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The Nature of Predators 2-74
🕑 Added 2024-09-26 11:00:08 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Quana, Jaslip Soldier
Date [standardized human time]: February 4, 2161
Even with the local government on Omnol turning a blind eye to the open rebellion in the enclaves, I wasn’t sure that the Jaslip Independence Brigade would enjoy much success without outward support. Our heads hadn’t cooled off one bit toward the Consortium, since the downfall of the Federation equated to our forcible relocation and Esquo’s glassing being for naught. However, tempers had leveled out toward potential allies, such as the humans; assistance would be needed to unravel a machine like the Krev’s institution. Earth hadn’t committed any sins against us, and we’d later learned that the United Nations proper had tried to resurrect our species with their Osir project. That’d won a lot of credibility with our people. For now, the Jaslip and human babies had stayed with their original families, since transporting millions of infants for a month and “swapping” them was a headache.
Humanity cared more about saving the Jaslips, having only seen our skeletons, than the Consortium ever did. The Krev didn’t care about our lives back at Esquo, and they forgot to even care about that elusive “greater good” when it seemed all would be lost, in this era. They would’ve let the Federation exterminate us rather than divulge the truth. They executed our kits on television just to discredit the very movement I’m in, but we’re the extremists!
The Krev didn’t dare to use explosive measures, with the United Nations arriving to sort out the Tellus debacle. Aulan, the Independence Brigade’s leader, wanted to talk to them, but I didn’t see how that was feasible. Getting Jaslips off of Omnol, which was a haven for “heartless terrorists” in the KC, would be impossible. We’d hunkered down to use old-school guerilla tactics, in an arctic climate against the Resket guards sent to quash us—just like old times on Esquo. I thought back to what General Radai said about his training, learning how to take flashbang grenades to the face because of us. It would be simpler if the Smiglis would help us, especially after their sovereignty was overridden to suppress us, but they were too preoccupied with handling cultural sensitivity studies for the Consortium. We needed fighters.
“Resket soldiers, closing in on these tunnels.” Cherise, who I felt lingering guilt over snapping at a month ago, was peering through binoculars over the hill. As the lone biped here, scouting fell to her. I worried for the human on account of the fact that she was still here, rather than enjoying her species’ salvation. “We know the plan. Blitz them and hold them off—while we relocate assets and personnel.”
I flicked an ear in acknowledgment. “Yeah. Cherise…”
The human’s brown eyes were obscured beneath her combat helmet. “Quana, you’ve been tap dancing around me for more than a month. What is it?”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve never gotten angry at you, just because you were…luckier. You’ve been a good friend to me, and you deserve a fuck ton better than someone who will take their issues out on you. I don’t know why you’re still here.”
“Because the Consortium’s fucked up, and I’ve already gone this far. Sunk cost fallacy.”
“That’s why ninety percent of the Tellish stayed with Hathaway? I would’ve thought you wanted to go back and meet the United Nations liaisons.”
“Well, I don’t. Thanks for finally asking.”
“I…deserve that. I do care about you, but in the heat of the moment, it’s like something snapped and I just…stopped caring. Like them. I’d like to think I’m not that person, yet the guilt: I can’t look at you the same. I’m so ashamed that it curls my claws, and it hurts to…”
The human raised a hand, sighing. “Let’s just forget about it, Quana. It was months ago, and I made sure to give you plenty of time to process your shit. If you say it’s not really you, I believe you. Make a mental note to yourself that I’m not your enemy.”
“Done.” I ignored the jittery feeling of the anti-hibernation drugs, which hadn’t helped my unease over this confrontation with the Reskets, and my admission of guilt. “Go home, Cherise. To Earth. You’ve done enough. I want you to be happy, and it’s almost like you’re here running from the UN.”
“With the things I’ve seen and done, I can’t see those people and call myself as human as them. I could leave, but I can never go home. I’m not a quitter, you know.”
I curled a tail frond around her wrist. “I know, but I’m telling you it’s okay to. You risked everything to fight for us, and to fight for what was right, even when you had nothing to gain—and everything to lose. You’ve never had anything good your whole life either, for a dumb fucking reason, just like the Jaslips. I’m not okay with using my friend as cannon fodder. We are losing. Why don’t you go celebrate humanity’s victory? Take a win for us all.”
She could take a message back to the United Nations’ personnel on Tellus, but only if she is willing. That’s my best friend, who we’ve asked too much of already.
Cherise shook her head with stubbornness. “I sacrificed too much to see an end to meaningless suffering as a win. This is a cause that’s for something…and a friend who I’ll always care about, no matter how much she spits at me. We fight the Reskets together. It might be hopeless, but hopeless is what I’m used to.”
