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The Nature of Predators 2-82
🕑 Added 2024-10-28 11:00:10 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Quana, Jaslip Soldier
Date [standardized human time]: February 10, 2161
Esquo’s Hope was the Jaslip enclave on the Ulchid world, and also the nearest to our prior engagements on the Smigli homeworld. I couldn’t get used to having the Arxur breathing down our necks; my biggest hesitancy was over taking anything that qualified as food to them. Cherise expected to have a rather incomplete diet, but that friendship-encroacher Hysran was happy to show her Yotul and Terran plants that had been brought in case KC herbivores were involved. My primate friend was eager to try the alien food, despite how barebones it was compared to Krev cuisine. My reservations about compromising the values we stood for weren’t shared by the human.
Regardless, Chief Hunter Kaisal was giving the Ulchids an ultimatum: release the Jaslips, or they would be forced to comply. The three-legged, hypersocial aliens weren’t a military species, and were likely to surrender to us. The trouble was that the Resket fleet surrounding Cieki might have something to say about us rallying troops from Esquo’s Hope, for our eventual raid of the KC’s big players. The Krev and their pink avian enforcers were the real enemy—the claws pressed to the Jaslips’ necks pinning us down, and spreading their lies to justify our deaths.
What did Arxur know about being on the wrong side of oppression, anyway?
“So Kaisal talked about ‘asserting control over the enclaves,’” I snapped at Zefriss. “What does that even mean? Is your plan for us to bow to you? Because I would never!”
Operative Zefriss lashed his tail. “If it is as simple as you wishing for your own world, then we will see that the KC species all release you. Our kind have been prisoners to the SC, locked away. We…hrr, sympathize.”
A loud laugh interrupted our conversation, as Cherise slapped Hysran on the shoulder in a fit of hysterics. “No! You did not just go there.”
“Did too! So much material with the whole three legs; threes are funny! You know…an Ulchid in a foot race just couldn’t reach the fin-ish line,” Hysran cackled, in another infuriating pun that I couldn’t understand.
“Please. You must’ve spent the whole ride over to this side of the galaxy looking for material on all the KC species.”
“That’s standard for the hunt, Cherise. I never stop thinking of jokes. I like to make others take things…less seriously! Especially when the jokes about these Consortium races write themselves.”
“I’ll bite. Do you have any jokes about us: and I mean the Tellish specifically?”
“Hrr, if there were any good jokes, I was hoping you would Tellus.”
My blood boiled, as Cherise howled and swatted Hysran playfully with her flimsy hands. She’d looked so happy ever since that damn cannibal had pranced around wisecracking, with jokes that I was left out of by virtue of my language; it was like the human was eager to replace me with the latest, greatest thing. The fact that she wasn’t brooding and depressed after the Arxur arrived—some random stranger shouldn’t have fixed her problems. I’d actually believed she followed me to the JIB for me, but now, I was dirt because I snapped at her once. Once!
“Interesting. Hysran annoys you as much as she annoys me,” Zefriss noted.
I growled, pinning my ears back. “Nice observation. How astute.”
I turned toward the viewport, angling my ears away from Cherise and Hysran. Our confrontation with the Resket fleet around Cieki was imminent, after Kaisal announced our presence with the JIB’s demands. There was no sense concerning myself with things that were much less important than our mission. Just as I had predicted, the militaristic avians were keeping a watchful eye on Consortium worlds, in case the Arxur made another move on our behalf. They didn’t intend to be embarrassed twice, after the dishonor of getting played at Esquo’s Fighters. The birds had come so close to crushing the Jaslip rebels.
The Arxur’s fleet was comprised of drones, and Kaisal’s command ship stayed a ways back; Collective operatives and Jaslip insurgents could board a shuttle to put paws on the ground, if needed. I wasn’t sure that these bloodthirsty menaces would be able to clear the disciplined Reskets, in open combat. The Consortium had an edge in technology, having engineered ships for a century to face the highly-exaggerated threat of the Federation. Perhaps it’d always been meant to use against their own people. There was no leaving, not when that’d make their control slip.
