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The Nature of Predators 2-88
🕑 Added 2024-11-19 12:00:09 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Taylor Trench, Human Colonist
Date [standardized human time]: February 14, 2161
The Krev Consortium was still a point of contention to much of the Sapient Coalition, after the attacks in Orion space had clobbered three worlds and assailed their fleets. If there was any link between the KC and the ghost Farsul, it was going to blow up the peace I’d pivoted and begged for, as soon as I learned it was humanity on the other side. I’d seen how much the Krev loved primates, and I couldn’t imagine a world where they’d knowingly have fought Earth. Just what had happened on Tellus, while we lived there—right beneath our noses? To think how horrified I’d been by the Sivkits, who I now knew were victims, invading our system.
The same Farsul archivist from the introductory video, which had explained how they learned about the Krev, appeared on screen. “The Krev Consortium’s military didn’t take much time in noticing our presence in Tinsas’ system; we’d noticed from sensors that it did appear to have a few thousand inhabitants. It was immediately apparent that they knew of the Federation and the Farsul. We surrendered at their command, and were remanded to the custody of a secretive force called the Underscales. They had a lot of questions. Chiefly…who the ‘humans’ were.”
“They asked about us?” I gasped. I couldn’t reckon with the possibility that…they might’ve known who we were—and that Earth was alive all along—after years toiling in the mines, being squeezed for minerals, and forced to hide our faces. The Krev had thought we were Federation, not known we were terrified predator refugees, right? “No. They can’t have known. I could’ve been at home, with my parents, as a child; I could’ve had my childhood when it still fucking mattered. It isn’t for nothing, Gress. Tell me I’m hearing this wrong.”
The Krev squeezed my hand, a jaded look in his eyes. “It was all for nothing, just like the kits. That’s who they are, and I’m fucking horrified to have been used as a pawn again! They knew you were primates all along and let us torment you. I don’t know why, because you made the best propaganda for them: the poor, cute victims. I’m sorry, Taylor. I’m…so sorry.”
“The Farsul didn’t tell them. They mustn’t have. I mean, why would they? They hate predators…they hate humans! We undid all their glorious work. They told some lie to fuck us over.”
“The Krev are a different breed of liars to the Farsul. A different class. Brace yourself when you hear the confirmation. Your…heart already knows. I don’t know why they had to let me bear the guilt for hurting you, your people, and those damned miners too, when they knowingly killed you! It’s always me. Just listen!”
The Farsul continued to speak on screen, and I listened in a numb stupor. “The irony when we learned why they were asking! There were humans infesting barren Tinsas. It was unclear what those binocular-eyed freaks got by hiding their faces, though at first, we thought they might be onto us. They might’ve found Tinsas first, or been keeping an eye on our attempts to restart operations outside the old Federation’s space. We only found the truth later, by surveilling the Terrans and reporting back about the ark ships.”
“Reporting back?” I echoed.
“Refugees that thought Earth dead; if that was true, we’d be all too ecstatic to finish off the last of them! Again, this was not known to us at the time, so the Consortium received limited answers. We were all too happy to explain who those violent predators were to the Krev, and they weren’t taking our words well. They seemed to want to aid the ‘Tellus’ settlers even, and to grow angry on their behalf: not amenable in the slightest to our ideals. When we showed a picture, the reaction to the ugly primates was adoration.”
“Then why the fuck didn’t they help us?! They…knew who we were!”
“Hearing how Earth was set out for termination by the civilized galaxy didn’t please them. They clearly hated the Farsul, considering us an enemy and with zero intent of helping our cause; destroying Tinsas seemed a failed mission. The human settlers would get to the data, and that would be that. However, when we explained that humanity had assembled a coalition and defeated the Federation in warfare, unraveling the painstaking work of millennia…the Krev’s behavior changed.”
Secretary-General Osmani was shaking his head. “This changes the entire context of our peace treaty, made under the assumption that it was all a misunderstanding! The Krev knew the Federation was nonexistent when they sent those drone fleets to strike us at our hearts. They knew exactly who was in charge, and chose to attack us.”