“If you insist,” I growled. “We both know what must be done. Kill them by traditional means or take them down with us. Blow the tunnels with us all inside, like you said you would’ve done to the Tellus caverns. The human way.”
“Not just humans. Predators get the job done. The Feddies were wrong about us being scary on the outside. The mind is far scarier than any eye orientation.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s show the Reskets as much dishonor as they can stomach.”
Over the snowy incline, I could see the towering pink shapes of avians, who were sprinting at high speeds that no other species could match; their massive bodies meant we had large targets to shoot at. The Reskets were clad in combat armor, and were toting a varied arsenal to deal with any Jaslip Independence Brigade attacks. The fact that the Consortium still refused to let us leave, and sent their bird enforcers after us, said it all. The Jaslips weren’t going to settle for anything less than our freedom and kicking them out. I steadied my tail fronds on the trigger, with a large gun mounted on my side. Cherise’s breathing was low and calm, as she steadied a white-painted rocket launcher on her shoulder. There had to be hundreds of them versus six dozen of us.
Aulan twitched his ear as a signal, and IEDs erupted on the pathway in front of the tunnel. Several Reskets in the immediate vicinity of the detonations found themselves mutilated, though they’d spread out and gone through the snow, expecting some shady tactics. Jaslip fighters attempted to flank the squad, who were also ready for that; the avians whirled around like it was a telegraphed move, firing a slew of bullets. Cherise unloaded her rocket into a cluster of birds, finding that they hadn’t brought any vehicles—they knew we’d just blow them up. Surely they brought some mobile support. I turned my gaze skyward and switched on an infrared lens. Drones were looking straight at us, which proved we didn’t have the element of surprise.
“Move! Clear out!” I barked. “Take out those drones, before they calibrate a fucking orbital strike.”
I popped off an armor-piercing round into an automaton, and sliced through its processor to terminate its flight. My barrel swiveled to pick off another one, as the Reskets rallied from our initial explosions. Jaslip fighters had rolled flashbangs into their midst, alongside more lethal weapons, to both disorient and maim them. However, the long-legged birds were wise to this, and they kicked several back toward our positions. I watched shrapnel bathe snowy fur in purple fluid just ahead of us. My eyes locked onto the last drone I could see, and I picked it off. Now, I could focus on the alien hostiles, but was it too late?
Hundreds of hostile guns locked on to fire at every trace of movement in the snow. The Resket forces were a well-oiled machine, having trained for these exact circumstances; their command must’ve been smarting from the humiliation we handed them, when their attempts to relocate us from Esquo dragged on. It was a source of great shame, for such a proud race. While they were still much easier to spot and hit, their white armor was a step up in camouflage. I supposed Tanet had seen the benefit of an enemy not seeing when they were coming. Cherise’s hands seemed to load the next shell too slowly; yelps continued to come from around us, as other Jaslips were picked off. Saliva built in the back of my throat, the dread too much to swallow.
We have to take as many of these bastards with us as possible. We can’t surrender every tunnel, every city block, every place of residence down to the last tauya, to their control. The Jaslips won’t surrender. The Consortium must realize we’re not worth the hassle, if we don’t quit. They’ll keep making us a mockery and killing us for whatever their goal is on a given day, as long as we’re under their foot.
Cherise fired a rocket that took out several avians, before abandoning the heavy munitions and switching to a mounted machine gun; it was propped on a rock that afforded perfect cover. The rapid-fire whir was music to my ears, as she opted for a spray-and-pray strategy. Her firearm consumed the ammunition belts lying on the ground with insatiable hunger and speed. Aulan gave the signal for the final explosives to be triggered, using up the last of the bombs we’d hidden along the path. Nothing could stop the Reskets’ advance, however, and more just kept coming. I could see their own charges clipped to belts, waiting to bring the roof down on us. They wanted to destroy our infrastructure up-close-and-personal, where neither Jaslip nor Smigli anti-orbital interceptors could intervene. Besides, firing on Omnol would be an act of war that might make the hermaphroditic natives respond.
“We’re getting fucking slaughtered. We need to fall back,” I told Cherise.
The human stiffened, continuing to fly through bullets on her machine gun. “One second. They’re not on us yet, even as fast as they run. Not gonna get another shot at using this bad boy, and I’d hate to let it go to waste.”
“You’re going to get shot if you stay here; they’re going to take you out as soon as they get a good look. Two-thirds of our forces are dead, I’d wager, from the bodies I see on the ground. It’s over. Aulan’s already pulling everyone back, so if you want to stay with the team—”
“No, I get it.” Cherise abandoned the machine gun, though I could sense her reluctance. “This would be a good death, you know.”
