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The Nature of Predators 2-81
🕑 Added 2024-10-24 11:00:10 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Tassi, Bissem Alien Liaison
Date [standardized human time]: February 10, 2161
Returning to the Sapient Coalition after a reprieve on Ivrana, I tried to set realistic expectations for what I could accomplish. Elias Meier’s temporary control over the Secretary-General position had lapsed, and there was no telling whether Osmani would fulfill the idealistic promises that his digitized predecessor pledged with such certainty. The galaxy was rather in flux at the moment beyond just humanity’s leadership. The Sivkits were preparing to move off of our world, while us Bissems—despite the ecological, unhinged, stunted terrors that they were—implored them to stay a bit longer. Those crazy Federation-brained furballs had been making a noticeable dent in the algae problem, so we were begging them to avoid returning home for a little longer.
The Farsul were much quieter refugees, with many happy to get off of Talsk for the first time in their lives, even under the circumstances of their homes being bombed. Lassmin, my country, had decided to offer pathways to citizenship; this decision wasn’t received well by all of the locals. I’d been turning more of an ear toward news from Ivrana, not wanting to feel detached from my homeworld again. As majestic as space was, we were up here for that rock of oranges, greens, and blues. The temporary truce in the Global War that had lasted for a few weeks gave me hope that our subspecies were realizing that. I hated that it took the threat of Aafa to drill that home.
I don’t know what will become of the Carnivore Alliance, with the Arxur interfering in the Jaslip business and pissing off the newly-pacified KC; Bissems can’t afford to get roped into this, and we’re not partial to Kaisal after he used our brand new ships as shields. With that said, I think we might have a few permanent friends out of this, and not have to break away.
“Tassi,” a warm human voice said; I hoped I had been right to believe in Elias. Was he even capable of achieving what he wished to? “Of all the faces here, there are none I’m so happy to see as yours. The SC should consider itself lucky to have you.”
I accepted his hand with a flipper, pretending not to notice how the skin felt spongy to the touch. “It’s good to see you.”
“About damn time you took out those predator-hating cloacabeaks,” General Naltor grumbled. “The Yulpa are more eager to sacrifice you than Zalk was with Dustin when he washed ashore.”
“I did not hurt the human.” The Tseia scoffed, a sour look on his eyes. “Someone got rid of him after he helped us, though. I wonder who.”
Elias offered a sympathetic smile, though I noticed his expressions and blinking were a bit off. “That’s what I came over here to say. Beyond offering my sincere apologies that your close encounter with Jones ever transpired, I intend to ensure that she never tries any maneuvers like that against anyone else. Osmani and I are planning to call her on the carpet about all of this, then cut her loose. We must not operate like that with species that should be under our tutelage.”
“Wow! You…really punished her for that?”
“Not yet, but as soon as this is over, it’s on the calendar. I must admit I’ll savor the look on her face. I…or rather, the original Elias found her to be quite the viper, and kept her under constant watch to avoid the Venlil getting railroaded by her schemes. They were vulnerable and intimidated by us, and whether or not we took advantage of them said a lot about humanity’s DNA. I believe that we can walk a path of kindness.”
Zalk scoffed. “Bah, you sound as naive and moralist as Dustin.”
“Oh no, I’m something much worse. A fixer. I can separate my own beliefs from the toxicity within the system, and search for a course of action that shortens the gap between the two. I can’t be deterred if you show me my optimism is misplaced; you’ll only motivate me to be the solution to the problems.”
“That’s the problem with your type,” Naltor countered. “Sometimes, the viable solution is the use of force. You have to protect yourself with strength. You can’t space magic away every issue.”
“I quite agree; my prime directive is always to keep humanity safe. When a species like the Yulpa jeopardizes our ability to live in peace and attacks us in a bold-faced manner, the path forward is clear. In general though, you should try the other avenues first before reaching for the weapons. If I might, I think that is a lesson that would be of the utmost value to Bissemkind and its subspecies.”
