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The Nature of Predators 79
🕑 Added 2023-01-03 12:01:00 +0000 UTCMemory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic
Date [standardized human time]: November 29, 2136
Venlil resources were spread thin, with millions of rescues taxing our resources. Volunteers worked to exhaustion, and human refugees chipped in as much as anyone. The predators’ assistance was appreciated, but we had to monitor their interactions with the former cattle. I was certain they didn’t mean any harm. However, the primates often didn’t realize how terrifying their basic mannerisms could be.
All it took was one Terran reacting with aggression, or lifting their mask at the wrong time. If their secret got out within this facility, I could imagine how the rescues would take the news. Would a former exterminator like Glim accept that our closest ally was a predator race? Could Haysi grasp the Federation’s misdeeds, after studying our idyllic relations in history?
Hey, just so you know, one of every ten races are flesh-eaters, I imagined myself saying. Oh, and our neighbors are predators; we’re allied in their war against the Federation. With the Arxur too.
This was a delicate situation, regardless of outside intervention. A large chunk of these Venlil were raised in captivity, and lacked any understanding of our modern society. Their language and higher thinking functions were rudimentary at best. The Arxur hadn’t exposed them to other aliens, or offered any welfare services.
“Governor? It’s your move,” Sara said.
Haysi was laying on her stomach, inspecting the “Jenga” tower. The former historian had come out of her shell; it was good to see her taking an interest in the Terrans’ culture. Noah and Sara kept their answers vague, which failed to sate her curiosity. The humans brought this block game with them today, and used it as an introduction to their recreation.
My claw tapped a loose piece near the center, and I coaxed it out of its spot. The tower quivered a bit, which sparked my nerves. The Venlil rescues leaned in with interest, alertness in their eyes. Satisfied that the structure would hold, I set the plank atop it.
Noah rubbed his hands together. “Wonderfully done. My turn!”
“Dear stars!” Glim flinched back, and shot the human a wary glance. “H-how did your voice go that deep, Noah?”
“Uh, I have a bit of a cough,” the ambassador muttered, clearing his throat. “Making it very throaty; I apologize.”
Noah avoided turning toward Glim, which would indicate binocular vision. The predator’s emotions were invisible under his mask, but the Venlil exterminator’s confusion was apparent. Male humans’ speech had a growling texture, which added weight to their voices. This was in stark contrast to our squeaky pitch.
The UN ambassador jabbed his hand forward with no tact, and yanked a piece from the bottom. The Jenga tower toppled over, crashing to the floor. I suspected Noah had lost the game on purpose, to distract Glim. The astronaut excused himself, and sped out of the room. He realized how close he was to blowing his cover.
Glim tilted his head. “You Gaians are a strange species, Sara. Noah did not seem sick to me, this entire time.”
“Ah, Noah tries to play tough. I bet he’s doctored himself up on cough syrup,” the Terran scientist responded.
“Something about you bothers me. It might just be that I can’t read you. If you aren’t comfortable taking your masks off, I’d like to at least see an anatomical diagram of your species.”
“I’ll look into acquiring that for you.”
“Will you?”
“That tone. What are you implying, Glim?”
The male Venlil pinned his ears back, and swished his tail with irritation. I feared that he’d already guessed the “Gaians” were predators. However, the fact that he was irked, rather than afraid, suggested he might not have the answers yet. The former exterminator’s attitude was worsening by the day though.
It’s positive that his spirit hasn’t been crushed, but he’s becoming a problem. Maybe he needs to be isolated from humans.
“I heard from my family for the first time in years, yet you’re limiting contact to pre-recorded messages. You won’t let us watch TV for entertainment, or have access to the internet,” Glim growled. “You avoid every question we ask you. There’s something you don’t want us to know.”
Sara raised her hands. “That’s not fair—"
“This isn’t fair! I’m still in captivity in my home, here with my own people. Dodgy aliens seem to be running the show. You won’t even let us go outside to get a breath of fresh air!”
Haysi was listening in silence. “Sara. T-the museum. I w-want to…visit.”
