The Nature of Predators

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: October 6, 2136

The bulletproof vest afforded to me by the predators was snug around my spines, but nearly fell off my shoulders. Its shape was not designed for the rotund Gojid species. The slender curvature of the human spine was a polar opposite, evolved for grace and flexibility.

I knew the armor might save my life, but I wish I waited longer to don it. My bristles were being compressed at irritating angles, and the nearest soldiers seemed annoyed by my inability to sit still. The humans were sandwiched together in the shuttle, brushing shoulders with each other. I was glad to be at the end, so I could lean toward the wall.

Samantha traded places with Carlos halfway through the ride. She bore an obvious disdain for me, but the male guard had enough of my fidgeting. Many of the general soldiers curled their lips in contempt as well; I wasn’t winning any popularity contests with these predators. I was grateful we were only a minute out from the cattle vessel.

“Did we succeed at paralyzing the Arxur transport?” I asked the female chaperone.

Her eyelashes fluttered in annoyance. “Yes. Were you not listening to the damn announcements?”

“Relax, Sam. It was an innocent question,” Carlos sighed. “I’m sure he just zoned out.”

“You feel sorry for the racist war criminal?” a soldier called out.

I saw a few humans nod their heads in agreement, which caused me to lower my gaze. There wouldn’t be many tears shed by anyone other than the UN brass, if the Arxur gunned me down today. Not that I blamed them; an honorable death wasn’t the worst thing I could think of. Dying scared me more than death.

I wish I had a weapon, so I could actually help. I don’t want to stay back, and let them do all the fighting.

“Well, that’s great news,” I said, ignoring the jab. “Can I have a gun?”

“No,” a chorus of voices answered in unison.

I waved my claws dismissively. “Worth a shot.”

The shuttle lurched beneath my paws, and my vest pressed harder against my spines. There was going to be some light bruising tomorrow, if I lived past this battle. Our craft latched onto an Arxur wing, attaching itself to the immobilized transport. We inched forward so that our airlock stood across from theirs.

A vac-suited predator slipped into our emergency airlock, and I strained to see his movements through the window. The Terran unfurled a walkway on our side, then floated across to the Arxur vessel with a gentle push. All that tied him to us was a thin rope on his waist. He tested a red lever with a feeble hand, and confirmed that it wasn’t locked.

The human nodded to himself, and used some sort of suction technology to adhere the tunnel to the enemy ship. His feet clicked onto the ground, as the artificial gravity initiated. Once the corridor was sealed from the vacuum, he raised his thumb to the rest of us. I didn’t understand the signal, but the others took it as a go-ahead.

The UN soldiers trundled out of the ship, wielding massive rifles. While the predators possessed few natural gifts, they were saddled with a truckload of gear. Their warriors were clad head-to-toe in black armor, including a hard shell atop their heads. Once they shoved reflective goggles over their eyes, humans looked like homogenous, impassive machines.

“Stick behind us, Sovlin.” Samantha rose to her feet, falling into the rear of the pack. “We can’t leave you here to get captured. Take cover, and stay out of the way ‘til you’re needed.”

Silence fell over our entourage, as the primates crossed the cattle ship’s threshold. I couldn’t help but notice the humans’ slinking posture, as though they were stalking prey in a shaded forest. They were crouched to a fraction of their normal height, with steps that were furtive and calculated. Their guns swiveled in every direction, searching for a target to pounce on.

With a hint of reluctance, my paws followed them down the tunnel. There were some short bursts of gunfire, as they pumped a few unprepared Arxur full of lead. I suppressed a chuckle, knowing it would make me seem deranged. The enemy would raise the alarm now, but I relished that we got the drop on them.

My attention switched to the reptilian interior, taking mental notes of its facilities. The Federation would kill for intelligence like this. The atmosphere was musty, but the lighting was rich and plentiful. The hygiene of the enemy ship surprised me as well; it didn’t reek of rotten flesh or blood. I guess those savages understood basic disease transmission after all.

We followed the entryway a few hundred paces, before we reached a bend in the path. The team leader poked his head around the corner, and immediately recoiled. A barrage of bullets decimated the wall, where his shell-cap poked out moments earlier. He ducked back behind cover, hugging his weapon to his chest.

“8 or 9 hostiles arming themselves, and taking positions,” he hissed. “They’re waiting for us.”

We have more numbers than that, but the Arxur have a clear line of sight. They’re going to nail us as soon as we advance.

A human rolled a metal canister across the floor, which released a milky plume of smoke. Irritants dispersed through the hallway, and I squinted to see anything. There was no way the Arxur could determine our position, if I could barely see my claws in front of me. Shrouded in the haze of silver mist, the Terrans stepped out from behind their refuge.