The Krev Consortium will never acquiesce to our demands, even if the Ulchids themselves are unwilling to suffer the consequences.
The good aspect of the Ulchids being hypersocial was that Aulan had been able to craft a phishing email, and play on that connected nature; it’d gotten us ears into the basic military chatter around Cieki. Kaisal was hailing the Reskets to broadcast his demands, but we could hear their internal dialogue at the same time. On the display feeds, I could see orbital defense platforms revving to life, and the defensive KC fleet bristling with weapons. I had my doubts about this plan; it wasn’t subtle. If we couldn’t take this planet though, there was no hope against the real Consortium strongholds.
We needed more allies than the grays, but they were all we had. It’d be too much to ask for Cherise’s species—the damn humans—to get their hands dirty; Kaisal told us they wouldn’t. I appreciated that they had tried to rescue our species via the Osir Project, but that rescue ended the second they found out we weren’t extinct. Even knowing what we were going through, they’d signed a peace treaty with the Consortium…without advocating for Jaslip liberty at all! Maybe the Arxur weren’t so bad, in comparison to every other indifferent alien.
“Release the Jaslips from under the control of this world’s natives at once!” Kaisal bellowed, as soon as his hail was accepted. I could echo his sentiment, judging by the itch of a growl that constantly nagged at my chest these days. “Carnivores do not belong to you. Free them, and you will not see us loose them by force.”
The Resket commander on screen looked unimpressed. “You declared war on the Consortium back at Omnol. If you wish to negotiate, turn back and handle this the diplomatic way.”
“Diplomacy. Diplomacy. I am not the bumbling Sapient Coalition! I want results, and I want them now—not waiting an eternity for what scraps you might deign to throw us. My demand is reasonable, and I want only your compliance.”
I tuned my ears to the internal chatter, as the avians spoke among themselves. “The Ulchids wish to let them have the Jaslip enclaves; they said they’d be happy to have the trouble ‘out of their oceanfront.’ If those hibernating extremists are so eager to go off on their own, without the blanket of our security, let them. However, it’s not about that.”
“The Consortium was clear that we cannot afford the dishonor of bowing to an invading army, especially after the embarrassment of the Federation’s nonexistence,” another voice answered, on the line we eavesdropped on. “The Jaslips refused to take the civilized route, so we cannot allow them to sow anarchy and make the Resket army a laughingstock. This is not how things get done. The delegates demand that we destroy this Arxur fleet.”
“That’s an order? I respect the hierarchy, but what will the Ulchids think?”
“The Ulchids will get in line for the good of the whole institution; they, of all species, understand collectivism. While I’m not eager to expend more manpower on these dishonorable insurgents who do not respect the rule of law, we have our orders, in no unclear terms. When the Jaslips stop acting like animals, we can reevaluate. Let’s not forget who the Arxur are—the most dishonorable of all.”
“That is true. We cannot let them raid Cieki, and we have no guarantees that the Jaslips will stop gunning for ‘revenge’ even if the Consortium bends to them. Specify our orders?”
“‘Eliminate all trespassers and hostiles from the Ulchid system. Utilize all weapons at the Resket army’s disposal, including orbital defense systems that have been transferred to your control, then help enforce a crackdown on the Esquo’s hope enclave.’ We are well-disciplined and know our tasks. Prepare to fire.”
My blood boiled as I heard the order that the Krev Consortium had passed down, as well as how the Reskets spoke about us inside their own ranks. Jaslips were mere animals to them, because we had no other options to speak up for ourselves. I didn’t even care if Kaisal was going to go out in a blaze of glory here, because we had to give them a lashing they’d remember. If the Jaslip Independence Brigade was doomed despite the outside reinforcements, then it was my new mission in life to take as many of them with us as possible. There wasn’t a sympathetic, kind individual in the Resket’s ranks; the supposedly honorable military existed to keep us down.