“We signed a truce with the no-good foreigners, even after they’ve tried to plunder our land and our technology again,” Zalk spat. “A real enemy to go after for the Starlight Incident: we have to find those Farsul bastards. Ivrana will never be safe so long as they’re out there.”
“The Sapient Coalition is holding a long overdue vote about making you a full member of our organization, but regardless of the outcome, such a tragedy won’t occur under humanity’s watchful eyes. Our mantle is the guardians of Orion. And for what it’s worth, we’ll nail the ‘bastards.’”
I turned hopeful eyes toward Meier, as he smacked a confident fist onto an open palm. “The way you talk, it sounds like Osmani is keeping you close. And if that’s the case, I have every confidence in humanity. It’s wonderful to finally have the galactic community willing to consider admitting us into the fold, without us needing to dive through hoops.”
The Terran diplomat’s decades of learned composure faltered for a minute, as an arched eyebrow betrayed his interests. “Bissems dive through hoops? Forgive me for allowing my curiosity to get away from me, but that idiom conjures a mental image that’s rather striking.”
“Don’t cover up what you meant. We can see your fucking internet,” Naltor retorted. “Adorable is what you meant.”
“You won’t hear those words from me. Unlike the Krev, I strive to be professional.”
I gave Meier a teasing nudge. “And how often is that professionalism tested?”
“Daily,” the diplomat said with a wink. “We all have our struggles.”
The mind-uploaded human retreated from the balcony, as the UN fleet was on the verge of dropping out of warp and giving the Yulpa a nasty surprise. I recalled how livid Kaisal had been when the primates didn’t help, after the Fed remnants turned on him during Aafa’s defense. The Arxur leader wasn’t accompanying his forces on this hunt. While Grenelka’s fleet was pretty backward and dated, still requiring manpower, the grays were stretching themselves thin; that made it numerically difficult to overpower a well-defended world, with allies to come to their aid. Attacking the humans and their eighty-odd SC friends was a poor decision from our enemies, since we were the vast array of allies the Chief Hunter needed.
It’s about time all of the factions in this galaxy worked together to rid our stellar neighborhood of Federation-borne ignorance. The people who agree that the word “predator” shouldn’t matter need to stand up against the ones who maintain their bigotry.
Drone feeds came online, as the Sapient Coalition’s support dropped out of warp. The Arxur Collective were keen on battering defenders, in the hopes of releasing payloads like this was one of their old-school raids. Any critical infrastructure, whether military or industrial in nature, was being targeted with prejudice. However, the Yulpa and their allies had numerical superiority, and were banding together to strike down carnivore vessels. Plasma lanced around through our magnified lenses, colliding in bursts of fire. The Arxur were in need of an assist, with many automatons appearing to bail out under immense pressure. I knew their sensors were picking up the unexpected contacts; the primates had a chance to lend surprising aid.
Naltor lowered his voice, faking an Arxur-like growl and adding in periodic hissing sounds. “That’s great that you came to help, but where are the Bissem ships? We need allies we can use as shields.”
“After the Yulpa tried and miserably failed to attack Libastion, it’s time that we bury them! This fight needs to be over before it begins,” Secretary-General Osmani spoke into the microphone, standing coolly before the central podium. “We’ve sent a message to the Arxur and the KC alike, vowing to stand with them to snuff out the last vestiges of the Federation. Those who fall on the wrong side of history must be taught a lesson they will never forget.”
“They sent a message to the KC too? I guess they didn’t want the Krev getting the idea that humanity is siding with the Arxur against them, since the ink on the peace treaty has hardly dried,” I remarked. “The humans stopped their war when they realized they were fighting each other. It’s time Bissems sign an accord like that for our own affair.”
Zalk narrowed his eyes. “The Krev Consortium was, in fact, mostly not a human-against-human conflict, Tassi. The SC has a treaty with the KC, but not much else; how to handle trade, travel, and a host of other things. If we get accepted into the SC. I don’t want even more strange aliens coming to our world.”