I couldn’t muster much of a response to this confirmation, only feeling the sinking feeling in my gut twist deeper—like a screwdriver was being torqued into my spleen. All I could think about was hearing General Radai describe the attack vectors on “Federation” space, all the while, the Consortium had been well aware that this was a false threat. Gress was right on that account. I had to think the Resket military leader hadn’t known; he was a pawn in this entire mess too! Perhaps that was what he’d discovered that caused him to aid the Jaslips in the civil war, and to realize there was more at play with who was commanding the KC.
We murdered innocent people, and they let us slaughter them! They let us become vengeance-driven monsters who believed the galaxy hated us, suffering in a fashion somehow more pointless than if we’d just been hiding our faces for nothing. The Krev refused to talk to mainstream humanity, even after hearing everything we went through, until invading SC forces made that an issue.
“I don’t understand why! Is it really just about the truth not giving the Krev a reason to stay in power?” I shouted at Gress.
The scaly mammal nodded in Terran fashion. “Yes. That has always been what they cared about. Authoritarians will do anything to maintain their stranglehold, and that’s…easier when the people are pacified. When they believe it’s for their own good.”
“The Underscales seemed horrified to learn that the Federation had been destroyed.” The archivist was still speaking, though I’d heard more than enough. I didn’t want to hear her fucking reasoning for my life being a cosmic joke—a waste! It was all lies, all the way down; was this the anger and betrayal the SC members felt decades ago? It burned like motor oil! “As I understand now, we were the ‘threat’ that gave their organization purpose. They decided it couldn’t get back to the public since they’d taken such drastic measures. We realized we could help each other.”
A Bissem general named Zalk was incandescent on their balcony, all but frothing at the beak. “How dare those Consortium bastards help the planners of our extermination? The ones who attacked Ivrana, laid waste to my homeland, with Gojid recruits to end the carnivore scourge? I side with the Jaslips more than ever: carnivores living under such monsters! How are we not helping them? Peace—peace hopped out of the fishing boat. The Tseia declare war!”
“Please, do not put the cart before the horse. I understand your anger, but rest assured that humanity will take action with this knowledge. Let us gather all of the details so we know what we’re heading into—and what the nature of that action should be,” Osmani responded. “There’s still a KC drone fleet in our space to supposedly aid against the Fed remnants and ghost Farsul. The Sapient Coalition must remain vigilant and act together.”
“After all the Sivkits did to spare the Krev the Federation’s gyves, it was they who lent rede to our conquerors and raised the tocsin to fire upon our expedition!” Loxsel howled.
My eyes were narrowed in the most primal, inexorable rage. “We will not forgive what they put Tellus through. That’s our fucking world, Loxsel. We take it back. We burn their ground just like the fucking exterminators turned Tinsas to a desert—they made my people their slaves, and attacked humanity with full knowledge of what they were doing. If we don’t go to war, neither of our species’ suffering…our losses…matter!”
“Let’s hear why they did it,” Cala placated. “I know you don’t want to be the person that loses your head again, Taylor, full of anger.”
“Fuck that new leaf! What they did—”
“I know what it is to go to war for a false cause, one that you would’ve never fought in with knowledge that you couldn’t have had. I know the guilt you feel, and the hatred you carry for the liars. I am sorry. All I can tell you is their reasoning does matter, because every person in the Krev Consortium needs to hear it. They need that cold liberation that kind of truth brings.”
Gress hugged me closer, uncaring about the vitriolic looks representatives were giving him. “It’s time the Consortium stopped telling their lies. The people need the real story. And after everything they put us through, the least I could hear is why. Any semblance of closure would give me some sleep at night.”
As the chamber settled down, the United Nations resumed the Farsul’s video detailing the collusion. “Cooperation was necessary to avoid both our organizations’ destruction. We agreed to leave their people alone, and they, in turn, would provide us with a fleet. It was a matter of time before humanity’s survival became known, especially with the predators squatting on Tinsas. We were their contingency plan, since they could point to our fleet as a real threat.”
“The fleet at Grenelka was made by them,” Yotul representative Onso spat, tail lashing with disgust. “That’s how they got three hundred thousand ships, as opposed to a few scouts that attacked Ivrana. The Krev had the manufacturing power; who else would?”