“Kibblarhans!” I hissed to Zefriss. “They will never give us freedom. The path forward is only paved with blood!”
Zefriss’ eyes narrowed, a calculating glint in those vertical slit pupils. “If this is how the Consortium insists on responding to us, we must teach them a lesson. This is what the Arxur are willing to take a stand for, and…the whole galaxy will know it.”
I waited for the Resket ships to begin firing on us, expecting an all-out battle to erupt around Cieki: bright, fast, and violent. There was a matter of listening for the ultimate command to fire, and trying to use our ears in their ranks to our advantage. That was the one edge we had, despite being outsiders here. I could feel my heart pounding from nerves, as I wished so desperately that we could free this enclave and all of the others. Jaslips deserved at least as much respect as the Tellish.
The Resket commander’s words were firm. “Set drones to fire in three, two, o—”
“Belay that order!” another voice squawked, one that sounded familiar and carried an authoritative weight. It was the unamused, no-nonsense register of General Radai, one that I’d heard many times in boot camp. “Escort the Arxur ships to the Esquo’s Hope enclave, and contest any KC drones that do not heed my command. Only fire on the intruders should they attack or posture to attack the Ulchid civilian populace.”
“General Radai? With all due respect, our prior orders are from the top.”
“It’s our imperative to defy dishonorable orders. The Krev, and elements of our own ranks, have been greedy and deceitful in their handling of the Jaslips. Regardless of how the JIB handles itself, there has been no acknowledgment of wrongdoing—no history of honorable conduct—from the KC. They will kill me for this, for disagreeing with them even if I did not defy them, so how much freer are we from their control?”
“Sir, the Consortium are—”
“Other species, who deemed their wishes to be above our own in the hierarchy. I do not agree: ultimate control of Tanet and her actions belongs to us. We must break off from their direction; we can think for ourselves. There has been enough hiding like cowards, to learn of a nonexistent threat, and enough lives lost. Reskets cannot align ourselves with their morals any longer. To all who are loyal to our honor code above all else, and who do not wish to stain our species’ legacy further with disrepute, stand down. Help the Jaslips.”
I was mystified as the Consortium fleet, by and large, powered down their weapons and cleared a path. It was obvious that Radai commanded a great deal of respect, and that his reputation was beyond reproach within his own ranks; I began to see why the Resket delegate had gone into hiding, out of fear that the KC might terminate him. His people had sheltered him since the Mafani incident, and he had tried to pursue answers over what happened to the kits, so I could see an argument that maybe he cared about our lives. All the same, with how buddy-buddy the avians were with the Krev, I found it hard to believe that Radai’s fellows would join his stand. Why would the Resket generals stand with extremists that I knew he hated so much?
Because Radai hates the Krev Consortium more, and blames them for pushing us to this? Reskets aren’t capable of seeing the whole truth. They’re Krev claw-lickers. Surely the general is the only one whose conscience will win out over being mindless and robotic, following orders like good little soldiers…
“Allow us to join your ranks,” the Resket on Kaisal’s screen replied, in words that were meant to be heard by us. Uncertainty flashed in the pink avian’s large eyes. “I’m told that we’re aiding your efforts to free the Jaslips. We truly did want to save them, not make them our eternal prisoners.”
The Arxur leader chuckled, eyes gleaming with shrewdness. “I’m not sure if they’ll believe you, but I do. Aulan, do you accept this aid?”
The Jaslip flicked an ear in agreement. “If they’re finally willing to acknowledge our mistreatment and aid our cause, then I can bury the past for the time being. Our liberty comes before all other considerations.”
I gawked at the viewport, baffled by the sudden, drastic turn of events. The Jaslips finally had an ally who could meet the Krev at their level. The last thing I ever would’ve expected was for the Reskets to side with us, based on orders that came from their top general. There was no question that Radai was a marked man after this, and I posited that our independence movement might have just turned into a full civil war. Aulan was right that our freedom was what mattered, but the Consortium burning would be a bonus.
