The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps

Date [standardized human time]: August 31, 2136

I don’t remember drifting off, but it was incredible that my instincts allowed it. There was no greater state of helplessness than during slumber, between diminished awareness and an inability to react to threats. I wonder if Marcel understood how deep of a display of trust it was, that I could fall asleep in his presence at all.

The human had stirred by the time I awoke, and was crouched in the corner watching me. I swished my tail at the predator, and he smiled in return. It was a sinister display, yet bearable to me because of its intention. As terrible as his physical condition was, the teeth-flashing meant he was in better spirits, and that was all that mattered.

“That head wound must be bad, if you’re willing to go near me now.” The humorous lilt had returned to Marcel’s voice, though it sounded strained. “How are you feeling?”

I pawed at the bandage. “Better. I think I can walk again.”

“Oh dear,” the human sighed. “I didn’t realize you couldn’t move. So that’s why you didn’t run away…and I guess I heard what I needed to hear yesterday. I’ve been delirious. I’m sorry.”

“No. You didn’t mishear a word, and I meant what I said. We’re in this together.”

The sound of his stomach rumbling overshadowed our conversation moments later. The gurgling persisted for several seconds, loud and insistent. Marcel’s expression morphed to embarrassment, and the hint of an apology danced in his eyes. I think he figured it’d make me uncomfortable, but it only jogged my worry for his health. No animal could survive without sustenance.

“Have they fed you at all?” I asked.

The human shook his head. “No.”

“What about water? I’m thirsty myself.”

Marcel pointed to a rusty bucket in the corner, which was about half-full with grayish liquid. The thought of lapping from that filthy container like a wild beast made me nauseous. If more time passed though, there wouldn’t be much choice. I didn’t want to take the only resource the human had, for now.

"Alright. We've got to get out of here," I said. "You think, and I'll think. We'll come up with something."

I glanced toward the glass pane, trying to figure out how to persuade the Federation officers. The captain was absent, which was a small point of relief. The ship doctor appeared to be in a heated discussion with a Kolshian male. Maybe our companionship had given them second thoughts about humans? I swiveled my ears toward them, straining to pick up their words.

Doctor Zarn raised his eye-ridges in disgust. “…more trauma. We should’ve never thrown him in there, Recel.”

“I know,” a silky voice answered. “Captain told me I could spring Slanek once the predator tries something. He just wants to scare some sense into him. Sovlin wouldn’t let it eat a pup, you know.”

“But what if it pounces on him faster than we can activate the shock collar? I can’t undo a broken neck,” Zarn argued. “Slanek needs medical attention, regardless, and I’m not going in there.”

“And what do I tell the captain?”

“Make up a story. Slanek is awake now, and the human is separated from him. This could be our only chance. We can get him to move slowly toward the exit, and fry the predator if it tries anything.”

I glowered at the observation panel. “Fuck you! I’m not going anywhere without Marcel.”

The human squinted in confusion. With his lousy ears, there was no way he could hear their hushed words. The two Federation officers shared a glance, before fixing me with patronizing looks.

“Slanek, you’re not thinking straight,” Recel hissed. “If what you say is true, the Venlil have fallen for a dreadful ruse. These humans just want you to give up our secrets. They’ll discard you as soon as they’ve drained you dry. They are not your friends.”

“That’s rich, coming from the crew that tossed me in a cage, intending for me to be attacked by a predator.”

Recel sighed. “That was Sovlin’s doing. He didn’t consult us.”

“Listen to me, Slanek. That thing is twisting your compassion against you,” Zarn pleaded. “The Arxur allowed us to uplift them, and only then did they attack. I’m sure your, um, Marcel mimics very well, but it’s not real. These humans are just playing along to their benefit.”

“You don’t think any Venlil considered that? The tests we did literally analyzed human brain activity.”

Recel blinked in confusion. “What tests?”