“The fuck are you on about? There’s no such thing as a good death. There’s no reason to seek one out.”
“If you say so.”
The primate didn’t expand on that last remark, though it sparked an immediate wave of concern for her mental state. If she was staying with the Independence Brigade in a deliberate effort to get herself killed, then I couldn’t let her stay with us in good conscience. For the time being, I settled for whirling around and dragging her toward a staging area atop the tunnel; we had to get further back pronto. I could feel a bullet skirt over the fur of my shoulders, coming from a sidelong angle. Aulan waved to us from barricades he’d set up, and I slid behind one with ragged breaths. Cherise sat down next to me, back pressed against the concrete. Whatever my friend had stewing in her brain, I wasn’t ready for either of us to die.
Everything that we’ve been fighting to achieve means nothing if we eat a bullet now. Anything that’s worth dying for is worth living for too.
The Independence Brigade leader was considering a strategic retreat; it was brave of him to be on the frontlines with his fighters at all, given his importance. At least the Reskets wouldn’t know how significant he was and target him. I began to turn my thoughts toward getting Aulan out of harm’s way, so that the movement would have its leader. We could cover his retreat, though I found myself daunted peering down at the Reskets. They were like a swarm of suvrels—hundreds of pink mites in the snow, descending on us. We’d be lucky to hold out for a few minutes, but that would buy Aulan enough time. Maybe I could get him to take Cherise with him, since she was important for the hope of connecting us with the United Nations.
“If they’re going to blow up the tunnels, we do it first,” Aulan decided. “Let them start to set up their charges, and we reverse the tide. I’m done retreating, done losing ground to these kibblarhans.”
Cherise raised a hand in a tentative gesture. “I’ll stay and watch. I can trigger the charges from here. The rest of you should make a run for it.”
“That’s not happening,” I objected.
“I’m asking Aulan, and he knows it has to be someone. I’ve served my purpose. I’m willing to take on one more mission.”
The Independence Brigade leader thought for several seconds. “One person can’t stave off a horde, though I appreciate your unwavering courage in the face of death. There’d be no failsafe to ensure that it goes off, if it’s just you. You can stay with the team to defend the area, however. There’s snowmobiles stationed back there for us to ride off on, so—”
Aulan’s words were cut off by the explosions of gas tanks, as a Resket rocket slammed into the waiting escape ride. Alarm flickered in our leader’s eyes, while he struggled to conjure a backup plan. Precious seconds ticked away, and the hostiles were following the footsteps in the snow; they climbed up atop the tunnel, taking shots at us. I muttered curses, realizing that we were doomed. Our position was about to be overrun, and after how poorly the initial defense had gone, we must be outnumbered ten-to-one. I hoped that my family would remember me as a hero, not as the resentful, cavalier fiend I’d become.
At least I had the presence of mind to make up with Cherise before we met our deaths. She was a good friend, the only alien that ever cared about me; I wish she had a chance to be happy again. It was selfish of me to ever drag her into any of this Jaslip rebellion shit…and I’m sorry for that too. Even if it was her choice.
That was when bullets began carving up the Reskets from behind, as hundreds of shooters flanked the avians out of nowhere. My eyes widened with shock, wondering where the fuck we’d gotten that kind of firepower from. Had Aulan had this trap planned all along, and kept it a surprise so they’d have no way of knowing? My confusion intensified further when the shadows that emerged weren’t wintry Jaslip pelts, but blotches of gray that walked at strange angles. A stealth vessel cruised overhead of the Reskets, chipping in with air support that massacred them with ease. The Independence Brigade had been all but forgotten in an instant, and without questioning our saviors, we rallied forward to help pick off stragglers.
The air support was pivotal in mopping up the majority of Reskets, though I had no idea who the ship belonged to. It didn’t look like any Consortium race I knew, and it didn’t feel like a human vessel; besides, I’d been around the primates for long enough to know that the shapes I saw weren’t their kind. With hundreds of new allies descending on the last few avians, the scene was taken care of inside of a minute. Satisfied that the last pink head had fallen, the newcomers marched forward—and gave me the first good look at them. Gray scales and truncated snouts, along with binocular eyes with vertical pupils; massive fangs poked out of their mouths at all times. I gasped with apprehension and a bit of revulsion, recognizing them at last: the Arxur.
“Hold your fire!” Aulan shouted, after ensuring that our ghastly helpers had no intention of firing on us. We did need help, but the things they had done…we had a lot of moral failings, but we weren’t cannibals. “Who is in charge?”
One of the “grays” lifted a clawed paw. “Operative Zefriss with the Arxur Collective. We’ve come as fellow carnivores, after hearing of your mistreatment. I’d like to take you to our leader to discuss an alliance.”