A/N - 82! The Jaslips are making their move on the other enclaves along with the Arxur, and expect a confrontation with the military arm of the KC. However, General Radai pipes up to overrule the delegates’ orders on grounds of them being dishonorable, and calls for his forces to help the Reskets. What do you think will become of the general after his treason; were you surprised by his intervention? What do you expect to happen with the KC civil war…and how the SC (with their newly-signed treaty) might react?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
EliasArt2Life
@Some Lvm Dude, people are complicated, and capable of more than falling into only one black and white stereotype. If you had been paying attention to my comments on past chapters, you’d have the information necessary to know that I do not like Aulan. I consider JIB an extremist movement, and have compared Aulan to the guy from HF in the Human Exterminator 2 miniseries. I think that alone should make it clear that I’m not confusing Aulan with a Freedom Fighter. He’s an extremist. However, I give him the creditof being an intelligent, manipulative extremist who is capable of making choices that benefit him and his group in the long run. Making his violent movement look more merciful than the status quo will draw more Jaslips and non-Jaslips to his group, so avoiding civilians is a beneficial choice for him. The fact that I prefaced that with “I hope” should also show you that I don’t think that’s likely. Why would I think that’s unlikely if I feel Aulan is a “Freedom Fighter”? The most generous thing I’ve said about Aulan is that he might believe that he’s doing the right thing. That doesn’t make him any less of an extremist. On an additional note: I’ve noticed a bit of a pattern with your comments. I don’t mean any offense, or to pry; I just want to know if I am misinterpreting things or not. I’ve noticed that you don’t seem to like moral complexity much. You seem to like to break characters down to only one thing; good or bad. You support xenociding alien enemies, a stance that is based around boiling an entire culture down to good or bad, you react whenever I give villains ANY credit, and you’ve always been stubborn when Zhao or Meier get brought up; I talk about Meier’s willingness to go to war, and you try as hard as you can not to concede that simple point (and it’s barely a point at all, in your place, I would concede the point but point out how insufficient it was compared to Zhao), while you keep forgetting the flaws Zhao had, no matter how much I bring those up. You hate diplomacy, which is about addressing and accepting moral complexities, and typically want the warlike option, which bypasses all the complexity by forcing its way past it. And I’m not passing judgement, but I want to know if this is the case. If it is, then I want to try to respect that side of you and not keep on pushing you to face those things. I know that you’ve been through a lot, and I agree that you have good reason to feel the way that you do. I want to understand.
Some Lvm
P.S. While your position on Cherise - Hisran is interesting and I don't dismiss it, I think there might be a much simpler explanation: Hisran is the first alien who shows a true understanding of humans, and is willing to bond over simple conversation. No - "you are adorable as pets". No - "I want to fight with you because I too lost my home" Just joking around, shooting the breeze, treating each other like fellow sapiens unconditionally. No other alien has shown a Tellish that kind of treatment.
Some Lvm
It sounds like you don't understand people like Aulan - he is a terrorist leader, not a freedom fighter. You know the saying "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter"? Well, its a BS saying, because there are easy ways to tell the two apart! While actual freedom fighters would do whatever is necessary to protect civilians on their side - the ones they are fighting for, terrorists will often do the opposite: They will increase the casualties among the people they claim to fight for, to get pity and sympathy for their cause from outsiders, and to enrage more of their own people to join the terrorists ranks. A reminder: Mafani may have murdered the Jaslip kits, but it was the Jaslips them selves who brought them in to a hostage situation and made the threat to murder them! What kind of freedom fighter threatens to execute their own children??? As for KC drones exacting civilian casualties among the remnants, I think you can guess my thoughts on that. If the UN / SC try to protect the Remnants, they are suicidal and got to go. It would be a clear signal time for leadership structure change has come.