Alarm coursed through my veins, as I knew we couldn’t honor their requests. Humans appeared in every form of media, including fiction, and were a popular subject on our internet. Outside of these walls, Glim and Haysi would encounter Terran refugees. Millions of them remained on Venlil Prime, so they could be walking around unmasked anywhere.
Sara adjusted her facial garb. “I’m sorry if you feel that our restrictions are unfair. We have no idea what your timetable is to readjust, and we’d like to take things slowly. Better safe than sorry.”
“Sensory overload might awaken negative emotions, and slow down your recovery. Discussion of the war is everywhere too,” I chimed in. “Maybe you two recover faster than others, but several of your counterparts are shattered. Our goals are set with the average Venlil in mind.”
Haysi narrowed her eyes. “H-how did you even free us anyways, Tarva? W-why would the…grays let us go?”
“The Gaians negotiated your release.”
“What could the Gaians have that t-the Arxur would want?”
“Strength,” Noah’s voice rumbled behind me. “Resources.”
Glim’s pupils snapped back to the doorway. Noah returned with a bowl of fruit, and made a point of grabbing a piece. He raised his full-face mask just enough to eat the food, though his canines were still obscured. The two Venlil studied his furless chin, and his snack choice. The exterminator seemed to relax a little.
Consuming plants should halt predator suspicions, for now. The Terran ambassador offered the fruit to the Venlil, who snagged a few pieces for themselves. He waved a berry-picking hand, and ushered the rescues back to their room. It was a clear attempt to avoid further questions; we had to find a way to give them some of what they wanted.
Haysi hugged Sara, as the scientist tucked her into bed. The female predator patted the Venlil gently, returning the affectionate gesture. The historian had no clue who her caretaker was; compassion was a trait we once reserved for prey. Until we met humans, we assumed predators were incapable of empathy.
Glim shied away, when Noah tried to adjust his blanket. The exterminator’s skeptical look had intensified, following the ambassador’s answer about the Arxur. Strength the grays would respect was something to be feared, and not a quality prey should possess. Likewise, the only resources that interested the Dominion was food.
“What d-did you mean by strength and resources?” the male rescue stuttered.
Noah withdrew to the doorway. “We defend ourselves, and we’re proactive about it. We can find a scientific solution to anything…manufacture anything, even the unsavory stuff the Arxur want.”
“The Arxur w-want cattle…to eat…and killing tools.”
“We did what was needed, to get you back. We’re going to protect the Venlil from now on.”
Haysi whined. “You c-can’t protect us from them. Nobody can. Y-you’re naïve.”
Noah shoved his hands into his pockets, but pride exuded from his posture. There was a hunter’s grace in his stride; the way he strutted, arching his spine, asserted dominance. Even with the mask on, I could sense his vicious snarl. The human wouldn’t stand for Earth’s prowess being called into question.
“Oh Haysi, we already beat the Arxur once. The Federation’s only victory, in hundreds of years, was because of us,” Noah stated. “Have some faith.”
Sara shook her head, slashing her hand in front of her throat. I scurried up to him, and tugged at his wrist. My beloved needed to adjust his behavior, because that speech wasn’t prey-like at all. Usually, Noah was more sensitive to our sensibilities. Perhaps it was Glim’s profession, goading him into boastfulness?
I dragged the human down the hallway, out of earshot of the rescues. Noah allowed himself to be maneuvered; there was no way I could move him, without his cooperation. After checking my periphery, to see if either Venlil followed us, I took a deep breath. It was important that I used a hushed voice, to avoid prying ears.
“Why would you tell them that?” I hissed. “Your species found FTL months ago, and now you’re telling them you singlehandedly defeated the Arxur. How will they conclude that primitives did that?”
Sara crossed her arms. “Tarva is right. These Venlil aren’t ready for the facts. Remember what sort of reactions we get, from normal people? The exchange programs? Aafa?”
Noah sighed, throwing his hands in the air. “Maybe we should get the truth over with, instead of dodging their questions and locking them up. Glim was an exterminator. Any deceit will make him double down on his pre-existing beliefs.”