The Selmer general puffed out his chest. “Fear not, wanderbird. The Krev are much more interested in petting humans than inserting their scaly asses into your migration festivals.”
As for the Krev, while their drones were gunning for Remnant forces, there was no sign of them in this battle; their fight took place in Malti and Drezjin space, while the SC had a mind to deal with the instigating Yulpa. The human, Yotul, and Venlil vessels were a trifecta of death, lobbing space harpoons and plowing through the nearest Remnant ships. If the Skalgan craft weren’t built for ramming, the Federation still had more incentive to avoid a collision; they had actual souls aboard their spacecraft. From the camera’s point of view, our reinforcements acted as one entity—the unity I’d seen at Nishtal was alive and well.
There was something beautiful about seeing vastly different species cooperating in battle that made me glimpse what Naltor appreciated in warfare. Even knowing the horridness from the conflict on Ivrana, this fray had a different feel. The Sapient Coalition was taking a stand, fending off the wild animals with a torch; they were the vanguard of civilization. The Federation remnants had ensured that a stomping was the only solution. I watched the UN deploy space walls that evaporated flaming rounds bound for our ships, and dust guns lap up anything that got close to us. Nanodrones and shield-breaking missiles tag teamed Yulpa vessels like two nets sealing in a fish, as the Yotul twirled hypersonic rods through the vacuum with ease.
There’s so much to take in. I feel like I’m watching those human “dominoes” fall, a sequential turn of events that builds to a total Yulpa collapse.
The Venlil ships concentrated their energy on the front lines, swiping metaphorical claws across the Yulpa’s hulls. Several Remnant craft tried to veer and dodge, which left them ripe for plasma beams to eviscerate them. The United Nations chipped in particle beams, and selected targets with shrewd precision.
The Yotul rallied other Sapient Coalition assistance into a powerful unit, and continued to pelt the Yulpa with space harpoons; the tungsten rods were crippling the exact locales that had hardened to the Arxur. Humanity supplied mini-missiles and plasma beams to complement this effort in contrasting fashion.
The Collective drones had accepted the Terrans’ aid and interfaced with our command, suggesting Kaisal was ready to have the primates turn up on his side at long last. Their twin railguns spit bullets that were invisible to the camera, but showed up on sensors and in the chewed-out Federation ships that vented atmosphere. Humanity positioned their ships to escort the Arxur closer for the bombing run, and had their own weighty antimatter warheads locked and loaded.
“There’s one common thread,” I noted aloud. “The humans are everywhere. They’re at their strongest when they’re feeding off of others’ strengths.”
Naltor tapped a foot with amusement. “Those Yulpa pricks don’t stand a chance.”
With the Remnant fleet outclassed, Grenelka’s vulnerable sphere was within the sight of the two predator species: the Arxur and the humans began to deploy payloads against the appropriate targets. The Sapient Coalition was not an organization to be trifled with, when they weren’t rotting in their own dysfunctionality. As I began to agree with General Naltor’s hopeless outlook for the Yulpa, a silvery cloud of ships rose out from the planet’s cloud cover—perhaps waiting all along, in case things got bad enough, where they wouldn’t need to warp in. I could feel my beak part in amazement, as the new contacts climbed to three hundred thousand; that count was continuing to rise.
We didn’t bring that many ships. This is more than we faced at Aafa, or even with the record-breaking KC incursions. Where the fuck did they come from; since when do the Yulpa have a fleet like this? I knew they had more spacecraft than we expected, but…
“You had to go and celebrate before we’d fully kicked their tail feathers in,” Zalk grumbled.
As humanity and its allies had to re-evaluate whether they could teach this monstrous fleet a lesson after all, as Osmani intended, I was unsure that retreating was an option; the Terrans had already gotten in close to Grenelka’s inner sanctum with no clear path out. The question that tugged at my mind, seeing that the sensor contacts didn’t match any known ship makes, was just who had been lying in wait for us on the Yulpa’s behalf.