Some Lvm
Oh no, Radai you poor honor driven bird! Don't you know you can't appease terrorists? If KC lets the Jaslips go peacefully, which they have no real motive not to do, the JIB looses its purpose for existence, and than people like Aulan have to go back to being barkeeps and what not. And do you think they want that any more than Hathaway wanted to stop being mayor? The Jaslips most likely could have gained independence if they just negotiated with the KC counsel instead of blowing them up. Once the news about the Federation hit, they would probably have gotten all their demands met, just for the Counsel to save face. But they chose to murder instead, and it is not the first time, so the KC's government's hands are tied. And its interesting how Quana is a microcosm of this attitude: Its all about her: Her friend can't have other friends, or she's a traitor. Humans won't help Jaslips, even though Jaslips never tried asking humanity for help. The KC won't let the Jaslips go, even though they have nowhere to go to, and the enclaves at large did not ask to leave. The Reskets are against all Jaslips, even though so far they only attacked an actual murderous terrorist cell. And so on...
Ezekiah Kane
I have the feeling that the mystery ships at Grenelka are actually Krev ships.
Taliesyn
Some people are unable to accept that their suppositions are incorrect. When facing the inevitable cognitive dissonance that results, they'll twist what they think they are seeing rather than admit the truth.
Seamus
Radi my boy!! I knew you had it in you!!!
Elliott
Every Quans chapter feels like reading the Kalsim chapters. She's so aggressively incorrect but is one of those people who never doubts themselves or self-reflects.
PhycoKrusk
That's a neat analysis of Cherise, and I think it actually hits home. From her perspective, it also highlights something very important: Hysran, being an Arxur, should automatically be a monster, and yet she acts how a Human would practice as "normal." To Cherise, Hysran offers a way out of being a monster; Quana only offers reminders that she is one. (It's also a nice callback to the NOP1 theme of "men and monsters," which you may have noticed I talk about constantly) As for Kaisal, well... "If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him." He quite honestly represents the single greatest threat to any alliance he is a part of.
A B
Awww I'm so proud of Radai 🥹
Gumcel
“There wasn’t a sympathetic, kind individual in the Resket’s ranks” Le foreshadowing “Reskets aren’t capable of seeing the whole truth. They’re Krev claw-lickers. Surely the general is the only one whose conscience will win out over being mindless and robotic, following orders like good little soldiers…” Y’know sometimes it feels like Quana is doomed to an existence of saying dumbass shit like this and getting corrected later. This has already happened like at least 5 times now lol.
EliasArt2Life
… Well… this is bad. With Radai and the Resket military defecting to join the Jaslips and Arxur, control of the drones goes back to the Consortium heads. So, they’ll probably be less inclined to avoid civilian casualties, which could force the SC into a two front war they don’t want. Besides this, the KC will be a lot more likely to recall the drones to utilize them against the Arxur and their own people, which removes a major force of power from the SC side against the Remnants. Given the unknown reinforcements, and that I felt that the Arxur plus SC alone might not be enough to take on the Remnants, this could be a turning point in the Remnants’ favor. As for the whole civil war thing, given how the KC government gave direct orders to maintain control of the Jaslips, in spite of the Ulchlids’ decision and sovereignty, I suspect that they’re about to drop all pretenses of the citizens of the KC having any choice in anything. Given the Arxur and JIB’s actions and stances so far, I suspect the number of civilian casualties has the potential to climb pretty high. I’m hoping Aulan notices that it would strengthen his stance more to avoid civilian casualties in order to make his group seem like they care for the common person. Quana is getting excruciating to read. She’s too stubborn and too quick to judge, too ready to hate and anger, too reluctant to accept that she was mistaken. And she seems to be feeding those thoughts to make them grow, rather than trying to overcome them. I don’t particularly like reading those thoughts; they put my mind in some bad places. I think I understand why Cherise has taken a liking to Hysran; Cherise believes that she has become a monster. She became a monster for Quana, her best friend, and then found out that it was for nothing. Then, said best friend accused her of abandoning the Jaslips, and basically guilt tripped her into continuing to be a part of the Brigade, to delve deeper into becoming a monster. Hysran is a member of a species that people see as being monsters, but she chooses to be a good person and to cheer people up. To Cherise, Quana has come to represent a loss of her humanity, while Hysran represents hope of redemption, of regaining her humanity. “I want results, and I want them now” Yes, we know. You want results now, they want results now, EVERYONE wants results now. I’ve got news for you Kaisal, when everyone wants results immediately, not everyone gets what they want. Wanting everything at once and not being willing to WAIT for any of it is why you’re fighting a two front war right now. Despite your hatred of diplomacy, you entered into some yourself when you agreed to allow the Reskets join you. Sure, the SC is a little too dedicated to diplomacy. That doesn’t mean that ALL diplomacy is bad, or that making immediate, uncompromising demands is the best option.
