spacepaladin15
patreon
The Nature of Predators 166
🕑 Added 2023-11-02 11:00:04 +0000 UTCMemory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist
Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137
After my wishing for the Kolshians to face steep retribution for everything they’d done to Leirn, it turned out there was no need to prompt humanity to begin bombing. The Duerten Shield had been eager to obliterate anything housing life on Caato’s surface. Watching the settlements vanish beneath a fiery glow, visible from space, did nothing to temper my rage. It didn’t give me back the twenty years of my existence spent in a neurochemical haze, because I had predator disease. The Terrans seemed no more pleased than I was, and Sovlin’s face showed a mixture of horror and concern.
Chewing on his reaction for a few seconds, I believed the old Gojid was worried about how the humans would respond to the Duerten’s bombing endeavor. Tyler had spelled out the UN’s intentions to end the cycle of violence, and not to become like other murderous factions in our neck of galaxy. I respected the Terrans enough to heed their direction; without the Earthlings’ arrival, Leirn would still be overrun by Federation colonizers today. In my heart, I felt that the Kolshians needed to pay for the millions—billions of lives—they genocided through their tenure. Yet a coldness gripped me as I realized how easy it was to kill an entire populace.
This is what it means to wipe the Feds out once and for all, the reality I’d wished I could bring about. When Tyler said I think life means something, he wasn’t wrong. This feels no better than watching all the things they did to us.
The Duerten ships veered away from the surface, knowing the life-facilitating habitats weren’t able to withstand a dose of antimatter. As if they’d never gone astray, the birds rejoined Terran and Sapient Coalition forces in cleaning up the last Kolshians in the systems. I forwarded a final target for us to pick off in a fog, still reeling from the suddenness of the bombing. My concerns regarding the Duerten had been about how effective they’d be in the thick of combat, but now, I was worried about how much they’d lash out due to their “cornered animal” mentality. It wasn’t out of the question that they’d turn their guns on us within their rage—not dissimilar to how years of bottled anger led me to behave in explosive fashion at times.
The humans needed to handle the situation delicately. I wasn’t sure how the primates might go about getting us and the Duerten on the same page. As the last active foes by Caato were picked off, the Terrans decided it was an appropriate time to break our silence. I could see a brief discussion between our officers, as the rest of the crew moved ahead with battle plans as though nothing was wrong. Navigations pulled us closer to the herd-like cluster of Shield and Coalition vessels, and synced us with their vector toward Aafa itself: the prize of the system.
Captain Monahan stewed by her station, scowling at the viewport. “Hail the Duerten Shield, yesterday! They’re not going to launch an orbital raid over Aafa—especially not with our boots on the ground!”
“If I may, sir,” I began, swiveling my ears toward Tyler, “the Sapient Coalition doesn’t seem to have any objections over what the Duerten did to Caato. Your allies…won’t challenge you, but they think that bombing was justified.”
The blond human pursed his lips. “We know they’re angry about their entire lives and societies being a lie. I know that you’re angry about them stomping out the Yotul spirit for decades. But those people had nothing to do with that, and that’s a damn straight fact.”
“I know. It kind of…hit me, that everyone down there was just dead, in an instant. Even if the Kolshians deserve it, it’s terrifying to be the arbiters of which civilizations live and which ones die. Humans don’t want to set the precedent of who you chose not to save.”
“When you stop believing your enemies are people, that opens the door to monstrous acts,” Carlos agreed. “Humanity is making a conscious choice to care about all life, even when it feels impossible to do so.”
Samantha snorted. “All life. I don’t see how we ever fix this authoritarian clusterfuck. Besides, I have as much sympathy for Caato as they had for Melbourne, which is zero. But since we saved their asses, the Duerten have no right to show up, circumvent our wishes, and give us the runaround.”
“Well, they did,” Sovlin grumbled. “Ons—the atavist is right. Your allies agree with them, not you, and infighting would fuck us over. Tread carefully with that rebuke.”
Tyler heaved a weary sigh. “Not my department. My job is to make sure whatever goes down, we keep an eye on it. We’ll see what the captain says and provide support accordingly.”
Monahan’s hail had gone unanswered for several minutes, a sign that the Duerten weren’t eager to give humanity an account for their actions. I tried not to fixate on the outstanding call. Even if tensions erupted within our own ranks, it would still be vital for me to have a full picture of what was happening throughout the system. My gaze filtered down to the sensors screen, where I could gauge the success of our other group; Yotul Technocracy ships and UN drones had kept pace with Ilthiss, gunning into the asteroid belt. The shadow fleet had taken up positions there to utilize terrain to their advantage, and it seemed our Arxur allies had reenacted their reckless strategy from the gas giant.