A/N - 81! Things are getting a bit better for the Bissems at home and abroad, and Tassi sees that Meier has stayed true to his word, with some input from the grumpy generals. Humanity and their allies swoop in to aid the Arxur against the Yulpa, and while it looks to be a crushing victory, an absurd amount of unknown ships emerge from Grenelka to ambush them. Who do you think the mystery reinforcements are, and can humanity take a fleet of that size? How will the Arxur react to Terran aid? What do you think of Tassi’s new down-to-earth view, in comparison to Elias self-proclaiming himself to be a fixer?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
Mark Baculna
Make it piñata instead of just piña>>> bomb them over and over again
Charles Hall
@Adam Myers thank you for this thought. I've been looking at NoP from a real politic lens and not looking at it's philosophy. I have sympathy for humanism as well, but I find it to naive. I'm someone who wants to Maximize human happiness, but I understand you'll need to do dirty shit to keep that society intact.
Charles Hall
Should've expected to political illiterate to find this comment. Liberals are not equipped to deal with fascism In a meaningful way . You can see this in the U.S, sure, they'll call trump fascist but won't call the Republican party by what it is, a fascist one. The fact half the Republican party's wasn't arrested and put us in this situation to begin with. The third is obviously the fucking mystery ships piloted by the dog Aliens, it's not that hard to figure out. You people live in a fantasy were if you just talk it out everything will be fine, that's not how the real world works and I suppose that's why the story is so engaging to people, the fantasy that things can be talked out.
StormTheSquid
What do you mean three flavors of fascism? Fed remnants, KC, where's the third? You also fail to recognize that Jones's methods are the very same methods of real life fascists and imperialists. Though I don't really expect you to know much of what fascism actually is. Considering you're using "liberal" as a derogatory term, you're probably in favor of a real life fascist taking power in the US and dismantling democracy. So I don't expect you or others like you to understand why Jones and her methods are bad for everyone.
Alekss Žukovskis
spoiler from the future, by a time-traveler (me): there was never a shadow farsul
Adam Myers
@Charles Hall The primary issue here is the theme of the story. The story is humanistic in its theme, which is probably going to seem “liberal”, as that is frequently how humanism is interpreted. I am not a humanist (I find too many things to critique to allow myself to be in that camp), however, it is useful to have discussions on the concept, including through stories like this. The “real world” is far less kind to the ideas of humanism, in my view. Though I am sympathetic with some of them.
Adam Myers
@Yonael Blackwood I do, actually. I think she is a decent, tragic character.
EliasArt2Life
It seems that the Shadow Fasul are revealing their presence at last. (97% sure) Time to see if we’re totally outmatched against them, or if we’re more evenly matched. One thing that I have been wondering about is their internal justification: if this group of Farsul are against all predators, and want them wiped out, how are they reacting to 20 years where humanity has had control, but hasn’t turned on prey species? How about the explanation for “The Hunger”? I’m curious as to why they’re still doing this stuff…
PhycoKrusk
@Lvm Actually, MAD did discourage wars between the US and the USSR; no nuclear-armed nation (once so armed) has ever gone to war with another nuclear-armed nation (again, once so armed). The proxy wars we see were supported by one nation or the other because the belligerents were either ideologically aligned, or were just plain allies; in either case, material support from one or the other would be expected without the necessity of hostilities between either nuclear power.
Willy
Another great chapter from SP ❤️
Gumcel
“The question that tugged at my mind, seeing that the sensor contacts didn’t match any known ship makes, was just who had been lying in wait for us on the Yulpa’s behalf.” It’s the other Farsul huh. Godamnit.
Michael Halpern
also they could have considered the crews as "bait"
Dookus Maximus
It's the Federation - very much on brand.
Rod
Even if we struggle a lot, I hope we win this fight, I cannot ever get enough of Humans and its allies kicking the Federation's ass.