“Very well. If you’re here to take on the Consortium, then we have much to talk about; thank you for your help there. I’d like to bring what’s left of my team with me, since we make decisions as a movement. We’re fighting for transparency, so I won’t hide anything.”
“Naturally.” The Arxur’s eyes snapped toward Cherise, and narrowed to slits. “I did not realize you had humans in your mix. Is she a mercenary?”
“What?!” Cherise choked out.
“Never mind. I do not care; it’s fine as long as she’s on our side. The point is, with our backing, your rebellion will have much more of a snarl behind it. Chief Hunter Kaisal is going to ensure that you’re listened to.”
“I like the sound of that,” Aulan growled. Really, is nobody going to bring up the “they ate people” issue? They are monsters! “You had me sold at acknowledging our mistreatment, Zefriss. Lead the way.”
The reptilian lashed his tail in acknowledgement, and stalked off toward the stealth ship that’d touched down in the snow; it had ample space to transport hundreds of personnel to-and-from the surface. Aulan beckoned with the three-fronded tail, following Zefriss without the hesitation I thought was befitting the situation. I supposed Jaslips were desperate for aid, but judging by the expressions on the other fighters’ faces, I wasn’t the only one with qualms about allying with the Arxur. After exchanging a glance with a nervous Cherise, I padded up to the Collective ship with a great deal of suspicion. There was the argument that we wouldn’t have survived that encounter with the Reskets without them, and had fought by our side without asking for anything in return.
That didn’t make me like our movement allying with the galaxy’s most infamous monsters one bit more.
A/N - Chapter 74! We get a timeskip to see the Jaslips in full-fledged rebellion, utilizing guerrilla warfare against Resket troops who have overridden Smigli sovereignty. Quana offers a long overdue apology to Cherise, but the damage is already done on that front: some major red flags from Ms. Benson. Aulan stages a plan to defend tunnels, but the JIB is outmatched…until the Arxur come riding in to the rescue. Kaisal wants to help liberate them, and Zefriss is bringing them to discuss an alliance.
How will the KC react to the Arxur showing up and siding with the Jaslip rebels? How do you expect the Jaslips to feel about this unexpected ally…and will this give them a chance at victory? Can Kaisal juggle both this, and the mess that we haven’t seen yet back home, fighting the Fed remnants?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting! Happy to report I was able to get this chapter posted in spite of the storm. By the way, our next side series is Sovlin. I’m considering reimplementing my old-days policy, where I’d take one side content day off after finishing a miniseries, but that’s of course only if this is acceptable to you guys. Trying to make my pace a bit more sustainable lol!
Comments
Aured
Future Zefriss! Great to see him doing well
RaptorRed
How about you just have a day off every other week that way your not tempted to make the side stories short to have more days off ;)
kabhes
Isif thought he was a good strategist
richfiles
Look at this guy, trying to play grammar arxur over casual conversation... Good Lord... Pfft. In all reality... Take aaalllll the time you need SP! ;)
Guardian
I second this motion. SP, we love NoP, but we also love YOU. I don't think anyone would object if you took regular breaks.
Kilo Rat
I can't believe after shedding the Dominion, they still use titles like Chief Hunter.
Jhon Bustamante
no tienen mas opcion la rebelion esta sola los arxur podrian ayudar a arreglar las cosas
EliasArt2Life
@Some Lvm *Sigh* I feel as though little effort was put into understand what I was trying to say. It gets really frustrating when that happens because I feel like I’m being forced to write to account for every possible erroneous interpretation of my words, which makes me feel like I’m coming off like I’m talking down to people. It’s bizarre to me that I can post multiple times about the SC’s continual prejudice and mistreatment, but when I don’t explicitly elaborate that Anti-Predator hatred exists once, people respond as if I’m oblivious to it. I never claimed that there is no Predator hatred, nor that the Arxur wouldn’t face hatred for them being predators if they were introduced to society. I was saying that the hatred was dying out before the Arxur started attacking, and gave everyone a reason to hate predators again. I’m saying that the current fear and hatred of predators ORIGINATED with the Arxur’s actions. In a sense, they’ve got it even worse than any other predatory species; we are being ostracized for something we didn’t do and have no intention of doing. The Arxur actually DID those things. Prey species being afraid of being enslaved and eaten has little to no basis towards humans, but is well founded towards the Arxur; they DID those things. For half a millennia. Their actions are WHY people became so scared of this stuff happening to begin with. (Once again, before anyone claims that the Kolshians started it, as Maronis’ account detailed, their attempts to keep people afraid of predators was failing and people were becoming less afraid, until the Arxur started attacking and eating people. That new round of Predator fear, the one that currently exists, came about due to the Arxur’s actions, and BACKED AND ENFORCED by the Kolshians). When I’m saying that the primary reason people hate them is because of their actions, and not the fear, I’m saying that their actions led to the fear they see, and even if that fear is taken away, the hatred over their actions remain. I am IN NO WAY saying that the fear doesn’t exist, nor am I saying that the fear is not a factor. I’m only observing that the Arxur have made it sound like that anti-predator fear is the only reason why no one wants to associate with them, and that if it were gone, people would accept them. That’s not the case; people would still exclude them over their despicable actions in the past and their lack of much observable remorse over their actions and the continual attitude of superiority over herbivorous species that they display. I don’t mind people commenting or disagreeing with my takes; I actually like it. I just dislike people pointing out obvious facts because I didn’t explicitly mention them and only implicitly addressed them. I don’t like it because there’s nothing gained from that; it’s a misunderstanding. There’s also little I can do to avoid them. I can’t explicitly go into EVERY detail; my comments are long enough as is and elaborating on every possible point would increase the size tenfold. It takes forever for me, no one is going to read that thoroughly, and then they’ll just correct me nonetheless since they skimmed and skipped the part where I brought the subject up, or just not comment at all. It’s not just you; a lot of people do it. If you’ve got some advice as to how to avoid these kinds of misunderstandings in the future, I’d be very grateful.