Kevo
I can’t wait to see how the Arxur reacts to the SC fighting the feds with them and what happened at that battle!
Space Paladin
The Trombil were the first the Krev met! Perhaps there’s something there 👀
Michael Halpern
Maybe he could help Kam out and hire him...
Aerowarrier
God damn the Arxur really need a chance to explain themselves to the Jaslip’s proper. Cuz holy shit is Quana prejudiced as hell and just making all kinds of assumptions that are patently untrue, especially considering pretty much every Arxur she’s met would’ve been killed by their previous government for one reason or another like yeesh
PhycoKrusk
Currently, the Coalition is the only faction not involved in a 2-front war, and it would benefit them to keep it that way.
PhycoKrusk
General Radai flew to battle Leading all his starships And gave commands to those opposed To liberate the Jaslips! General Radai, he's our man! Legendary hero Raised arms against the tyrannies To build a bright tomorrow!
DDDragoni
Radai once again proving himself to be the GOAT
Swan
I'm curious what consequences this will have for the SC's none intervention policy; main idea of that was to have a strong ally in the KC while the Feds were being dealt with. If the KC dissolves into civil war, It'd be in the SC's best interest to end that war, with a favorable outcome, as quick as possible, so they can go back to dealing with the Feds. Feds who, depending on how the fight with the mystery ships goes, have suddenly become a way bigger threat
NextMan
Our new Print
David Bollinger
If I remember right from their bonus chapters, she was alive in the dominion, though fairly young, being one of the sort who just suppressed their nature really thoroughly to avoid death.
Michael Halpern
the underscales were allowed to get too powerful, now that's hurting everyone there are only two ways this ends, either the KC stops pretending they aren't a police state, or the Underscales are dismantled
Shajenko
I'm pretty sure Hysran was born after the Arxur rebellion was complete, as she's one of the "defectives" who would have been culled otherwise. As such, she would never have eaten a sapient before. I wonder when Quana is going to learn that, and how she'll react - she calls Hysran specifically a "cannibal".
Daru Arura
She needs these situations to be about her because she doesn't have the tools to cope with the recent flurry of events. Somewhere in her, she knows this and the perceived abandonment is telling her that she's not important enough to receive help, and that's a whole other battle that we saw a little bit of with slannek. I personally hope cherise is perceptive enough to notice ththis and help quana, but I haven't seen anything in her character that would tell me she will. It's more likely to come from someone like Zeferiss which is a different kind of blow to the level of humanity left in Cherise after the bombing she took part in.
PassengerNo
Punxar. I like it.
DemonVee
Great chapter as always SP, love the turn of events. I suspect the full cival war won't last long either considering their once inexistant enemy has made themselves existant once again.
Byron Ritchie
Huh I didnt think radai would switch sides this early I figured we would get to the early 100s at least before he fully turned on the consortium Still cool he’s fully 100% based now though
TheBlack2007
The fate of the Krev Consortium was sealed as soon as the Federation’s demise became known to the wider population. A Cyber Oligarchy of four vastly different species only held together by their common fear of being discovered and tampered with. It’s no wonder the whole thing is fracturing now. I wonder which path each species including the Tellus humans will take from here on out.