The Chief Hunter sacrificed thousands of his vessels again on a headlong charge; the particle beam-armed ships accompanying him were the ones who had the Commonwealth’s number. The Arxur reinforcements were still afloat with about fifteen thousand ships, while the Technocracy and UN top artillery were reigning supreme in this conflict. My team engaging the Kolshians’ second-rate ships here allowed our heavy hitters to demolish their secret arsenal without distractions. When our forces joined up to storm Aafa, we’d make it a grueling challenge for the Federation to defend their core world. The enemy hadn’t whittled us down along the way as much as they hoped.
The only thing that could fuck this up is if we get into it with the Duerten, right before the final stage. We need unity, so I hope Monahan will be pragmatic. That’s assuming the Shield answer?
After several minutes of waiting, the same Duerten commander from earlier appeared. “What is it you want, human? You said we can choose our role, and we chose what we came here for. Do we have a problem?”
“Easy. I wished to coordinate our plans for taking Aafa, without using an intermediary. We’re not enemies, so we need to be on the same page,” Monahan said.
“For a predator, you show zero appreciation for a display of violence. Your SC friends tell me we’re not on the same page, at all. And also, you let us take charge at Caato, just to bump us when we get to the main event? Nice try.”
“Duerten commander, this isn’t a contest. This is about the fate of both of our people, and for that matter, all intelligent life in a thousand-light year radius. I heard what you said about being angry, and coming here to dish out violence. I assure you that humanity understands, appreciates, and empathizes with your feelings. We know you’re hurting, but I know we both agree that we have to win this battle. Us being divided or miscommunicating could spell disaster for our chances.”
“We’re not divided, unless you try to stop us from finishing the job! If you truly grasped how we feel about the billions of our own lying dead, there would be nothing to talk about. Don’t pretend you aren’t about to plead for us not to bomb those soulless bastards.”
“I’m pleading for you to stay your explosives long enough for us to have a mutual discussion on what to do with Aafa. And most importantly, for humanity to head to the surface and gather information to ensure the Kolshians become a non-factor in the galaxy. Please, listen to my next words: we know very little about the shadow caste. We want to know their motives for starting this entire cycle of hatred, so we can have closure for Earth. If you’re truly grateful for our help in saving Kalqua, you’ll let us have that.”
The Duerten’s beak parted in confusion. “You’d go to all the trouble of landing, risking human lives, and merely delaying what we plan to do…for information on why they did it?”
“It’s beyond the why. The practical reason is one I think you’ll agree with. Our lack of information on the shadow caste means we have no idea where they hid. It could be on another planet far-off, perhaps even in a system belonging to you or one of your allies. It could be under the very oceans of Aafa, like the Archives were; if we don’t find out the truth, those bombs could miss the people who are undeniably responsible for what was done to you. We succeed by doing this by the book, and without letting our emotions cloud our judgment. Trust us to be predators, and hunt every Kolshian conspirator down.”
“You will share your findings with us, and not omit anything for your own purposes?”
“We are not the ones who hide our true intentions. I see no reason we can’t work in harmony, to dig up any other dirty secrets the Kolshians might have that will threaten us all. What do you say?”
The gray avian was silent for long, brooding seconds. “Assuming you can get unequivocal command of Aafa, I’ll have my fleet hold their fire. If things go astray or it looks like we might be losing the fight, we’re glassing as many cities on that blighted rock as we can.”
“Then let’s make sure we win,” Monahan declared. “Take care of yourself, Commander. I…I hope this is the start of better relations between our species. And I hope that you can find peace, someday.”
“Hmph. I hope that you find the closure you’re looking for, human. Good luck.”
The Duerten commander vanished from the screen, and our captain’s face lit up with visible relief. Persuading the Shield to let us land bought us some time, without worrying about the first bombs landing as our soldiers touched down. On a personal level, it allowed Tyler and I to accomplish the mission that brought us away from our easy assignments in the first place—finding out what the Kolshians had done to Slanek. Perhaps that mystery would overlap with the broad answers the United Nations was seeking out. Even when I felt certain that Aafa’s glassing was the optimal outcome, I’d wanted to help my best friend first.