Some Lvm
I think that the way Bissems were treated by the SC at large, and the SC's reaction to the Ozir project, it is evident that predator hatred is more than alive and well, and that even without their cannibalistic history the Arxur would be far from being accepted with open arms. If people were reasonable they would have realized that Arxur diet was not just of their own making, but also a Federation tool, perpetuated to keep a fear leash on Fed members. But reason does not work on politicians or large groups...
Some Lvm
"we had a lot of moral failings, but we weren’t cannibals." Right, you weren't cannibals, you just used your own kits as hostages and were going to murder them just to make a point. Just because Mafani beat you to the punch that one time does not absolve your movement of guilt! I was so rooting for the Reskets, seemed like they were really on top of things this time. Its sad that Kisal decided to stick his snout where it does not belong, though I can understand him. Still, this will likely end up similar to how US's aid to Afghani fighters in the 80's worked out... Just when I think the clusterfuck is complete, someone has to add napalm to the mix... One thing about Quana though - she seems to be inconsistent": One minute she is all about "taking them with us", the next she is trying to survive and save her friend from sacrificing her self. Pick a lane foxy - either you are a terrorist all the way, or you still want to live. Can't have it both ways - your brand of "freedom fighting" doesn't go well with staying alive...
Wholesome Redditter
This marks the 5th maybe 6th time in the series of the Arxur jumping into a battle proving why they are the gigachads of the verse. Other times include but not limited to: Earth, Duetian planet, Affa, Talsk, and this. I’m iffy on Dosser Planet
EliasArt2Life
@PhycoKrusk Thanks for the correction; I legitimately got the savageness and chief hunter titles confused there. By backsliding, I meant the Arxur society as a whole, not Kaisal in particular. We didn’t see enough of his development to determine if he’s backslid or not. My worry is that he’s dragging Arxur society as a whole down to a level he refuses to leave.
PhycoKrusk
Remember always friends, these words of wisdom: Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!
PhycoKrusk
"Victoriousness" replaced "Savageness"; if you hop back to chapter 9 of the New Arxur, you'll see Isif is still using the title of Chief Hunter. I don't see it so much as Kaisal backsliding as it is that he never changed at all; he spent his entire life being abused by those with power, and while he certainly understands the value of power, his primary motivation appears to be revenge, and so he doesn't think anything of using and abusing his power to get what he wants (and then throwing a tantrum when he doesn't get it). Contrast that with Isif, who did not spend any real amount of time chasing revenge or seeking forgiveness; he had resigned himself to being remembered only as a monster, and put all of his efforts towards making a better future for the generations that would come later. Part of me is concerned that Isif may have accidentally given society the idea that the way things should be is that a new leader comes to power by deposing the old one and sending them into exile, and then enacting what they see as the proper way forward. Besides setting a dangerous precedent, it also completely eliminates any continuity of advancement, so that same part of me is concerned that Kaisal has been undoing all of the progress made under Isif's rule.
EliasArt2Life
PLEASE do not edit this comment! I’m laughing too much at the image of Cherise scribbling furiously on a sudoku game with the missile launcher resting on her shoulder, with bullets firing around her, and a perplexed Quana wondering what she’s doing.
EliasArt2Life
@Space Paladin Please bump that “slightttttly” up to “a little”. Or at least a “slightly” without the elongation.