The Arxur sprayed bullets in our direction, hoping to connect with something. These sounds helped the humans key in on their positions, and they spewed their own rounds back in return. Terrans seemed to fare better in low visibility, with their remarkable adaptiveness. The silhouetted movement I glimpsed in the mist suggested a few grays were hit.

As the smoke dissipated, the primates sprang toward any makeshift shelter they could find. Carlos pulled me behind a supply cart, and popped his gun over the top. Samantha sprawled on the floor beside him. Her hands were steady as she gazed down the scope, and fired at an Arxur attempting to fall back. I didn’t know the grays could retreat.

“I imagine, down that main staircase, we’ll find living quarters, the cattle pens, and the bridge,” Samantha growled. “They don’t want us to get to anything vital.”

The female human stood to get a better look, and inched forward to join another UN cluster. My eyes drifted to the Arxur she shot, who was bleeding profusely. The enemy bastard was still twitching, until another Terran soldier unloaded a clip into its head. That was overkill, but hey, I wasn’t judging.

Samantha caressed her rifle with a gloved hand, and waved for Carlos and I to follow. Hesitant as I was to move, the handful of hostile survivors were regrouping with their brethren. The Terrans blinding every combatant caught the Arxur off-guard. It forced them to make concessions, and await backup.

The grays haven’t fought a true enemy in a long time, have they? I mused. They haven’t been on the back foot for a second in this war. Our weakness has made them complacent.

There was no sound from the presumed Arxur position, and I guessed they were lying in wait. The UN contingent advanced with caution, creeping toward the stairway. Their boots glided across the metal, as light as the patter of rain. Whether they were coached by instinct, training, or generational experience, I did not know.

A grating voice rumbled over the PA. “Greetings, fellow hunters. I take it you don’t appreciate that we, ah, stole your catch.”

Several human predators startled, and their attention shifted overhead. My jaw almost dropped to the floor; the Arxur never conversed so eloquently with us. We translated their dialects at first contact, but I couldn’t remember them enunciating anything but vulgar threats in my lifetime. It was incredible that they had words for “greetings” or “appreciate.”

“We would’ve offered to split the haul, if we realized our intrusion sooner,” the Arxur continued. “You made things much easier for us, and we’re not entirely ungrateful. You already learned that Gojids make excellent slaves, judging by your companion.”

I bared my teeth, incensed that this monstrosity thought I was a human plaything. While I was a Terran prisoner, that was a far cry from servitude and degradation. There was nothing I had been forced to do; my presence on this mission was voluntary, and my treatment was fairer than I deserved.

Carlos nudged me, pointing to a blinking red light on the ceiling. There was a camera tracking our movements, and granting the enemy a full view of our advance. He raised only his middle finger, and several of his counterparts copied the gesture. I didn’t understand what that meant either, but I guessed it was something hateful.

“Go fuck yourselves!” the male guard shouted.

Probably that. Note to self.

“Ah, to be a young race again. Let’s get that aggression out of our systems. Then, after, we should pool our resources to bring the lesser species to heel.” The reptile sounded almost disappointed, as though it would enjoy a test of strength. “Anything else would be…wasteful, when our interests are aligned. As loathsome as ‘sharing’ is, there’s enough food to go around.”

Did those demons just offer to ally with humanity against the Federation?! My blood boiled at the thought. It had to be a trap, since everyone knew the Arxur were incapable of inter-species cooperation. They couldn’t get along with themselves. The grays were locked in a global bloodbath, which jeopardized their world’s survival, when we found them.

The prospect of the Terrans switching sides was unnerving, all the same. The clawless “omnivores” hadn’t been welcomed into the galaxy with open arms. The lack of clarity from our factions meant threats could still reside within the Federation. Would humans view siding with monsters as the only way to save their Earth?

Carlos gunned down the camera lens with prejudice, and answered the question for me. His knuckles were strained against the cloth coverings, from being clenched around his rifle. The soldier at the advance’s forefront raised a fist, and our posse shuffled to a halt astride of the staircase. Odds were, the enemy was gathering in the deck underneath us.

“Fire in the hole!” a human voice declared.

A UN soldier lobbed a grenade into the open area, and we watched it clatter down the incline. The resulting explosion detonated atop any Arxur in the vicinity. I heard a gurgling scream, as if shrapnel hit one of the reptiles in the throat. My predatory allies moved down the first steps, and followed it up with another explosive toss. That should be enough to get the enemy to move back.

