The Nature of Predators - Sovlin’s Transcript (5/13)

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Memory transcription subject: Rumi, Federation Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: September 28, 2136

To say that the bridge crew didn’t know how to respond to what happened would be an understatement. There was a feeling of complete and utter shock after what we had just witnessed, but I had noticed that amid his miraculous change of heart. It was so quiet that we could’ve heard a quill drop. Our commanding officer had just left, and while he wanted Recel to take over in our stead, the Kolshian wasn’t here. There was only Doctor Zarn, a joke of a first officer, or giving a massive promotion to someone like weapons officer Jemic. We’d watched as Sovlin tore off to the hangar bay and launched a shuttle in a manic fit. I remembered the shattered look on the captain’s face, all composure gone. This could’ve been excused as tears for the Cradle, were it not for what he said.

I had lost all motivation to persist in my duties, after Zarn informed us that the Arxur showed up on the humans’ heels to ravage our world; the Gojids living there, including my large extended family, were ripe for the predators to snatch. While I’d been plagued with pity for the Terrans after hearing that radio conversation, now I felt like a fool. Sovlin had been right all along about what they would do to a vulnerable civilian world. When they spared that medical ship amid a heated battle for the Gojid outposts, I was certain that they were…different; that the humans never meant to attack civilians. The second they heard that doctors were heading in to save lives, the beasts had pulled away from the attack.

“What could they possibly gain?” Even Sovlin struggled to find an answer for that. If it was to trick people like me and the Venlil, then…

I couldn’t believe I had challenged the set-in-stone facts and piped up with such adamance on the predators’ behalf. I’d legitimately thought that hunters wanted peace, and that we could strike up a civil conversation with them. There had been something about that chatter that made me feel that we were the bad guys, being unfair to them; the way they’d said that we wouldn’t hesitate to destroy their cities had triggered my pity. The Terrans spoke like they wanted to fight the Arxur—and here they were buddying up with them now! I didn’t know how I could’ve believed something that looked so evil, something which had inclinations that had clearly met the parameters for malevolence.

Even when the humans attacked us, I’d thought it might have been in self-defense, like they said on the radio chatter. That border outpost battle lived in my head rent-free. There had been a lot of fiery words spat at me, and shame quivered through my quills at the thought that I suggested for us to stand down: to welcome this. I’d known in my heart, because when the captain suggested to fly a shuttle over and talk to the predators, I never would’ve dreamed of doing that. Sitting across from a creature that looked like them and ate what they ate was unthinkable, which was my one hope that I didn’t have any form of predator disease. I was just…stupid, and would’ve sacrificed the cradle.

Sovlin’s reply that truly damned me for my insubordination, when I played it back, was that the Federation would’ve found evidence to support sparing the humans…if they had any redeeming attributes. There wasn’t any, certainly not with what we saw happen to the cradle. So what had the captain seen that changed his mind about humans? What exactly could they have done that overwrote all of the ongoing horrors? All of us hadn’t received word from home in days, since we were banished by Piri herself after Sovlin kept pushing to bomb our world. Had we known the Arxur were coming to collect, perhaps she would’ve authorized such a scheme.

“Why would Sovlin suddenly recognize humans as sapient?” While others murmured with uncertainty, I fiddled with the comms station where the message had come in. Despite knowing that I didn’t have clearance, I had to see what Prime Minister Piri had sent us. “We all deserve to know what’s happened to the cradle, and our families.”

Jemic and several other crew members noticed what I was doing, but they crowded around rather than trying to stop me; we all wanted an explanation for Sovlin going off the deep end, exonerating Recel for releasing Marcel on account of ethical standards, then erratically turning himself in to the predators. It had to be suicidal to go to Earth as a prey creature, let alone one who had done what the captain did. Doctor Zarn was the only one protesting us watching the footage, though the Takkan didn’t have much credibility as a first officer. I began to wonder if his version of events wasn’t the whole truth, though perhaps that was my desperation not to be wrong. 

I don’t want more heartless monsters out there to finish us off. It’s too much to believe that the humans are just manipulative bastards out to kill us all, even when that’s what makes sense.

“The Arxur!” Jemic cried, alongside distressed wails of the many crew members struggling to comfort each other. On screen, I could see the grays’ bombs falling, and graphic footage of one gnawing on a child’s arm like it was a root vegetable. “It’s true. They must have gotten m-millions with the humans’ help.”