DDDragoni
Even if we can't beat this massive fleet here and now, at least we've forced whoever controls these new ships out of hiding
Charles Hall
Allies is that what you call them, and she's done nothing to risk that fair weather friendship other than try to use the penguins to spy on the kangaroo, a group who's spying on us. The fact that she hasn't had anyone assassinated shows she hasn't gone as far as you people think. I could care less what the U.N is morally oppressed to, they happily set around and let genocide and injustices continue as long as it doesn't rock the boat. Probably why they're so happy on letting AI Make targeting choice, so at least then they don't have to actually make a choice.
DDDragoni
Jones' ruthlessness can be an asset at times, but she took it too far and has become a liability. She's risking alienating our allies for the sake of maintaining control- which is both a tactical blunder and something the UN leadership is morally opposed to
Aured
"The Sapient Coalition was taking a stand, fending off the wild animals with a torch; they were the vanguard of civilization. " Probably not the best analogy Tassi; or, at least not one the SC would appreciate.
Some Lvm
Well, I am glad to see the UN finally grew some balls! (Wait, is there a "Space Balls" joke in here???) I was really worried the issue with this attack would be infighting, rather than a surprise enemy fleet, but I am glad to see Osmani and Kaisal are on the same page. As for the surprise guests, they pretty much have to be the shadow Farsul at this point, as I doubt SP would introduce yet another major player in to this story. I do think that if the SC forces and Arxur keep their shit together they can take this new threat, or at the very least cut it down to a point where the next attack would finish it. Grenelka may survive another day, but I doubt the tables here would truly be turned. Than again, when have I ever been right about SP's scheming? :P
Some Lvm
That isn't really how it works. There is more to war than sending an attack fleet, and having weapons isn't what encourages the decision to go to war. Just because you have an automated fleet, it does not mean your enemy won't come and kill all of you in your homes after you dispatch said fleet. Also, while leaders seldom seek death, an army of fighters who glorify it can be much worse than a fleet of automatons. So no. Technology, or lack there of, is not the way to stop wars, it never has been it never will be. Alfred Nobel though that by creating a weapon so powerful people everywhere will be afraid to wage war he could bring peace. He was wrong. Even nuks and MAD doctrine didn't really discourage wars between US and USSR, just turned them in to proxy wars where people who should have had nothing to do with either side died. Neither in reality nor in NoP does your theory work, I am sad to say. The Yulpa knew the other side had superior weapons and numbers, yet they chose to attack a human colony that had nothing to do with the war.
Charles Hall
HFY while symptomatic, is shit. Jones is necessary in a galaxy filled with 3 different flavors of fascism. The U.N obsession with status liberal quo politics and demilitarization after the first books shows just how much of need for someone like Jones there was. There's absolutely no reason the U.N should be so under strength in galaxy such as this. If the U.N is going to force global censorship and bend backwards and tear away it's only defenses to appease the rest of the SC to not be to predatory then people like Jones are going to be needed.
PhycoKrusk
I flatly oppose all drone fleets because they force societies to go to war. Any society that seeks war must carefully consider the risks in doing so, and the greatest risk is that they themselves might be called to go somewhere far from home and die; this is why, historically, societies ruled by those who will never be called to go to war (e.g. because they are elderly, infirm, women, &c.) are much more likely to go to war. A society in which the entire war fleet is automated faces virtually no risk where war is concerned. Accordingly, it is more likely to be their first recourse in response to a dispute. Bullies always choose violence when they know there are no repercussions for doing so.
Byron Ritchie
Oh shit the yulpans won’t be liberated today Also what happened to tassi’s “friends” and Dustin
Byron Ritchie
Mate you have a celestia pfp (fyi I am a brony and a celestia fan myself) I feel like you should know why HF and jones are so shitty
Charles Hall
I should be more specific for the terminally online. Real as in real ones. Interesting that you would assume the other, but that's to be expected from the NoP crowd.
Apogee
And the secret Farsul arrive!