With a temporary solution to our internal disagreements, that eliminated one hurdle to taking the Kolshian homeworld. I tried to wipe what happened on Caato from my mind, and focus on what was ahead of us. The entirety of the Terrans’ efforts since first contact led to this moment. The Duerten Shield and Sapient Coalition fanned out, while we maneuvered to the heart of the formation; meanwhile, Yotul Technocracy, Terran drones, and Arxur allies took up angles from opposite headings. Our collection of ships was forming a net that encircled Aafa, merging into a cohesive unit that’d swallow the planet’s defenses from all sides.
I pivoted our viewport onto the luscious world, a series of faint violets and greens dotting the continents from native vegetation. City lights were more prolific on Aafa’s form than the electric glimmers on Caato, while the oceans were unbroken swaths of blue. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the shadow fleet planted its cities beneath the waves, where no one would ever look. The Kolshians’ ectolan ancestors had aquatic origins, and as the Thafki proved, species who were drawn to water never truly lost that itch. Whatever secrets were hiding down there, we needed to steamroll the hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth ships above it to find them. Now was not the time for any missteps.
Tyler cleared his throat. “You see the planetary defenses on the lunar satellite? Those are gonna prevent us from getting close enough to Aafa for a landing or an airdrop, and they’re gonna be a massive problem for our ships. It’ll be a bloodbath to get a clean angle to take them all out from above, ‘cause they got a fuck ton of outposts.”
“We understand from the crew briefing,” I replied. “Secretary-General Zhao’s drawn comparisons to Normandy, an amphibious assault where, according to my research, one coalition stormed a desired target’s beaches to take them over. We want to overrun the Kolshian planetary defenses and claim them for ourselves.”
“Yes, precisely. If we can turn their own powerful lasers and ground-based artillery on the shadow fleet, it’ll give us a massive boost. As an officer of this ship, I have no intention of volunteering for this mission; infantry and security personnel have been assigned from our vessel, and many others. But if anyone does feel their skillset fits a job like this, I’m giving you the opportunity to join the landing party in the hangar bay.”
“Fuck no…sir. I’m staying with you.”
“Good. After the boarding incident, you’re sticking with me whether you want to or not. That prompt was mainly directed at Harris and Romero.”
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “What, because we’re foot soldiers who got stuck being Baldy’s watchdogs?”
“Pretty sure that’s why Officer Cardona asked us. We stormed the Archives and that Arxur cattle ship, and we’re the most qualified ones at this station,” Carlos sighed.
“Qualified ones to pad the canon fodder. Also able to shoot a gun and clear a building, unlike the Feddies. You know what, fuck it, I’m in. Might be the only place the damn UN lets me shoot at those Kolshian dickwads.”
“You’re truly eloquent, Sam. A way with words.”
“I’m going to get the job done. I don’t hear you volunteering to leave this cozy ship.”
“I’m in if you are, you absolute psycho. Let’s gear up and head to the hangar—”
Sovlin swatted Carlos with the blunt side of his claws. “Wait for me. None of you even asked me, after the three of us have been through several gunfights together.”
“Whoa, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Tyler protested. “Are you…sure? It involves a spacedrop: you know, jumping out of this ship. Also a jump where you’ll be far back enough to need the use of jet thrusters ‘til you’re within lunar gravity range.”
“What?! You want to pull the crazy shit you did on the cradle, but from space?”
“And while dropping military rovers too. I’m glad you’re getting the picture—”
“So let’s skip to the part where Baldy wimps out and says a tearful goodbye,” Samantha interjected.
“Fuck you! I don’t like the idea at all, but if you can do it, so can I.” The Gojid’s remaining spines bristled, tipping off his fear. “Who flew the shuttle down to Sillis, pushing it harrowingly close to its breaking point?”
“Yeah, but you also freaked out when the aerosub started sinking on Talsk.”
“That was water. I don’t know if you know this, Sam, but that’s different from land. There’s no water on the stupid hunk of rock there. As long as you’re not crashing this moon into a planet, we’re good.”
Tyler hesitated. “You are qualified infantry, but aliens just don’t have the training for orbital drops. However, if you want to hurl yourself into the line of fire, I won’t stand in your way. Tag along with Harris and Romero if you’re sure.”
“Sure as can be. They’re not getting rid of me.”
“Pfft, great. Still stuck babysitting the war criminal with spikes that could poke my eyes out,” Sam lamented, though I caught the teasing lilt in her voice.
“That’s right, my remaining spikes could poke your ugly-ass eyes out, so you better be nicer! Let’s move.”