As if to deny the assertion, one of the unfurred primates tackled the gray away on video; that was the point where I sat up in shock. What was the human doing: fighting over a kill? The look on the Terran’s face was monstrous and diabolical, contorted in a snarl that could’ve chilled a glacier. The creature didn’t seem to have any intention of keeping the kid; while its veins popped and its skin reddened in a palpable expression of rage, it shouted at the child to run. What reckless, fearless abandon; the display terrified me! Yet as my quills bristled at the gut-twisting face…

“No predator fighting over p-prey would encourage their catch to escape,” I stammered. “They care…after everything!”

I watched in horror as the Arxur chomped into the human’s midsection; for all of that bravado, they were much weaker predators, and a single knife was all that stood between the primate and death. The child was unmoving, which left that sacrifice—for us, his enemies—in vain. The gray would finish up with the Terran and have its meal. The simian’s blood pooled into the silvery maw, the appetizer before consuming the helpless kid, but that was when the rest of his pack arrived. These flimsier hunters cooperated with one another, differentiating them from the grays. The posse encircled the Gojid youngling and hurried them back with haste, managing not to drool despite the blood and exposed tendons in their faces.

The scene was just the first of many daring and heroic issues, a pattern which suggested a latent nurturing instincts for children. I didn’t know what they possibly could have done beyond delaying the inevitable with the Arxur raid, or how they’d handle prey at their mercy if they did get Gojids off-world. Predators didn’t sacrifice themselves in a hopeless battle for bloodlust, though. They’d given their lives to save us, which, as the radio chatter pointed out, meant so little to us.

I thought about Sovlin’s advice from earlier, telling me how if I wanted to speak to a human, to get on a shuttle and sit down across from the predators. That was what the captain had done himself; I couldn’t imagine how he felt giving himself over to them, but even he saw the truth. The Terrans deserved a chance, and while I wouldn’t be able to fly anything out of the hangar bay now, I was going to find a way to talk with the monsters who fought tooth and nail for the cradle. This all could have been avoided if we just listened to what the primates were saying all along.

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: October 1, 2136

Had it not been for an errant thought and Zarn’s subsequent intervention, I would be dead right now. It would’ve been easy for fate to go the other way. Protector knows, I’d welcome my nonexistence at this time. All I wanted was to turn this shuttle around and fly far away from a world of predators, who would exercise total control over my most basic needs. There was zero longing in my heart to be anywhere near humanity, but I’d be viewing them up-close-and-personal for the rest of my miserable life. This was a nightmare: accepting this fate spelled physical and mental anguish. 

I thought how I’d felt standing over Marcel, in total control…I’d treated him horribly. Maybe my feelings of primal terror had been mirrored in his own, as I toyed with him and planned to blow his brains out to get him off my ship. For all the fear of predators, I had been the one who hurt him. If wild beasts deserved exterminator fire, surely my actions merited a figurative immolation. All I could feel was dread and overwhelming terror, as I crossed the boundary of their solar system and was clipped by FTL disruptors. I was letting myself get captured by flesh-eating hunters. Had I gone mad?!

Justice is the only way you can atone for what you’ve done. You saw what the humans did on the cradle, and that they stood against the Arxur. Beastly, violent creatures with wild instincts or not, they protected children like Hania and paid the ultimate price. You took joy in hurting them.

“You must be very, very lost,” a growling voice said over a hail, after I forced myself to accept their call. The throaty sound was like running claw swipes within my bone marrow. “What is an unidentified Gojid shuttle doing in human space?”

A sea of warships surrounded me in short order, showing just how militarized and trigger-happy these predators were. I dipped my head and swallowed, half-hoping that they would vaporize me when I told them the truth. It took immense strength to even form the words in my mind, with the current of fear. The Terrans seemed to be going easy on me, by not using a video feed, but their sonorous register jostled something within my soul. How could I live around an entire populace of those things?

[Transcript date changed to May 6, 2151]

I’d felt self-conscious entering the illustrious office building in downtown Seattle with Tyler, where I was told that Rumi worked with Terra Technologies on their deep-space messaging network. The Gojid had agreed to meet with us for lunch, if we came to pick him up; it was a bit reassuring to hear the inquisitive comms technician had ended up working on Earth. He was the only one with the gall to stand up to me, and who saw the truth about humans. 