DreamEnvoy
Oh, I guess we're not getting a resolution to last chapter's cliffhanger yet. "it was like the human was eager to replace me with the latest, greatest thing. The fact that she wasn’t brooding and depressed after the Arxur arrived—some random stranger shouldn’t have fixed her problems. I’d actually believed she followed me to the JIB for me, but now, I was dirt because I snapped at her once. Once!" Maybe consider the fact that Hysran is actually putting in effort to be friendly instead of being selfish and jealous. I see that Radai is suddenly more open about his defiance and sympathy for the Jaslips. Honestly, I don't see the logic of retaining control over a troublesome group. I had expected him to continue being subtle in his defiance, but I guess he won't.
REDemon14
Ah Hysran. Always delivering. Yes, Quana. You snapped at her once, *when she was at her lowest*. That type of damage doesn't go away, not without great effort anyways. For all we know, Hysran is probably closer to an outlet for her. You must certainly skinny making her smile at v anything. I know Quana is just a grunt in the conflict, but she should put herself in humanity's shoes just for a split moment. A two front war *always* ends in disaster. I wouldn't count humanity out just yet though, we always have ways of contributing without declaring full blown war. Just look at the US before joining either world wars. The Arxur are still sour about being isolated and that's fair. However, the current Collective leadership and Zefriss seem to think there's no reason for it. We know about the civil war, it didn't end all that long ago. So the UN is still iffy about Arxur. Radai steps in and saves the day! Yeah, he's gonna need extra security from now on. The moment he's vulnerable, he's dead. Hopefully that doesn't come to pass. The conflict on the KC side is starting to look less like a rebellion and more like a full blown civil war. This is getting *real* interesting. Looking forward to more!
Michael Halpern
Jaslips didn't HAVE a civilized route, that much was made clear with the "randomly selected" brain scanning. and the bombing if their home during the brief period between hibernation shifts.
Heroman3003
Quana's still whiplashing hard ever since that moment when she learned suffering was pointless... Abandonment complex to the max. Cherise the Emotional Support human found her Emotional Support Punxur and Quana's not happy about even slightest hint of not being at center of attention, which tells me she's definitely not coping well and is getting worse... I wonder what it will take for her to properly realize that nobody wants to leave her behind just because they aren't always 100% at her side. I do find it interesting that Quana is more revolted by arxur than Cherise, but that's to be expected with how perfectly sociable Hysran is and how Quana was exposed to anti-arxur propaganda more than Cherise was. I imagine a good portion of Jaslip culture might have been learning that arxur exist from Consortium and going "hell no, anything but becoming like that"... The 'delegates' line is curious. So there is someone other than Hathaway in place now... I am curious who that might be. New set of puppets, or have the puppetmasters finally stepped out of the shadows? Radai could not have been one of them, unless its falsified orders and they mean Hathaway and Radai as 'the delegates' but I doubt that. I suppose we have new antagonists for KC arc. Its fascinating to see Radai involved. I did expect him to play the war into the arxur favor, but I never expected him to go full open rebellion on arxur-jaslip side. I assumed he'd just sabotage any military response internally until all jaslip were released, and then both sides could peacefully settle things in retrospect. But open rebellion is both brave and foolhardy, as one would expect of our honor ostriches... He's so dead for it. Plus, jaslip and resket fighting side by side might be a potential disaster in the making... Smigli and Ulchids are likely joining in with the alliance, but so far, in the whole story, the trombil have been mighty quiet. With all the suspicions about how far KC secret technology might be going, I expect it will be Krev+Trombil vs the rest rebelling + arxur. Numbers vs Technology. And Tellus will attempt to stay neutral, though likely end up hostage of Krev instead... SC, I assume, will just try to stay out of it still. While it'd be a whiplash to learn that Radai was the one who demanded they not get involved only to openly *join* the rebellion, it seems, according to last chapter, that they will have their plate full already with a brand new problem... Looking forward to more as usual, especially the resolution of that Grenelka cliffhanger~
pogman
first