“Us, obviously,” Bissem General Naltor quipped in a sarcastic voice. “We’d give them that many ships so they can get all of Ivrana in one go. No, really—how could the Krev let them have such a fleet to terrorize anyone that ever touched meat?!”
Krakotl ambassador Kelsel shuddered. “I don’t know, but that includes several of us in this chamber. Knowing the ghost Farsul’s goals, every former omnivore must be on guard. The Remnants will go for us first. The Krev must’ve known that!”
“The Consortium wasn’t trustworthy, of course,” the archivist continued. “There was a real possibility that they wanted us to attack humanity, and swoop in to save the primates then; their people would lap up that heroism. We picked over the ships to remove any…opportunities for them to seize remote control, and only then used them. We went to lead the Remnants back to glory, as a true rival to humanity, and they welcomed us. It was our chance to keep the Federation alive and untainted! We could save some species, and destroy more predators.”
Gress tapped his claws on his chin. “I’m surprised the Consortium didn’t decide to let them destroy the Jaslips. Esquo was always going to be a problem for them.”
“Maybe they were trying to with the kits,” I answered in a growling voice, joining him in the land of dark interpretations. “That did happen afterward.”
The Farsul launched into the last of her words, which I could glean from the video’s timestamps. “We helped each other with various problems. The Underscales excavated the bunkers on Tinsas, taking control of the information—away from the blasted humans. Those Terran colonists were useful to the Consortium to prolong the conflict. While masked, they could be pointed at as the Federation on their doorsteps. And once they told their story, they were the primate victims that proved exactly what the Krev saw as the worst of us. It all suited them, and we tried to make their coddling of predators suit our long-term goals.”
“They call the mines coddling of predators? Holy fuck! We were just…our lives meant nothing to the Krev, nothing! This goes way beyond the need for a lowly strike; we deserve our vengeance!”
“So do the Jaslips,” Gress agreed.
Once again, as if she knew the topic we’d raised, the Farsul continued on about those arctic carnivores. “The Underscales needed to turn people against the Jaslips, since they were bound to revolt. Incidents were devised. We hoped they might finish what they started at Esquo later. Our real opportunity to shred tolerance for predators was when the Consortium attacked the SC—forced to back those primate ‘victims,’ once they told their tale. With humanity helping planetary attacks, their precious alliance would disintegrate. We could win back the herbivores, when they saw their ‘tame’ predators for the raiders they are! It would be our new chance to wipe Earth out, with the Remnant fleet in wait.”
Gasps echoed through the Sapient Coalition chamber, as my heart sank like a stone at the thought of the Feddies mounting another attempt to wipe my homeworld out. That was their master plan all along?! It had almost worked, since our allies were so fickle. However, the ghost Farsul hadn’t anticipated that the United Nations would mount such an all-out defense for the besieged worlds, especially the two that they had no obligations to. My people might’ve saved Aafa, had the Yulpa not sabotaged that defense. This was all intended to return the galaxy to thinking that we were just predatory monsters!
At this point, let these Farsul bastards see the monsters they have created! Nobody plots to destroy Earth and lives to tell about it. Two-front or not, it doesn’t matter; they’re already working together. It’s time we end this madness once and for all.
“It had nothing to do with the Tellus colonists standing with the Consortium. It was always the plan for the Yulpa to incite a war,” Osmani said. “Having heard the full story, this insidious plot against everything we worked so hard to build cannot go unanswered. That is an act of war, if I’ve ever seen one! I don’t need consideration. My stance is to sever all diplomatic ties with the Consortium side, and to aid General Radai in his efforts to topple their government. Who’s with me?”
I raised a hand, my shouts blending into a sea of furious voices. “I am! They can’t fucking get away with this!”
All of humanity’s most ardent allies have little hesitation, and even Loxsel was ready to send the Sivkits on the offensive, after learning that the Consortium withheld Tinsas with sinister intent. The Bissems had bloodlust in their eyes, while the omnivore species had their own helpings of self-concern. If the ghost Farsul had sought to divide the Sapient Coalition and drive a stake through the organization’s heart, then they had done the opposite. There was a common enemy to challenge, a refusal to accept the backslide they stood for. An attack on humanity was an attack on the herd, unlike when most had refused to come to Earth’s aid in 2136.