While I wanted to clear the air between us, Tyler and I had to ride up to the 16th floor to reach him. I swore the elevator had to stop to pick more humans up on every single level, crowding in so closed that I was squished against the back corner. It was bad enough to have a Terran whose deodorant wasn’t cutting it breathing down my neck—and that was just Tyler.

“Yeah, why don’t you all just come in the fucking elevator?” I spat at the businesspeople in their pressed suits. Humans. “There’ll never be another one. It wasn’t like I was already bumping elbows with you greasy predators.”

The p-word caused several heads to snap toward me—a distinctly human expression—and one employee gave me a shocked look. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Where the fuck do you think I can go with a walker?!”

“He’s senile, dude, sorry. We just took him out of the nursing home,” Tyler placated. “You know how dementia patients can get aggressive and say…inappropriate words. It’s how he grew up.”

“That is not true! I’m not that old, and if I reverted back to how I grew up, I’d be scared of your ugly eyes. But no, I’m just scared of your utter lack of social awareness and your impatience. Back in my day, you people still helped the infirm! Get your hands off my walker!”

“There’s nowhere to go,” the offending Terran protested, as she’d leaned over my mobility aid to try to make room. “What is wrong with you?”

“Terra Technologies—your company—read my mind! You should know.”

Tyler patted the bald spot on my back, breathing a sigh of relief when the elevator dinged. “A-ha! That’s our floor. Sorry, everyone. Just let him through.”

I waded through the sea of predators, and curled my lip at several of them in judgment. It was a miracle that Rumi had stayed with the humans, if he worked in this place. Through my grouchiness, I could feel queasiness in my stomach. This would be the first time I’d seen any of my old crew since I sprinted off of my ship, almost fifteen years ago. Addressing the lingering guilt I had on this issue might help me bury the Federation part of my life for good.

[Transcript date changed to October 1, 2136]

The predator was still waiting for an answer on my identity, so with a heavy heart, I forced myself to supply the truth. I was ashamed of who I was, and they had every right to be livid with me—to seek revenge. The cradle might still be alive had I spoken with their kind earlier.

“I’m C-Captain Sovlin,” I answered. “S-surrendering for…torturing a human. D-denying your personhood.”

“You.” Any trace of warmth in the Terran’s voice evaporated, and he turned on his camera with a bone-chilling scowl. The warships’ demeanors changed, becoming more aggressive and increasing the number of target locks as they closed in on me. “We accept your surrender. Power all systems off, and you will be taken into custody.”

My breath hitched staring at the repugnant face on the camera, with eyes that looked like he wanted to squeeze every drop of blood from my body himself. It was a good thing that I hadn’t let Rumi subject himself to these. Perhaps humans didn’t deserve to die or languish in agony, but this was the most horrific cranial arrangement nature could’ve ever spit out. My mind was in denial that “people” that looked like this—monstrous, barbaric predators—were all I would see; this species would be my sole company. There would be nothing good in my life from now on, except to savor any small mercy borne of their empathy.

The fact remains of the abhorrent thing that they definitively are: Flesh-eaters. My surrender will be the perfect opportunity to finally relieve their instincts, without any empathetic guilt over hurting innocent people. What if this thing is hungry now?

I shut down all systems as soon as my brain kicked into gear, and breathed a sigh of relief when that switched off the video feed. Every bristle stood upright on my spine, with fear causing spasms within my heart. The predator spacecraft closed in, not giving me the easy way out; they knew that would be too easy for someone as wretched as me. I could feel one dock against the shuttle, before a noxious gas filtered through the ventilation shaft. I didn’t fight the chemicals knocking me out, accepting that my life was going to be very different the next time I opened my eyes.

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A/N - Part 5! We see how Sovlin’s crew reacted to their captain’s sudden departure and change of heart, as well as the reaction to Terran heroism on the cradle. Rumi realizes that it was not the way Zarn phrased it at all, after feeling like a fool for believing us, and decides he does want to contact humans. Sovlin, meanwhile, is terrified entering the Sol system, and can’t imagine only seeing humans for the rest of his life. This is juxtaposed with his irreverent behavior in an office building, as he locates Rumi in 2151 working for Terra Technologies.

How do you think that Rumi will react to seeing Sovlin, from what we heard him say about the captain and his agreement to go to lunch? How do you think our comms tech winds up contacting humans for the first time, and in the present day, working on Earth?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!