The trio vacated the bridge, leaving Tyler and I to man the sensors station during the crucial battle. When I proved myself more than capable of supplying tactical insight in Sovlin’s absence, it would be difficult for the Gojid to use racist perjoratives toward my capabilities. I centered the viewport on the Kolshian and Dominion ships between us and the lunar satellite, while also setting my filters to watch for any planetary defense lasers vectoring toward us. Our goal was to get the infantry that would be storming the enemy fortifications as close to the target as possible. It was also preferable that they didn’t deploy right in the middle of a plasma beam contest.
I ran a hasty analysis on the makeup of the first ships we’d be facing; pinpointing enemy weaknesses required knowledge of what we were up against. The shadow fleet had staked a massive claim within Aafa’s bounds, while the Dominion also had camped eye-popping numbers by the target. It was a little surprising that the Arxur captains had been dissuaded from dropping a few bombs on the Kolshians, with their cruelty-centric culture. Furthermore, of the hundreds of thousands of craft here for the final stand, very few were manned Commonwealth vessels. Most of the public military appeared to have been sacrificed along the route.
“Among the Aafa-based ships marked as ‘hostiles’, very few appeared to be manned, sir,” I informed Tyler. “I will just bring your attention to the contacts designated civilian: standard evac transports. Out ahead of the front lines, and the only manned ships that I can see.”
The human nodded. “How many souls aboard?”
“Hundreds. No sign of weapons on board or anything anomalous. They are flying straight toward us, but we’re also blocking all the ways out of the system. Assuming you don’t want them blown up, you might want to direct the Duerten away from their flight path.”
“Understood. I do wonder why they didn’t evacuate civilians sooner. They’ve known we’re coming for weeks. Sure, they’re arrogant, but there had to have been some civvies who wanted to get out when they heard the flesh-eating predators were coming.”
I tilted my head in befuddlement. “Um, I do think some of the populace would’ve wanted to leave with advance warning. The only thing I can come up with is that they didn’t tell them ahead of time?”
“That…is a reason. The squids sure do like keeping their control, and not giving people the option to leave…could be part arrogance and part tyranny. I dunno, but we ain’t gonna shoot evac shuttles.”
“The Duerten might want to. It was done to their civilians, trying to leave Kalqua. They only agreed to spare Aafa so humanity could eradicate the shadow caste.”
“I heard you, Onso. Plus, I get that those fuckers might’ve sent the evac ships up now, so we have to fight around the civvies to get to the military targets. I’ll notify the captain, and we’ll get our SC pals to quietly push the Shield as far away from those transports as possible.”
“Okay. I’ll keep an eye on their path, so weapons knows where they are.”
The blond officer strode off to confer with Captain Monahan, while I mulled over the circumstances on the battlefield. Within the hour, we’d be squaring off for our first engagement near Aafa; the civilian ships were an unwelcome variable, and the Terrans were too honorable to take them out of the equation. It was important to determine why the evac shuttles had been held back until now, before they complicated a testing battle even further. The humans hadn’t expected the Kolshians to fight clean, so it was possible the hostiles meant to sacrifice their own non-combatants or use them as living shields.
Solidifying our understanding of Aafa’s motives for this launch timing could be necessary to stave off any dirty tricks they had in mind. I hoped humanity wouldn’t be forced to make the decision between innocents and victory, but I knew they were willing to do whatever it took to end the war.
A/N - Chapter 166! Humanity manages to persuade the Duerten not to glass Aafa, at least until they go after the shadow fleet's secrets, while Onso realizes he doesn't feel good about what happened to Caato. After making peace with their allies, it's time to move to Aafa, where hundreds of thousands of top-tier enemies await; there's also something not quite right about when the evac ships were sent up. Why do you think the evac shuttles were held back until now? Do you agree with how the UN played the Duerten...and do you think they can triumph against the shadow fleet, at the final encounter?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
Cooldude101011
I am very late to this but yeah, I think the Normandy comparison is apt, though Iwo Jima or Okinawa may fit better. Actually, landing on Aafa itself would be “Okinawa 2 electric boogaloo”. As they probably have a similar defensive plan to Ketsu-Go (the WW2 Japanese plan for the defence of the home islands). Absolute bloodbath Oh also, those civilian evac shuttles? I’m betting that at least some of them are kamikaze
PhycoKrusk
He watched his daughter get eaten alive while she begged for him to save her. Whatever happens, it's not going to be worse than that. Probably.
pogman
Nobody expected Normandy 2 to be in space. Also I hope Sovlin doesn't get traumatized again from the bloodbath that will ensue, Normandy is well known for fucking up everybody's who was involved lives, literally and mentally
Fallen Snow
Calling it, suicide civvies and a trapped planet set to explode