“Sovlin didn’t tell you?” I gasped. “Our experiments recorded how humans respond to violence, and guess what? Their brains lit up with pain. You can’t fake empathy on a biochemical level.”

The two aliens were quiet, as the weight of my revelation sunk in. I recalled my own skepticism when I first learned of the humans’ benevolence. There would always be a little voice in my head, suggesting that they wanted to hunt me. Our entire evolution hinged on avoiding predators; recognizing them as threats on sight. It wasn’t something we could unlearn.

“You’re either misinterpreting the results, or the humans altered them.” The doctor waved a paw dismissively, and eyed Marcel with undisguised loathing. “I can’t listen to this, Slanek. Not from one of our own. Perhaps by the time I get back, the first officer will have snapped some sense into you.”

As his counterpart stormed out in a rage, Recel inspected the human’s behavior with curious eyes. The grizzled veteran seemed to be the only one listening to a word I said. My disclosure seemed to affect him, since he began pacing back and forth. It violated every facet of our moral code, to treat a feeling person with such cruelty. Now was my best chance to persuade him into making Marcel’s situation more livable.

“Marcel needs to eat,” I said, trying to keep my tone calm. “He will starve if he doesn’t.”

“Why should I care?” the officer growled.

“I have no idea how long humans can live without food, but it’s not forever. What use is he to you dead? Also, it’s torture to me to watch him starve. If you won’t do it for his sake, do it for mine.”

Recel waved a grasper in frustration. “Do you really expect me to carve up an animal, and serve its flesh on a platter? Or are you saying you’d be the one to slaughter it for this… predator?”

“Humans can eat plants. In fact, Marcel only consumes vegetation. Please, if you have any decency, I beg you. Give us something. Anything.”

There was a hint of pity in his gaze, as he scanned Marcel’s visible ribs. I could tell he didn’t like seeing any creature suffer, no matter what it was. Recel fished the half-eaten remains of a purple fruit out of the waste bin, wrinkling his nose.

“I…I’m going to put this right at the door. If it so much as takes a step toward me,” the second-in-command waved the collar’s trigger. “This is all I can manage. Sovlin will notice if I take seconds from the rations.”

The door slid open with a loud creak. Recel tossed the fruit inside like it burned to the touch. I scooped it off the floor, trying to push down my revulsion at the bitemarks on its side. In his current state, I think Marcel would eat it even if it was covered in literal shit.

The human snatched the fruit from my paw without a second thought. He tore into it, wolfing it down in ravenous gulps; it was all he could do not to swallow it whole. He slumped back against the wall, quivering, and then proceeded to suck the juice off his grimy fingers.

It wasn’t anywhere close to enough to satiate the human’s appetite, or to provide adequate nutrition. But Recel was the only one to offer him so much as a morsel, so I wasn’t going to complain. Hopefully, it was enough to take the edge off of Marcel’s hunger; to ease a bit of the desperation.

“Thank you so much,” I told the first officer. “It means the world to me.”

“Yes,” Marcel rumbled. “Thank you, Recel. I am appreciative.”

Recel met the predator’s eyes, shuddering from behind the safety of the glass. My guess was that the captain gave orders not to let the human speak. However, I suspected the first officer was curious to see what the prisoner would say, and just how lucid one of his kind could be. A cuddly, furless fruit-eater didn’t seem at all like the bloodthirsty predators the Federation said they were.

“Why would you want to fight the Arxur, human?” the officer asked suddenly. “Is it to claim the galaxy as your own catch? To rid yourself of the competition?”

“The grays kill children. They eat sentients. Is that not enough reason to fight them?” Marcel rubbed the chafed skin under his collar, wincing. “Humans are lonely. We wanted to be your friends, but you all think we’re monsters.”

Recel sighed. “And what do you do to your…friends?”

“We protect them. We stand by them unconditionally. Just as we are loyal to the Venlil now.”

“How can you prove that you aren’t using them as your playthings? You’re telling me your instincts aren’t tempted at all, having a vulnerable creature like Slanek, at your mercy?”