EliasArt2Life
I believe with @DDDragoni. I do not think for a second that Aulan wants anything to do with the Arxur, but he’s trying to use them to win this war. Same as almost everyone else who’s allied with the Arxur (I’m actually feeling a little sorry for them). Besides, if the Arxur ARE as untrustworthy as you say that Aulan should think they are, what happens if he says “no”? They turn on the Jaslips and kill them/capture them. Aulan has to deal with the fact that his rebellion only has the numbers and resources to fight using Guerrilla Warfare, and is getting stomped by the Consortium who have more men, better assets, AND drones that can spy on them, removing the advantage of Guerrilla Tactics; the element of surprise and uncertainty. The Arxur represent his last chance. Let’s put it this way, if you’re flipping a coin, and head you win, tails you lose. You then find out that you’re flipping a coin with two tails. Then you’re given a choice to roll a die. If you get an even, you win, anything else, you lose. But, the person giving you the die has been caught modifying dice in the past to always roll a certain number. In what world do you choose to flip the coin because the die is “untrustworthy and probably going to loose” when the coin is guaranteed to loose? Aulan knows his “coin” is going to lose, so he’s taking a chance that the Arxur are legitimately trying to help. I wouldn’t call that naïve; I’d call that logical and pragmatic. I’d call that being able to detach yourself from your emotions on the subject and make a decision for the good of the group. Naïve would be thinking he could win this WITHOUT help. Beggars can’t be choosers; in his rebellion’s current state, he can’t afford to be picky about what he’ll he accepts. So what if they betray him? They were ALREADY DEAD. Plus, he can always double cross them later. If they’re too powerful to double cross, they’re too powerful to defy at the moment.
EliasArt2Life
Given the more recent revelations that they couldn’t scan Krev brains due to differences in physicality, I doubt it. There’s probably be too much of a difference between the structure of two different species’ brains. However, they could have taken a Jaslip brain, implanted new memories/subliminal suggestions, then planted those memories in “Aulan”. It might be even harder to realize the truth, because he could be “programmed” to THINK he’s the real deal, only betraying them when a subconscious trigger is activated.
EliasArt2Life
A spectacular demonstration of the Resket’s military prowess! It really solidifies them as effective fighters. Admittedly, though, the battle was a bit misleading: the Jaslips were heavily outnumbered, and fought using Guerrilla Tactics, but the Reskets used drones to reveal their positions, numbers, and assets. This takes the entire advantage of Guerrilla Warfare away, while playing into the Resket strength of being well versed in battle where you know everything about your opponent. The Arxur, meanwhile, made a surprise attack, which plays to their ambushing strength while playing to the Resket’s slight weakness against a lack of information. In neutral circumstances, the battle might play out totally differently. I guess we’ll be seeing that later. “We did need help, but the things they had done…we had a lot of moral failings, but we weren’t cannibals” “Really, is nobody going to bring up the “they ate people” issue? They are monsters!” “I supposed Jaslips were desperate for aid, but judging by the expressions on the other fighters’ faces, I wasn’t the only one with qualms about allying with the Arxur.” These quotes go back to what I said in previous chapters; the Arxur believe that others hate them primarily because they are predators. They think the Jaslips and Tellus Humans will accept them because they aren’t being coerced by Federation Anti-Predator propaganda. However, they fail to realize it was their actions of brutalizing and consuming the other sapient species of the galaxy for 500 that people hate them for, and that the anti-predator sentiment was fading before their actions reignited it. The Arxur are in for a hard, and admittedly sad, wake up call. But not just yet; I see why Aulan is such a clever rebel. He know how to keep his real feelings hidden, and how to use others as tools. He’ll use the Arxur to help him win, regardless of how disgusted he is of them, and that means it could be a while before the Arxur realize that they’re still being seen as monsters (unless Quana lets it slip soon). Finally, Kaisal is using the Chief Hunter honorific. Given the New Arxur miniseries, I see two possibilities: A) he’s not at the top of the ladder, and Isif’s top men are given the Chief Hunter title, (I find this less likely) B) He’s backsliding as leader of the Arxur, and abandoned the “Victoriousness” title for the old “Chief Hunter” title. (I suppose he might have refused Isif’s title out of respect, but I don’t have that much faith in Kaisal).
DrewTheHobo
Ooooh, does this mean we’re going to see how Weiss is doing modern day? Very curious how they’re faring after so long!
Byron Ritchie
Woo sovlin’s back!
Kevo
Yeah, I don’t think Aulan is a bad person in that way, also aren’t the crocs cold?