To think we’d believed they’d help look for the ghost Farsul, since their outpost was in KC space. The Consortium had signed their death warrant by making a pact with the Farsul extremists, just to preserve their own power. This news drove me mad, quite frankly. All they had to do was admit what they learned, and tell the Tellish what they’d found; there could’ve been peace! They could’ve apologized for Esquo or done things a host of different ways, but they chose to rebuild the Federation from ghosts. The threat was the story they told to justify their own actions, and they’d never admit their wrongdoings.
“The Shield doesn’t want the Federation back. Not under the Farsul’s control. Not like this,” Duerten Ambassador Korajan spoke up, after the bulk of the SC had died down. “This clandestine alliance launched the false attack, which would’ve kept going to Kalqua’s doorstep if not for humanity. The Federation would hurt us to discredit them. You have the support of us all.”
Elias Meier, the robot, ducked his head in support from the UN’s table. “Thank you, Korajan. That means a great deal. It seems my faith in you was well-placed. We can all back the Secretary-General in not letting them tear our fraught peace apart. We’ll destroy this festering evil, and put the galaxy back together once and for all.”
“Not my part of the galaxy,” Gress whispered, solely to me. “Taylor, I’m sorry to be selfish with all you’re feeling, but…if the UN is cutting off diplomacy and going to war at once, how will we get my daughter out first?”
I recoiled with concern. “Oh shit. Yeah, that’s not good at all. We’ll talk to the UN. The Krev don’t know we’re coming for them; the idiots think we still believe their fucking peace treaty. We’ll have to get them to send your daughter and ex-wife to us right away.”
“I can’t lose anyone else. Not you, not Lecca. After all of the lies they’ve told and spun me up in, I just want to keep the people I love away from this all. Please, tell me the UN will still help a foolish Krev. I have nothing else...”
“This isn’t your fault. You’re on our side, and I’ll swear it up and down to any of those gawkers. I promise, I’ll talk to whoever I have to, to keep your family safe. We’ll do this together.”
Much like the Sapient Coalition and its allies, the two of us stood united in our resolve to face this new revelation. Tellus needed to hear how we’d suffered knowing abuse, from a shady government who helped rebuild the Federation in secret when they learned of its destruction. Osmani spoke for both Earth and the planet where I’d lived for twenty-five years, when he said that humanity would not let these schemes go unanswered. The shadow of predator hatred could not hang over us forever.
A/N - I think you know exactly what’s to talk about from this one! The Krev Consortium captured ghost Farsul who’d gone to destroy any records ancient Sivkits left on Tinsas, and opened an entire can of worms when they asked the disbelieving archivists about the humans. They were sympathetic to the ark colonists, until they learned that Earth had defeated the Federation and rendered the KC’s purpose nonexistent.
Needing a threat to avoid insurrection and questions, the KC gave the ghost Farsul a fleet. Each side sought its own benefits between optics, smearing the Jaslips, hiding Sivkit records, and the ghosts trying to break apart the SC by making them turn on humanity.
What do you think, learning that the Consortium knew the Federation was gone all along and conjured them up just to maintain power? How close do you think the ghosts’ long-term plot against the SC was to working? What will the SC do about the KC after learning all of this, with their plans to seek the opposite of peace?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
Some Lvm
Dang! I really though the Underscales were smarter than this, but they did something very stupid, and now the terrorists are going to win... Here is the question though: Is anyone going to verify this archive footage? I mean, if we the readers treat it as exposition, we have to assume it is true. But realistically, I would not put it past the Ghost Farsul to plant these files knowing they will be captured, in an attempt to start a war between the Consortium and the Sapient Coalition. Even with their new fleet, the Remnants' chances of winning are slim to non, but if there is another major foe in the fray, those chances suddenly go way up. And the KC does not even have to fight with, or coordinate with the Ghosts. They just have to be too stubborn or stupid, or disorganized from the Jaslip attacks to immediately surrender. They can put up enough of a fight to significantly weaken the SC, and while the Consortium can't win, they can most certainly open the door for the Remnants to stand a chance.