TheBlack2007
Assigning sapience by personal sympathies now? Gee, I truly wonder why the HF arc got axed… Not!
Wingit98
If it's the rogue Farsul, I hope they're actually super competent in a fight and a real threat making the SC, Arxur, Shield, and KC all collectively go "oh shit" and band together.
Michael Halpern
there's a difference between immigration and tourism vs refugees
Charles Hall
Jones is a hero and the UN needs more people like her. Nop2 shows how useless trying to play nice with with the Xeno were, they still hated us and everything about us. Close allies in NOP1 have even stated campaigning against. The only real people are the bears and sheep's.
PiñaPiloto
If they're rising out of cloud cover, than that might mean they are close to the planet, which means they are clumped up all close together. My suggestion? Bomb them, bomb them again. Keep bombing them. I dunno though I'm not writing the book.
DreamEnvoy
I guess the Carnivore Alliance won't remain strong when Bissems won't condone Kaisal's actions. Along with the vote to make Bissems a full SC member. “If we get accepted into the SC. I don’t want even more strange aliens coming to our world.” Zalk, that is literally a direct consequence of joining a galactic community. Glad the wait for the battle against the Remnants is finally over. And the sudden turn of events makes for a GREAT cliffhanger.
TheBlack2007
Jones is a Monster that went off the hinges when UN Leadership got too sure about having her under control. Meier clearly didn’t trust her and Zhao was an old Rival who worked with her for Earth‘s sake but likely also didn’t trust her one bit. Still her actions in NoP1 can be excused by the fact of humanity fighting a war of survival. Desperate times require desperate measures… NoP2 Jones though… not so much.
Michael Halpern
it's the Yulpa, that's pretty much on brand
Yonael Blackwood
If that's true it means they were sacrificing living people for nothing.
Yonael Blackwood
Nobody likes Jones.
REDemon14
The return of Tassi! Now with a more realistic view of the SC, she is less likely to have a crisis *if* there is a next time. Here’s hoping there isn’t. Quite the pickle the Bissem find themselves in; The Sivkits want to go home while the Bissem want at least some of them to stay because of the algae problem getting fixed with them being there. The farsul are just happy to be off Talsk. Citizenship for the Farsul, huh? I wonder how many are willing to take that deal. Especially since the native populace might not be that friendly. Nice to hear that the Bissem have a truce in their own war, albeit temporary. Hopefully it becomes more permanent. I’m not so sure about the future of the Carnivore Alliance. Too much bad blood now. Mmm, Spongy Meier. He’s as happy to see Tassi as I am : D I really hope Dustin is ok. Maybe Jones just had him cycled back to Skalga? (fingers crossed) God, imagining Jones taking advantage of the Venlil during NoP 1 is horrifying. Good thing she *was* on a short leash then. She has clearly overstayed her welcome though. All she did was turn a new species werry and Tassi’s friends against her. Having Meier’s optimistic view is perfectly fine, so long as you have the strength to secure yourself. Zalk is the new Sovlin when it comes to racism. Except it’s worse because he’s racist to his other Bissem and he isn’t adopting people. Bissem dive through hoops! Ahh! “I strive to be professional.” Externally, I would too. Internally, Cuteness aggression. All day. Onto the battle! It’s nice being the ones to help the Arxur instead of the other way around. I wonder if Naltor is the type to hold grudges? SC, Arxur Collective (AC), and the KC verses the FR. This should be a short conflict. (and with that I have jinxed the war) Calm down Zalk. They probably don’t want to come to your world. The Yulpa are getting pummeled which is deserved. Humans are a Jack of all Trades type of species. Descent at all roles, at least enough so to support dedicated units. Ooooooh, that’s a lot of ships. I’m not sure the Allied fleet is getting out of this one. That many ships hiding in the *clouds*. That’s impressive and worrying. My bet is that it’s the *other* Farsul faction, the one that wants to exterminate all meat-eaters, both carnivore and omnivore. A people as secretive as them might have enough ships? I’m looking forward to seeing how this will unfold. As well as how those on the KC front will react/respond.