The primates bounded down the last of the staircase, and jammed down their firing triggers. I followed Samantha’s movements, and tried to keep my head low. We took refuge behind a trash can, in what appeared to be a mess hall. There were blood-speckled trays and reading materials left abandoned on the tables.

What do you know? Eating sentients is a communal activity, I guess.

Arxur gunfire peppered the walls around us, and took down several humans. Other Terrans stepped in as soon as they saw a counterpart felled, dragging them to safety. Attempts to stymie the bleeding looked hopeless, in many cases, but their efforts were charged with emotion. It was mind-boggling how a predator’s warrior class could forge such deep bonds.

How they could even think of their fellow man, during the insanity of battle, was beyond me. The amount of Arxur tickled every flighty urge in my DNA, and overstimulation made my head swim. This wasn’t at all like my revenge fantasies. I was helpless, without any weapon, if one of them lunged at me.

I could sense several reptilian eyes on me. From their vantage point, dinner just walked in front of a firing squad. Malicious snarls sent in my direction told me what they saw in my form. The humans, for all their unwanted teeth baring, had never seemed so “distracted” by me.

“S-stay calm, Sovlin. You hate predators. You want them to burn, rot, and die in agony,” I murmured.

Samantha snorted. “Gee, thanks.”

“Not you. You’re different.”

“Whatever you—"

A stray bullet grazed the female’s headgear. She sensed it clip her cap, and fell back as a kneejerk reaction. The soldier dragged herself back up against the waste bin, with erratic breathing. After taking a moment to collect her wits, she worked to get her rifle situated.

Guilt flashed through my mind, realizing my distraction almost killed her. Calling my guards friends would be a stretch, since that required a mutual respect. But they had become familiar faces, and I didn’t wish for anything to happen to them. There had to be some way for me to help, rather than impede their progress.

Carlos was crouched a few paces deeper, using an upturned table as a shelter. Several UN soldiers were positioned there, coordinating fire. My eyes widened in alarm as I saw an Arxur duo attempting to encircle them. I shouted to warn the humans, but the deafening pops of gunfire drowned out my words.

Panic fluttered in my chest, as a reptile straightened its rifle. Sitting here and doing nothing wasn’t an option; Samantha was too rattled from her encounter to react in time. The mangled Arxur corpse, downed by a grenade at the base of the staircase, caught my eye. A crazy thought leapt into my head, as I glimpsed the bloodied gun in its grip.

“SOVLIN! What the fuck are you—" the female human began.

I dashed out behind cover, and retraced my short steps into the room. The tile was slick with blood, which made traction a struggle. Prying the firearm from the beast’s lifeless grasp, I tried to line up the shot. My heart was hammering at a million parsecs an hour, and my paws quivered too much to steady it.

The lead Arxur fired off the first shot, nailing one of Carlos’ companions in the back of the neck. The other humans whirled around, but they couldn’t react in the half-second it would take to execute them all. Gritting my teeth, I tried to lock my wrists. I released several rounds, praying I wouldn’t accidentally hit the Terrans.

Two of my five bullets nailed the first Arxur, and it crumpled to the floor. Its partner stumbled over the body, which gave the primates enough time to swivel around. An unfamiliar Terran blew its head off with panicked motions. Carlos turned his masked skull, looking for the source of the shots that saved him. His gaze faced me, as I skittered back to Samantha.

The female snatched the firearm from my grip, tucking it under her arm.

“You’re really going to take the gun away?” I groaned. “I saved…”

She offered a grudging sigh. “You saved Carlos’ life.”

“I’m good at killing…for a Gojid. Let me help, please.”

“Not a chance. Don’t even think about pulling a stunt like that again.”

I chewed at my claws, and leaned back against the wall. Several human corpses were strewn about the entry point, suggesting many hadn’t been as lucky as Carlos. These Terran soldiers were resilient, but it was evident Arxur marksmen had wicked accuracy.

About half of our active allies appeared to be nursing injuries, which spoke to an unrivaled ability to persist through pain. Then again, I couldn’t tell when crimson bloodstains were theirs, or a comrade’s. Regardless, our ranks weren't unscathed.

From what I could make out of the scenery, the grays had suffered their fair share of casualties too. Their numbers were whittled down to ten or so, by my estimation. The UN warriors were starting to gain ground, and flush the enemy out. I don’t think the reptilians were prepared to fend off a larger contingent of predators.

The hostile gunfire ceased without warning, and I tilted my head in bewilderment. A firearm skidded across the floor, followed by a series of others. A handful of Arxur rose to their full height, watching the primates’ next move.

The humans paused their barrage, suspicion glowing in their eyes. What in the name of the Protector was this?