Space Paladin
❤️
Mr Mopp
The krev are going to be mortified
JValz
Freaking love your story SP. Such a well orchestrated plot, layers of character arcs interweaving and correlating. Nothing is random, there’s ample known and unknown causes and effects justifying situations. Friggin well done and THANK YOU!
Xilacnog
I wonder if Aulan is really an Underscales asset or an ex-Underscales agent. I wonder if the bomb that Cherise and Quana was actually meant to weaken the Consortium enough to let them start a civil war
Wesley Rigg
Loxel abridged 7 “After all the Sivkits did to save the Krev from the Federation’s chains, it was they who gave counsel to our conquerors and sounded the alarm to attack our expedition!” Loxsel howled
Jagger
I remember hearing about this, and I'm glad it was brought to light and a handful of those involved were prosecuted. A shame more involved weren't brought to justice. It would be nice to find documents discussing more nefarious schemes. There was the Clinton emails, the Hunter Biden laptop, and I'm sure a few others I can't recall at the moment. Still, it's rare anything ever happens to the big names and entities involved.
PhycoKrusk
It does reframe the Yulpa arriving at Aafa not as part of the plan, but as a panicked reaction to the Coalition having a reasonable amount of success at Talsk (Ghosts were willing to destroy their own cradle to get what they want; the most dangerous sort of enemy) and then cleaning house at Nishtal. As I said in a previous chapter, Kaisal's extreme aggression in helping the JIB was another wrench in the gears; I'm sure the Ghosts expected them to be aggressive, but did not correctly guess the target of their aggression. Their plan from the start wasn't a great one; it relied entirely on everything going perfectly, with every action being followed by a correctly predicted reaction. But who could predict Loxsel?
PhycoKrusk
Really, this does recast the sudden appearance of the Yulpa at Aafa. They didn't show up because they saw an opportunity, but because the Ghosts far the excellent progress that was made at Talsk and especially at Nishtal and panicked.
PhycoKrusk
Depends entirely to what degree the Reskets build their own ships and equipment, and to what degree the Underscales have compromised those facilities.
Sroni
The Consortium (and the ghosts) expected that the SC will be divided on the defense of Aafa and Talsk. The aim was not the glassing of the plantes, but the destruction of a large part of the SC fleet, and sowing division between the SC members. This attack, in turn, would have presented an opportunity for the Ghosts to attack, "liberating" herbivore worlds from human oppression, while then the Krev could swoop in and save the humans. With the status quo restored, both the Federation and the Consortium could have went on, having an eternal enemy again.
Roscuro
It's pretty much what I expected, however, I wasn't expecting them to have their fingers in every inch of every pie.
Roscuro
I mean, the Panama Papers happened. Then the person who put them together got blown up.
Gumcel
But why would the humans call themselves humans to begin with? Anyways, cool twist, gives me an excuse to repost my copypasta: I’m not crazy. I AM NOT CRAZY. I know he swapped the numbers! 15-A. One after the sivkits, as if I could ever make such a mistake, never NEVER! I just couldn’t prove it, they covered their tracks, they got that idiot at the Underscales to lie for them. You think this is something? You think this is bad? This? This obor enterprise? They’ve done worse. That ship, you’re telling me that they hailed them and just forgot to mention it? No, they orchestrated it, The Consortium! They took advantage of refugees for decades! And I stood up for them! And I shouldn’t have. Took them into my alliance! What was I thinking? They’ll never change, they’ll never change. Ever since The Consortium was formed, always the same! Couldn’t keep their claws off the puppet strings. Oh but not our consortium, couldn’t be our precious consortium. Stealing them blind! And they get to lead an interplanetary alliance? What a sick joke! I should’ve stopped them when I had the chance! …And you, you have to stop them! You…
Space Paladin
There’s definitely a ton of commonalities between the Federation and the Consortium! Perhaps that’s why they could work together despite being enemies…they shared one thing that superseded the rest 😅 And yes, the ghosts’ plan was to get everyone to turn on humanity since it would seem we were playing our friends, orchestrating the attack all along…something something predator!
Space Paladin
I’m glad that you enjoyed the big reveal! It puts a lot into perspective 😅
Jagger
If only it were this easy to uncover current age government corruption. Just find a big document confessing to everything. Though even when we do find evidence everyone just gasps, shrugs, then goes about their business.