“God no. Humans dote on animals much less cute than him, you know. Look at that adorable face! All I can think about is his safety.”

“Prove it to—”

Captain Sovlin burst into the observation room, staring daggers at his first officer. The root of his exasperation must be walking in on his subordinate, conversing with the predator.

Zarn was tailing close behind, no doubt having informed the boss about my troubling statements. The doctor had a smug look on his face.

“You’re under its spell too?” the brutish Gojid spat. “Clearly, it’s dangerous to let it start talking, if it can entrance you so easily. Anyone alone might succumb to its charm.”

The captain leaned toward Recel, and the Kolshian flinched away from his threatening scowl. Sovlin nabbed the collar’s trigger out of the officer’s tentacle. He looked at me, noting how I backed toward Marcel, and shook his head. His spines stood on edge, fully extended. It made him appear much larger than his true size.

“Get Slanek out of here, Doctor,” the leader spat. “I’ll sign off on the psychological treatments you recommended, and we’ll cure him of this delusion.”

“No!! You can’t take me away,” I snarled.

Sovlin sidled up to the cell door, and waved for me to come to him. The idea of being placed under Federation “treatments” terrified me. What if they convinced me that Marcel was evil, or erased my memories of him? A pitiful whine vibrated in my throat, and I skittered away with my tail between my legs.

The human moved forward to protect me, placing his bony form between me and the captain. How could he be worrying about me still, after all he’d been through?

“I mean it. I won’t come with you. Not willingly!” My voice shook with fear, but I managed to squeak out the words. “Why would I ever want to come with a monster like you?”

“Would you rather watch us dissect your human?” A crazed light flashed into Sovlin's eyes. It was the look of a man who was at the end of his rope. “I think it’s time we open it up. See what makes it tick.”

Terror radiated through my blood at the captain’s chilling threat. Marcel faltered in his protective stance, as he processed what was said too. The Gojid looked him right in the eyes, then jabbed a slender claw on the collar remote. The predator was down in an instant, too weakened to maintain his footing.

Sovlin advanced on his prisoner, and I tried to get in the way. He merely shoved me to the floor with a disgusted grunt.

Zarn took that as his cue to rush inside the cell, and scoop me up in his sturdy arms. Panic filled my psyche, as though it were my own life in the balance. My self-preservation instincts kicked into overdrive, filling me with a burning urge to escape. I tried to writhe out of the doctor’s grasp, to no avail.

My friend's eyes narrowed as he noticed I was gone. He struggled against the pain, propping himself onto his elbows. Sovlin’s face contorted with hatred, and he dealt a kick to the convulsing Marcel’s head. There was a sickening crack, which I recognized as the sound of bone breaking. Blood gushed from his misshapen nose like a fountain, and the human howled in agony. It was a primal cry that made my heart burn in my chest.

The captain was unrelenting in the shock’s administration, electrocuting the predator nonstop. The human’s complexion was turning bright red, and he struggled to breathe. His veins bulged against his pallid skin, and his teeth chattered in his jaw. He rolled onto his back, unable to muster any more fight.

The Gojid lowered a hindleg, right on the spot on Marcel’s ribs with the most bruising. The predator’s scream seemed to satisfy the captain.

“It’s time to end this.” Sovlin drew his sidearm and flicked off the safety. “I should’ve done this at the start, instead of wasting our oxygen prolonging its wretched life.”

Recel gaped in horror, inching out from the observation room. “Sir, we need to keep it alive. At least until we know more.”

“There’s nothing more I need to know. I want it off my ship!” the captain roared.

The first officer closed his eyes, but didn’t act to intervene. The voltage ceased as the Gojid turned his attention to his weapon. Sovlin towered over Marcel, pressing the barrel to the human’s temple. Those hazel eyes I had come to adore stared up helplessly, glassed over from pain.

There was nothing I could do as my predator friend faced his execution.