Adam Myers
Actually, I think it is the opposite. I think it is the voices that cried out against her and the inherent theme of the story that are causal here. (I am someone who was empathetic to Jones and HF, even while heartedly disagreeing with them)
Adam Myers
I really hope Dustin is ok. Can we get an update on him and Jimek soon?
Anthony Mears
People liked humanity first? i could see that there was *some* sympathy for *some* of their reasoning but like them? unless you mean like them as a foul?
John Benjamin Cate
What a cliffhanger! There’s definitely a lot of things going on, the Sivkit making a sizable dent in the algae was hilariously fun, and Meier described himself to a T saying he’s a fixer. And now the Shadow have appeared once again! The Farsul extremists! On the edge of my seat, eager to read!
Charles Hall
I gotta ask, you getting rid of Jones because people like her, like humanity first?
Heroman3003
Good chapter. We finally enter the true baddies... or at least one group. I still believe there might be some secret evil organization behind Consortium's Listeners. But it might be the same baddies, we're yet to see, as those have not shown themselves. But let's take it bit by bit... Before I predicted that Ivrana's algae will be solution to sivkit hunger. It appears the answer is opposite - their hunger and ravenousness remains as is, but they are actively helping clean out the excessive algae rather well. It's nice to see and hopefully will be, in the longer run, helpful to reduce xenophobic mood brewing among the Bissem population in context of... everything else in the galaxy. Also hearing of Farsul who never were off Talsk before in their life is just sad... They really didn't deserve this. Meier coming in to meet Tassi and her crew. It's always fun to see character POVs crossing over like that and I love the way he plays off both her and Naltor/Zalk here. He is the middle ground between Tassi's 'idealistic optimism' and Naltor and Zalk's 'cynicism'. Meier feels like a 'practical optimist'. He hopes for the better and works towards it. A realist but without the doom and gloom. Dustin is acknowledged! Jones DID do something to him! Hopefully the boy's just being detained, my heart won't handle suicide by two bullets in the back of the head... Though with new developments, it's possible summoning Jones to the carpet might be delayed and she may cause more trouble... But hopefully not. Hah, him having to hold back from calling the bissem swimming cute. It does say a lot either about how actually unprofessional and untrained Krev diplomats are, or how absolutely dummy-infatuated they are with primates if they react the way Elias implies. It's good to see lessons learned from Aafa - putting KC and arxur forces in a single attack vector would have been recipe for disaster, so splitting them up and helping the arxur seems like an easy way to show support without openly picking a side in specifically arxur-KC conflict. The battle went well, as expected, yulpa have not got any better in the last 30 years. Until the new shadow fleet... Which we can only assume are those Shadow Farsul. Its worth noting that they are coming from Grenelka's surface, meaning yulpa are already working with them before the start of this fight. And while it's possible they've only came to help the Remnants recently... It's also possible they've been pulling the strings for a while. What if the Aafa debacle was not Fed Brainrot but intentional act, aimed at creating alienation between humanity and arxur? We are yet to see how well the fight itself goes, but the numbers are not looking too good... And what we know of technological advancements of Shadow Farsul implies that they are not nearly as outdated technology-and-tactics wise as the rest of the Remnants. Combine good ships and good tactics with Remnants' number advantage... And we have ourselves a HUGE threat. ...maybe threat big enough to make KC, Shield, SC and Arxur forget their differences and unite... perhaps...? Or KC is puppeteered by same faction and they're about to have a civil war because of it. The story has been inching towards a divide within Consortium for a while... Excited to see how this will all go! Looking forward to more, great work as usual!
Sroni
A new race enters the field?
Michael Halpern
they were hiding their own drones...
Swan
Well, guess the shadow farsul finally show themselves; didn't think they'd reveal themselves to the fed remenant before the battle tho I get a bad feeling about this...
James Schoneman
Shadow fleet 2 electric boogaloo
Themu 050
First