Heroman3003
Ahh, there it is, the full truth. It's gonna take a bit for it all to sink in for me yet, but there are a lot of elements that were predicted and some that weren't. But, in the end, turns out the Consortium did know! They knew all along! So it appears the Underscales and the Ghosts are the two enemies, who worked together at some point but fundamentally are not the same. It's possible that they can be dealt with one by one, divided or that they'll unite by the end, though I kinda doubt the latter. It's interesting to hear that the Ghosts were the ones on the defensive during their contact and negotiation. It's fascinating that they're really the weak one, while the Underscales are the powerhouse, even being behind their forces. A very ironic mirror of the Archives and the Shadow Caste, with farsul also being a sidekick there. The war was artificial in order to specifically tear apart SC and get humanity hated by their former allies, before being destroyed! Yes! At least that part remains true! I was right about something! Muahahaha The fact that the Ghosts are aware of multiple arks is concerning. It almost sounds like they intercepted at least one other ark, and if so... The fate of that bunch of humans is ironically worse than that of most of Earth. RIP. And to the less reveal and more personal parts of the chapter... It's painful to see both Gress' and Taylor's reactions to it all. Gress, because all his worst fears about the evil of Consortium he faithfully served are being confirmed, Taylor because it's like, what, third? layer of 'my suffering was pointless' to his already depressing history. They'll need to find someone to lean on, even if they do have each other. Speaking of Lecca, though... There is one good way to get her out. If she were to visit Tellus and Loxsel's play.... Although if severing of ties is immediate, it might not be viable. Between the civil war in the Consortium and both of Tellus/Tinsas claimants going against Consortium itself, the travel might be restricted. Though... Peak, worst, horriblest irony would be if Gress the Hostage Negotiator had to negotiate his own daughter back... Oh god is that where this was going all along?! I do also like reactions present from Tassi's and Meier's arcs. This does feel like the point where the three arcs, Tassi, Taylor and Meier, all converge and stand united in the new goal. They'll likely all go their own ways on what they need to do after it, but this is a great moment. The enemies are finally known and clear. All that's left is to unite our allies, bolster our forces and bring to justice those that sought to create fear and suffering to further their own influence. A small theory before I end off... Ghosts mentioned that they had to strip a lot of 'remote override' kinda things out of Consortium ships. There is a civil war in the Consortium right now. With one side being a mix of ex-Consortium and Arxur military... And if they don't know about those backdoors or didn't remove them... That might be a recipe for disaster for Radai's Rebellion. Either way, great chapter and the veil of mystery has been lifted. We already were in the endgame, but now it truly feels like we're on the final stretch. Can't wait to see all this resolved! Thanks for your wonderful writing, SP!
A B
"Their concern for us makes me feel all fuzzy." 😆
jervictor jer
The idea was for what I get to frame the Humans from the Arks as the main instigators of the attack, this way the Farsul tough they could go to all the hervivores inside the SC and said that it was all a long ruse to kill them all, and that the refugees are the true humankind, to either make them join the remenats or atleast make them abandon the SC and weakinging humankind. about Radai, well those attacks were ordered by the council, that as far as we know they weren't in the conspiracy, bassically the council trusted the Underscales to be their eyes and ears, but the Underscales not wanting to lose power and control fed the council wrong information to make them complacent or act as expected, so yeah, if anything letting Radai do the attacks show that until very recently the Underscales had no big power... and all the actions were done by the council that was being fed very wrong and very useless information, well until the council got bombed and now the Underscales are free to do all they want are free to do all they wish.
Aerowarrier
Well I was kind of right from the beginning. Had a feeling the Underscales were working with the Feds in one way or another. Didn’t expect it to be that recent of a development though, I’ll admit that
Elliott
If their plan was JUST to cripple the SC in these attacks why not go after the Yotul or worlds more critical? They expected the defense to cripple their fleet, but also didn't? What would the goal be then? Destroy planets that served no use to the SC and take out a handful of ships the SC sent to defend them before going whoospies and peacing out? My point is given a full set of info even their expected outcome seems iffy to me. Best case scenario in their minds they destroy a few of our ships as we abandon these old Fed worlds, destroy those Fed worlds, leave, and then?