DDDragoni
I think it's more that Aulan is pragmatic enough to not turn down help when he REALLY needs it
Kevo
Take a week off every now and then, we can wait
Apogee
I’m starting to suspect that the consortium does in fact make copies of people from their memory transcripts, they just put them into biological bodies instead of artificial. The fact they can easily make human babies, means they probably can pre-age the bodies as well, all this considered what if Aulan isn’t mentally a snow fox?
DemonVee
I did mention that earlier the Aulan migh be an underscale doppelganger...
Space Paladin
Thank you! And I appreciate that, I’m trying to take slightttttly better care of myself 😂
Gumcel
Based bird hater.
Gumcel
“I like the sound of that,” Aulan growled. Really, is nobody going to bring up the “they ate people” issue? They are monsters! “You had me sold at acknowledging our mistreatment, Zefriss. Lead the way.” Maybe it’s just confirmation bias, but Aulan’s naivety of blindly trusting them immediately makes me think that he is sabotaging the Brigade. Allying with the people everyone considers monsters, I’m sure that won’t cause any division or make neutral parties turn against you :sivkit_clueless:.
Ezekiah Kane
Amazing chapter. Take all the time you need between side stories. You can't give us our NoP fix if you're burned out.
Willy
So the Arxur have arrived, bout time. Let’s see how this mix up is interpreted back home.
Emmanuel Morín
At least Cherise didn't commit sudoku
Thrownawaz
They never let you down They never say goodbye, they never tell a lie and hurt you
Shajenko
Seconding the break idea.
Xilacnog
Cherise is hoping for an encounter with Truck-kun
Jon Arbuckle
Arxur chads stay winning. At the very least they've always been upfront about who they were.
Mike Rees
Wasn't expecting to see Zefriss in the main story so soon
REDemon14
They are very hands off when it came to enforcing Consortium laws. After the reveal, the jaslip started rebelling with the smigli homeworld being a haven for the Jaslip Fighters. Tune smigli still didn't do anything to stop them and the KC took over, basically.
Kevo
I don’t understand the situation with the smigli, I feel like I missed something important there
Luiz Henrique Alves
To be fair there wouldn't be a second intergalactic war if the feds didn't screw up again, also kaisal even being the "sucessor" of Isiff never was the brightest of the Arxur
Luiz Henrique Alves
Did he tho? He almost eat that hunger bullshit and almost didn't believe about prions in the ending chapters of NOP 1 when what is the hunger was explained
REDemon14
Hmm, an interesting theory
Kevo
Say what you will about the Arxur but they will never lie and come to aid you.
DemonVee
The KC is either just trying to retain their power after using the Federation as unifying threat for so long, or my previous theory about the KC being a Shadow Farsul containment policy has some merit.
REDemon14
That's true, though I feel like he could still give an order to chill things down just a bit. I do wonder how he is mentally since the revelation. He can't be too well knowing that he gave orders that killed thousands (millions by Loxsel's count) of sivkits and billions of Kolshians.
wraith dino
to be fair this jaslip extremist group did just take credit for killing a majority of the senate. I can see why the consortium's government would be a bit apprehensive about giving them spaceships. this is also told from said extremists PoV it could be that they are blowing events out of proportion or dont have the full picture, I mean the other side of this is a government who just had basically all of their leaders except notably the military one killed at once, I can see how they might have trouble dealing with things. the jaslip government - " theyre ignoring us!" the consortium - " the guy who was supposed to be handling these requests is dead and his successor is currently working on getting caught up"
wraith dino
though it is also rather tall compared to most federation species which are mostly pretty short so I could see 7 foot still being really tall by fed standards
wraith dino
I believe Radai is currently in hiding at this point, or atleast thats what I remember. Hes at threat of being assasinated by both the jaslip resistance and the KC's secret police so I can understand why he might be taking it a bit slow and carefull or else he gets blown up by a "jaslip sympathiser"
REDemon14
Happy to see that Quana has cooled off a bit after the revelation. Though it appears that the damage has been done between her and Cherise. Cherise is not ok. She may have taken the "To kill a person is to kill your own soul first" to heart. The Smigli lost their independence :( They just want to vibe, leave them be! The Resket have learned the Jaslip's tactics and the Jaslip are paying for it. Quadruped friendly snow-mobiles. That's interest-and they're gone. Probably should have hid them better. Cherise, stop trying to die. Arxur come to the rescue (again) and our boy Zefriss is leading them! I wonder where the comedic Hysran and Sociopathic Hossat are. Perhaps Raza will appear and get to speak with the Jaslip. I'd imagine most Jaslip won't be too keen with working with Arxur, but much like how humanity had to begrudgingly accept their help, the Jaslip will likely take it as well. Happy to see that (at least in Quana's mind) the UN are considered a net good due to humanity's Osir program. We like you fluffy foxes. I don't know why the KC won't let the Jaslips go. The SC-KC war is over and the federation isn't much of a threat to them anymore. I think the KC has their own Sunk Cost Fallacy going on. I figured Radai would give a "stand down" order of some kind to his men. Wonder how he's holding up. You take all the time you need to, SP. None of us mind a slower posting schedule.