“Hold your horses. I know they’re going to find out eventually, but they’ve been here two days. You’d be compromising the identity of all of our people.”
“Glim and Haysi are strong-willed. We could break it to them, in pieces. They deserve to know who Venlil Prime’s closest ally really is.”
“And w-who is that?” a voice squeaked behind us. “Who…are you r-really?”
The Terrans swiveled around to face Haysi, an instinctive reaction. Their uncanny tendency, to look right at a target, tipped off the historian. It was the sign of narrow vision, to snap around a full ninety degrees. I could see fear flash in her eyes. She had realized the truth, or at least part of it.
Haysi backed away, tail drooping between her legs. Sara raised her hands, and took a careful step forward. The female Venlil shrieked, before bolting down the hallway. I could hear her nails scrabbling on the tile, as she slipped in haste to get away. The sounds of crying were audible too, amidst the screams.
The poor thing just realized she hugged a predator. Oh dear.
I positioned myself in Noah’s path, stopping him from following. “Don’t chase her! You’re just going to make it worse.”
The ambassador cursed. “What do we do? We can’t just sit around. She’s going to start a panic!”
“I’ll notify the Venlil doctors, and get someone to calm her down. We should check on Glim now. He must’ve heard the commotion.”
“Yeah, Haysi wasn’t exactly subtle,” Sara said. “Come on, Noah. We don’t need both our patients freaking out.”
The humans raced back into the hospital room. Sara gasped with horror, and Noah’s breathing accelerated to a panicked pace. Catching up to the primates, I saw that both beds were empty. Haysi was obviously long gone, so our goal was to minimize the damage. Glim was nowhere to be found either, though.
The Terran astronauts started scouring the room, since we hadn’t seen the exterminator exit. They crawled on the floor, searching under the beds first. Under different circumstances, it would’ve been amusing to see a human wriggle under tight spaces. But at the moment, my sole thought was locating our Venlil charges.
My gaze landed on the walls and the ceiling, browsing for any clues. A food cart had been moved right under an air duct; the grate was pried open too. A clump of gray hair floated down onto my face, and I shouted for the humans’ attention. Glim must’ve used this passage to mount an escape.
Sara whistled. “Dang, we got a little Houdini here. If he wasn’t an exterminator, I’d be impressed.”
The predators couldn’t fit into the crawl space, and I wasn’t planning to go in there myself. We must operate under the assumption that Glim fled the premises. There was no telling where he would go, and family were his only known associates. Perhaps we should start with relatives’ residences, or extermination offices.
“We have to find Glim. He’s a danger to himself, and any human he comes across,” I said. “The world has changed since he’s been gone.”
Noah ripped his mask off. “This is a fucking disaster. It wasn’t supposed to go like this!”
“Let’s keep our heads. What’s done is done,” Sara offered. “Tarva, do you want us to call in a UN manhunt?”
“Manhunt? I thought you d-didn’t hunt sapients.”
“It’s an expression. For a search party, to capture a deviant.”
“I s-see. If you think it will bring him in safely, do it. I c-can ask the public for help too.”
Noah sighed. “That’s a good idea. We’ll do what we can. I’m sorry.”
The two predators wandered off to make calls, while I fiddled with my holopad. The hospital lockdown should have been tighter, but I never intended to imprison these people. They were supposed to be eased back into the citizenry, and learn the truth gradually.
Human volunteers had signed on to give each rescue proper care, rather than to complicate matters. Perhaps their involvement was unwise, but we couldn’t handle the cattle influx alone. It seemed like a good idea, to give the predators a worthy cause. Most Terran refugees wanted something noble to occupy their day.
The predators needed to track Glim and Haysi down, and bring them around to our side. Hopefully, in time, both Venlil would understand the humans were here to help.
A/N - Part 79 is here! Haysi figures out that Noah and Sara are predators, while Glim runs off after the suspicious answer. Is there a way to salvage the interactions? How will our two rescues react?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