Elliott
Why would the Underscales allow the attacks to be on the now defenseless Federation worlds they chose to target? Maybe I'm just confused on what the they knew based on their conversations with the Farsul because if they had a full picture I don't think it makes sense, it would've been smarter in this case NOT to attack at all and instead arm the Farsul further instead of letting Radai do any major attacks.
EliasArt2Life
I suppose it’s a blessing, then, that the Ark ships were sent out with the intent of never being found. It’s possible, but it would be a shot in the dark endless void of space. Given that the Ghosts were preparing for war, they probably wouldn’t have had the resources to allocate to a thorough search. Hopefully…
PhycoKrusk
I don't like the implication of this recording. There was more than one ark, after all, and having found one surviving on Tinsas, it would irresponsible to assume that the Ghosts haven't spent time looking for the others. Suppose that they've found one. If they reveal that, would the UN still refuse to negotiate with terrorists?
TheBlack2007
Krakotl UN Peacekeeper and Extermination Fleet child soldier raised by a human.
TheDudeAbides
Who is Cala again? I'm curious but I won't have time to go back and read the previous few chapters again until tomorrow
TheDudeAbides
Well we can definitely narrow it down to after the Jaslip homeworld was destroyed and before Taylor knocked out gress at least.
Bow-Tied Engineer
Here's to hoping for a revolt. The first payloads fired at the Krev should be a few trillion datacards with those videos on them.
Ron1990
Woah, what a chapter! So many things fall in place. I like it... no, I love it very much.
EliasArt2Life
Ah! Just as I was getting worried that the story might be getting a bit predictable, Space Paladin throws THIS curveball at us! I don’t know if revealing that we know this information is smart; I doubt that the Consortium gave the Ghosts ALL of their fleet power, and they probably have a number of backup fleets. That being said, given the Shield representatives, I doubt we can keep it secret for long. I think that, aside from the obvious, one BIG blow to the Consortium is how the Ghosts predicted that they’d try to stop their attack of Earth, and already removed the Consortium’s remote control. THAT above all else might force them to attack the Ghosts too. Ironically, the part of the Ghosts’ plan that worked the least was their attempt to cause the SC to dissolve. Oh, there were high tensions, to be sure, but the SC was managing to hold together in spite of that. This recording has just wiped out what dissent remained. I guess that’s just a case of the Ghosts being so caught up in their own propaganda that they’ve fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker. They couldn’t comprehend humans working so hard to protect non-affiliated species or their allies having enough evidence of humanity’s good will to forgive them for what a few thousand had a hand in. Yeah, it’s time for war with the Consortium, one way or another. Wide spread manipulation, willing collusion with our enemies, and allowing the Ark humans to suffer to maintain their control. There’s no more possibility for actual diplomacy; what diplomacy there was to begin with was a farce. Whether or not they like humans, their actions have been clear acts of war. The fact they did it with a full understanding of what they were doing, and attempted to hide it, is what makes diplomacy impossible at the moment. Well, time to sot back and watch what happens next. I suspect humanity will be reminding the galaxy how they beat the Kolshians despite only being on the Galactic Stage for under a year.
DDDragoni
God damn bastards. So much suffering. So much death. Just to maintain the grip on power.
Leon Wolf
“I don’t understand why! Is it really just about the truth now giving the Krev a reason to stay in power?” I think you meant "not giving" here
Byron Ritchie
Oh man I feel like the SC is about to heavily increase their support for the jaslips and radai’s forces both for practical reasons and moral reasons and also our of pure spite
Mark Baculna
NBurp
Th3pineapple _
Yeah I'm glad I stuck it through, I'm very invested in how things will go from here.
James
I feel bad for SP because people had your same opinion and thought it was just bad writing when SP had a purpose for them much later in the story.
Alekss Žukovskis
how unfortunate that Tailor is already present on Tellus and has broken the alliance with the wider humanity. the hairdo was just forshadowing.
Th3pineapple _
You know this makes a lot of earlier plot points so much better, there was so much seeming stupidity that it felt like someone was just trying to make a conflict out of nothing and it turns out someone was. Malevolence makes so much more sense than ignorance/stupidity.