John Benjamin Cate
The complications have arrived! Cherise is a death seeker, and now Quana is feeling doubts because of how eager the leader was to join the Arxur. So much fun!
DreamEnvoy
Zefriss jumping out from the yet-to-conclude miniseries to aid Jaslip terrorists. That's... unexpected. Yeah, a break between miniseries is fine. You got me excited just by mentioning Sovlin, my favorite POV character in NoP1.
Fergon
"Consortium still refused to let us leave" Did they even ask? Or did they start blowing up stuff and just assumed it was clear request?
Jagger
Confirmed: birds are government drones.
Swan
I'm more worried about if the axur can actually handle a potential two front war, and how this operation is gonna impact their chances of getting aid from the KC against the fed remnant; besides it doesn't really sound like the KC is doing a genocide, but more so just hunting down the JIB As for reasons to not let them leave, I'm guessing it comes down to wanting those who bombed the KC leaders brought to justice; though if they ain't letting civilian Jaslip leave on other planets that's certainly an issue (But one that it might be smarter to deal with later, after the fed remnant are dead, possibly together with the UN)
Assailant
Cherise: “Did someone ask for a heroic sacrifice?” Quana: “No.” Cherise: “But I wanna die!” Later Cherise: “Who wants a heroic sacrifice?” Aulan: “I’m good.” Cherise: “Why won’t you let me die?!” Zefriss my beloved. Yesssss kill the biiirrrrds Banger as always, SP. I absolutely support taking some time off between bonus chapters, even more than a day if you’d rather. When I first signed up for Patreon, I assumed it was like one side story a month, not this. Do what you gotta do.
Aerowarrier
So I know Arxur are rather tall compared to most other races but is the 7 foot point them standing upright or them hunched over in their usual pose? Cuz I could honestly see them being around the same height as the Resket if they are at 7 feet when hunched, and it would be funny to see one rear to its full height and finally make the Resket look eye to eye with an opponent rather than look down on them (cue “pick on someone your own size” cliche)
Aerowarrier
Frankly, a diplomatic approach is pointless by now. The Consortium literally had no reason to not let the Jaslips leave after learning the Feds were gone, and instead they’re trying to commit another genocide rather than just focusing on all this new information and at worst just ignoring the Jaslips exiting their alliance. Plus, the Reskets only really respond to force most of the time, and definitely wouldn’t have called back current operations during the peace talks should they have happened. By the time the Arxur could get anywhere I doubt their would be many Jaslips left tbh. The Reskets need their beaks kicked in, and its good the Arxur are here to help with the kicking
Aerowarrier
Hopefully the Jaslips will understand the lengths a species will go to in avoiding extinction, and see that this new Collective immediately destroyed Betterment as soon as they learned those lengths were not necessary. The Arxur need another ally that understands them like the Yotul do, someone else who knows the desperation of their circumstances, and the Jaslips should get it
TheBlack2007
Didn’t he already make some good progress on that front on top of sorting out his prejudice and shedding his fed-brained mindset as NoP1 went on? Probably hinges on whether or not he picked Therapy back up after the war ended. Hunter probably isn’t a good influence on that front since people in the 1960s were still pretty backwards on that whole mental health thing - and I would take a gambit and say the same goes for Vysith.
Swan
Do take a break after the mini series if you need it; last thing we want is for you to burn out SP. Kaisal "intervention" went better then expected tbh; the axur ain't pissing the entire consortium off all at once, and might even have an ally in the Smiglis (Assuming they gave permission for the axur to intervene). I doubt the Reskets are gonna be particularity pleased with them though, unless Zefriss managed to evade detection completely (Still think it'd be better to do a diplomatic approach first tho) Great chapter as all ways :)
Heroman3003
Break between the miniseries sounds like something I'd expect, you insane writer man. It's perfectly fine to both give yourself more time to write and let the readers process the previous series' end before going into the new one~
Elliott
"No guys listen the Arxur aren't a threat anymore they should be let out of quarantine!" Literal days after breaking out and starting a second intergalactic race war: "So how yall feel about terrorists?"
Logos
It would be interesting to see if Sovlin's PTSD has improved at all under human care, ketamine treatments and all. It'll be cool to see what he's up to, if he's having fun on Earth, if his living situation is still the same, things like that.
Daniel Slivers
Zefriss returns before his series even ends!
Sroni
Now that was unexpected.
Jhon Bustamante
silencio empezo mi novela
