt2Life
So, I think what makes this particular type of AU so engaging is the fact that it play to something almost everyone wanted in NOP1; humanity no longer has to censor themselves. Even the people who supported the censorship (me, for instance) typically only did so because they felt the situation called for it, and didn’t like it. Well, new scenario, new game. With humanity warned, they can take the 6ish months they didn’t get in NOP1 to turn Earth space into a figurative bastion that the Federation Extermination Fleet can’t crack. It means that humanity no longer has a rickety, pitiful fleet, but a full fleet on par with Arxur tech, meaning they are not as in need of any and all allies they can get, reducing the need to convince every species on the fence that they aren’t “all that predatory”. Now, humanity can be more authentic, and if some species can’t see past that, so be it. Other things to note; this would in effect likely cancel the bombing of Cradle, since the Arxur would know we had “staked a claim on them” or the Gojids wouldn’t have forced us to attack them in the first place, likely removed a need for the Ark ships, ironically stopping the NOP2 plot before it begun, likely cancelled Elias Meier’s assassination (to the pleasure of some and disdain of others), and likely avoided the destruction of all the planets lost in wake of Kalsim’s poor decision in the Extermination Fleet. It would also mean that some characters might have totally different arc, like Kalsim might have ended up being a lot more like Sovlin, while Sovlin might not have had his epiphany, with humanity’s actions of saving Gojids from the Arxur no longer occurring. Ironically, Kalsim and Sovlin might have swapped respective roles. Or maybe ended up in completely different roles. Tarva might have gotten less screen time, but Glim could have gotten more (say, if humanity bargained early on for the release of some Venlil cattle, and Glim was part of those). All of these are very interesting potential developments that I think scratch that “what if” itch for a WHOLE LOT of people.
Roscuro
https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureofPredators/s/qyzqx7DtrS
Guardian
I can has a link please?
Byron Ritchie
Pretty neat to see you do some au stuff
Björn1911
I would honestly pay to see this official au
Gumcel
Buying meat at markets instead of getting rations? Early installment weirdness I guess. This timeline is definitely 1000x times worse if it means Noah marries a lizard.
RaphaelFrog
As always I'm looking forward to see where this story goes! Keep doing an absolutely wonderful job, Paladin :D
DemonVee
This was a fun sidecchater :D
Alekss Žukovskis
i love it! ❤️
Kevo
I love stuff like this! Should be fun to see your take on it
Serpentine Saltern
Get out of the way Tarva, Noah's got a new first contact crush now
Heroman3003
It's fun seeing different people's takes on a similar idea, and it's extra fun seeing the creator's own take on an AU concept~ Good fun!
EliasArt2Life
This is an interesting one. I’ll be honest, I’m a little mixed about AUs. I like them, but I find that many of them are half baked. I find that too many if them either have everything end essentially the same as in the Original Universe, or everyone takes the complete opposite character arc, and becomes the opposite of who they are in the Original Universe (no, I don’t consider superhero AUs to be the same type of AUs; there’s usually a lot more changed in the scenario than a few of the starting events). I like seeing how the same characters from the OU react and develop with different events in the AU. It feels like that gets dropped for trying to force it to end like the original, or force everyone to become completely different characters on all levels. That being said, I liked this, and I would trust the writer of the OU to do an AU right. As other people have said, I wouldn’t mind seeing this continued at a later time, maybe a chapter here and there skipping up to months at a time to important events. “If their tools were stripped away, they could scarcely be called predators at all.” And if you had your claws, teeth, and excessive muscle mass taken away, YOU could scarcely be called predators, either. Just as evolution has pushed the Arxur to be dependent on their natural weapons for things, it pushed humans to become dependent on the tools and weapons we can create. And we can turn almost ANYTHING into a weapon, so stripping those weapons away from us might be harder than you think.
un_pogaz
This AU timeline is always a fun exercise to read.
Garrett Knox
Fun what if!
ToothyMcButt
"Or you’re, bleh, a scavenger" We prefer the term "Unpicky eater" 🤣
Kilo Rat
I came here to post that. It's just so inspired, having them take the venlil meal the Arxur offers "to go", then fix them up and learn about their people through the rescue. probably my favorite of all the fanfics.
Amanda Chowning
While I’m preferring shorter stories and one off’s right now, this is one I’d like to see continued. I’d likely read a full 11 ish part mini series of this.
Space Paladin
Thanks!
Aured
That was a fun AU first contact.
John Benjamin Cate
A fun thought experiment, isn’t it?
Roscuro
Wayward Odyssey has pretty much fulfilled any exploration into this kind of timeline I might have desired. It's an exceptionally well-written fanfic that I'd say does a good job exploring the main characters personalities and development with thd different circumstances.
Wesley Rigg
Try Wayward Odyssey on the NoP subreddit, similar premise.
Miguel Diaz
It would be so awesome if this got continued
Pineapplepilot
I'm assuming this is only a one-shot judging from the lack of the usual (1/?), but if you do ever consider expanding this storyline I'm sure everyone here would go feral for it. I mean, I know I'm already interested. But zero pressure if you don't want to, it is always a pleasant treat to read single fun one-offs.
James Schoneman
I love this. I wouldn't mind more one offs like this. Great work
Willy
Now this is interesting
Schnitzelsemmel
This reminds me of an abandoned Fanfic called „For want of a scout“ (or something like that). Anyways I want more of this
Dcluigimario
I've never found another fanfiction that has the same idea, now I wish I had. But since yours is the official and first one that I'm reading about with this idea, I really hope that you expand upon it.
Dcluigimario
I swear if we get a different branch of a what-if story based on first contact with the Arxur instead of the Venlil. I'm going to lose my shit. I absolutely know that Giznel is not going to take kindly to these new humans. In fact, I see him outright despising us. But, with us being a second predatory species and the rest of the Arxur finding out about us eventually. I feel that he won't be able to do away with us. I can see him trying to coerce us into living the way of betterment, but that's a losing battle from the start. I feel that humanity is going to have quite the effect on the Arxur. And if that's the case, the Kolshians (Shadow fleet) I'm going to take to kindly to the humans either. This is such a creative what if scenario and I hope that you end up having fun with it!
mitsos_pr
Really good story:)
James
Reminds me of Wayward Odyssey, the fanfic from the subreddit where humans meet the Arxur first.
boomheadshot257
I'd love to see a series run off of this on a scale of if humanity went along with the axur to see what would become of things if they sided with them instead of the venlils. That I'd love to, he'll pay to see for a story like that
Anthony michael hill
I was wondering how different things would have been if humanity had met the arxur at first. Oh man, please tell me you have more of these.
pogman
A what if scenario, now THAT'S interesting