DreamEnvoy
I have to wonder how long ago was this interaction between the GF and the KC. When in the past 25 years did the KC learn the truth? "The scaly mammal nodded in Terran fashion. “Yes. That has always been what they cared about. Authoritarians will do anything to maintain their stranglehold, and that’s…easier when the people are pacified. When they believe it’s for their own good.”" KC and Federation both. Federation by perpetuating the fear of the Hunger, KC perpetuating the fear of the Federation. Not too different from the empire that came before as well. Parallels galore. "We agreed to leave their people alone, and they, in turn, would provide us with a fleet." Well that explains what happened at Grenalka... "With humanity helping planetary attacks, their precious alliance would disintegrate. We could win back the herbivores, when they saw their ‘tame’ predators for the raiders they are!" So their plan was to get the SC to disband once it was discovered humanity was on both sides? I hope I'm understanding that correctly. I absolutely love how NoP2 has come full circle. It started with a war between SC and KC via ignorance, and now it's turning into another SC-KC war via newfound knowledge.
REDemon14
So the Krev Consortium (or at least the Underscales) knew all this time. All of the suffering of the Tellish, all the labor and lost childhoods, all the screwed up development that their youth underwent; it was all for nothing. Damn The KC only care for power, just like how the Shadow Kolshians could have saved the prey from the Arxur. All the pain and agony the Orion arm has experienced, all because someone wanted power. We of course knew the KC public had no idea the Tellish/humans were enemies of the Federation. Hopefully the SC, Jaslip, and Arxur will remember that when they take actions. I do wonder if Radai actually knows about this. Taylor ponders if Radai saw something related to this and that’s why he went full rebel. If that is the case, Gress has been sitting on this revelation since around 2156, when Bauldan gave him the data. The truth was so close to you, Gress. The irony, that the Ancient Sivkit protected the Krev and the other races in that space from the Federation, only for the KC to willingly help the Ghost Feds. Tragic. At least this revelation might bring the Sivkits and the Tellish/humans closer. So the KC made the ships! That explains the numbers. 300,000 ships being built over the course of possible decades is completely feasible. The KC itself has a drone fleet of a million. Who knows how large the fleet of the Remnants could actually be? Add on to the fact that there are ships attacking Remnant space right now and the SC runs the risk of being overrun if those ships turn on them. The worsening plight of the Jaslips was also the brainchild of the Ghost Farsul and Underscales. Damn, the Underscales have way too much pull in the KC government. That entire war that started with the Sivkits fleet being destroyed was all planned. Intended to make the Humans look bad. And the worst part, *It almost worked!* Remember how some of the SC members reacted when it was revealed humans were attacking SC space. Korajan walked out for a short time and Tassi had to take a break. If it wasn’t for Meier’s speech, the Ghost Farsul’s plan would have largely succeeded! The final part of the plan was to make humanity look so foul that the Ghost Feds would have taken the herbivores back and then wipeout humanity. All this work just to exterminate one species. The gasps from the Assembly really make me think how much the xenos have changed in their view of Humanity. There was once a time where some of the members took action to wipe out humanity or were indifferent to their survival, now they are horrified that someone would try to turn them on their human friends. Their concern for us makes me feel all fuzzy. Now everyone is up in arms, even the Sivkit! Hell, even the Shield (or at least the Duerten) have picked the side of the SC. Now I understand why the Farsul tried so very desperately to keep this data out of Human hands. All their best laid plans are about to crumble, all because some primates wanted to make friends. Oh yeah, Lecca and Gress’ cira ex. Yeah, getting them to Tinsas will be a bit difficult if they declare war on the KC first. Just hold off for just a bit, huh guys? If the SC can somehow broadcast this recording to the populace of the KC, they will likely outright rebel against any forces of government and the KC could be crippled, if not outright destroyed. So many smalling points of NoP 2 make so much sense now Looking forward to the fallout of this reveal! Keep up the good work!
Kingarthur
Well looks like they got the enemies they asked for now
Swan
Getting Gress's family out is gonna be really interesting, and really dangerous (Maybe Cala and her squad will come along as "Diplomatic guards", in case things go south?)
