The Nature of Predators 77

Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps

Date [standardized human time]: November 29, 2136

Dawn crept over the horizon, bringing light to Sillis’ supercontinent. Human forces milled near a water tower, which marked the border of a small settlement. Tilfish extermination officers were holding the populace hostage, and that eliminated the option of bombing this region. Our current plan was to flush the resistance out.

My heart pounded, as I rode with Marcel to the rendezvous point. The redhead had warned me that military canines were part of this operation. Fear of non-sapient predators seemed impossible to get over, but I was determined to try. Tyler had texted me videos of his dog, after the battle of Earth; it was clear the two species shared a bond.

If the awful beasts are important to humans, I have to try. Being a ghastly predator doesn’t inherently make an animal bad.

Marcel hopped out of our truck, and I bounded after him. The oxygen-rich environment helped numb my fear, which was a blessing. The dog was sitting among the UN pack, panting with its slobbery tongue. Its soulless eyes pinpointed me, and its ears perked up malevolently. That wasn’t even addressing the rotund fangs!

“Are you alright, Slanek? You look like you’re about to faint,” the vegetarian growled.

My tail drooped between my legs. “J-just…peachy.”

“He’s friendly, bud. These are the most domesticated animals on Earth. Hell, they were known as ‘man’s best friend’…before we met Venlil, of course.”

At this point, I knew the Terrans originally recruited dogs to track down prey. The non-sapients had a sublime sense of smell, but that also meant this mutt could detect my terror. Still, this introduction was something that had to be done. Marcel had to see that I accepted his hunting ancestry. Maybe it would put my predator phobia to bed for good.

I offered a silent plea to the universe, that I wouldn’t get swallowed whole. My paws carried me closer, and I focused on one step at a time. Every impulse pleaded to run, but I centered my thoughts around Marcel. This time, Slanek was not going to be a liability. If the animal went wild, the humans would protect me; it was their pet, after all.

The hideous creature eyeballed me upon approach, and I extended a shaking paw.  The monster sniffed, nostrils quivering with hunger. It opened its mouth again, and its tongue snaked toward me. Slobber coagulated on my arm fur, causing me to recoil. Its human handlers offered words of encouragement.

Marcel grinned. “See, he likes you! Want to pet him?”

I gulped, not wanting to let my human down. The terror had taken the form of a migraine; the pain was a wedge expanding beneath my eyes. The dog scrutinized me, a menacing glint in its pupils. It was sizing me up, waiting to catch me off-guard. My training taught me to ground myself, and focus on controlling my breathing.

I reached to touch its skull, and felt its coarse pelt against my paw pads. The vile predator released a guttural grunt, which reverberated in its chest. The malicious bark made me spring back, and collide with Marcel. Was the sable demon going to eat me? It must have decided I was prey!

The mongrel stood quickly, wagging its tail. It nosed around in the dirt, before grabbing a stick in its jaw. It pranced over to me, and dropped the twig at my feet. Globs of saliva foamed on the bark, which suggested it had worked up an appetite. The creature emitted a high-pitched whine, as I stared dumbfounded.

Marcel stooped over, and passed the stick to me. “Throw it. Tell Dino to fetch!”

“D-dino?” I questioned.

“That’s his name. C’mon, let the pupper have some fun!”

I made a mental note to inquire about the name’s origin later. My throw was pitiful, landing just a few feet from where we stood. Dino scampered after it, and snapped the twig off the ground. Relief flooded my chest, as I realized this was play-hunting. The game was predatory, but it meant the dog wasn’t hunting me.

However, it was a little bone-chilling, to consider why dogs would retrieve objects for humans. In the ancient days, this would’ve been a dead carcass dropped at its owner’s feet. Was it tagging along with the soldiers to hunt the Tilfish? Would it chase them down, and report back to the Terrans with the catch? All as the primates lavished it with “Good boy” praises…

“That was awesome, Slanek!” Marcel clapped me on the back. “You’d create quite the stir on our internet, if they saw this.”

“Huh. I g-guess predators…don’t eat everything in sight.”

“Do you chow down on every leaf you see? Anyhow, I want to hear you say that you’re good to come with us.”

“Where you go, I go. D-don’t worry.”

The blinders kept the dog out of my vision, as we clambered into a transport. Many humans were grinning at me, and I did my best imitation of a smile. The sight cracked the soldiers up; it was nice to lift their mood, even at my expense. Terrans didn’t snarl as much as they used to, ever since a tenth of their population was lost. No amount of Venlil ‘cuteness’ would change that reality.

Dino plopped itself beside my paws, resting its thick skull on the floor. The beast appeared tranquil, but its ears were pricked up and alert. I didn’t like its chosen proximity to me, and I found myself praying that Marcel would intervene. The vegetarian merely tousled the dog’s ears, the way he did with me. Active combat was preferable to this situation; at least I was equipped to handle that peril.

Our vehicle procession didn’t get far, since the Tilfish holdouts had anticipated UN intervention. Spikes were laid across the main road, and fallen trees had been hauled over the path as well. Side routes were jammed with barricades as well. Humans couldn’t drag those away without heavy machinery; it would take an eternity to await equipment.

It might’ve been possible to drive off-road, but footpaths had been coated in gasoline. A Tilfish could set the route ablaze, the second the UN made a move. Any open land had been accounted for as well; parks and green spaces had been flooded by local aqueducts. Even if Terran trucks could wade through the water, the muddy earth risked trapping their tires.

Marcel nudged me out of the vehicle. “Stay alert, Slanek. The exterminators left one route into the city; foot traffic across the roads.”

“There’s a trap waiting for sure. You won’t have the element of surprise,” I said.

“Thankfully, we have recon drones to scout ahead. We’re not going in dark. The dog is great at picking up explosives, too.”

Dino placed its nose on the road, sprinting ahead of the humans. I hoped the dog was running off for good. If it became a wild predator, terrorizing the local populace, maybe the Terrans would stop bringing their kind on missions. No predator soldiers made an effort to stop its departure, which suggested the mutt was more trouble than it was worth.

The UN infantry readied their weapons, and surveyed the area with alertness. I mimicked their movements, though the dwellings nearby seemed vacated. Thermal feeds were relayed to their holopads, granting us their drones’ vision. Tilfish were scattered throughout the town square, with many taking refuge in the extermination office. Judging by their location, I assumed those were hostiles.

Enemy patrols also wandered the streets, policing the citizenry. The populace was small enough to monitor, and residents had been confined to their homes. That made it easier to differentiate between combatants and hostages; it was best if the innocents remained inside. Hunting down every last hostile would be a challenge regardless, since their forces were spread out across the landscape.

I trundled ahead, jogging to match the humans’ pace. We weaved around the obstacles placed in our path, and climbed over a few lengthier objects. The persistence predators were tireless as they moved, but my body ached from the strenuous activity. I noticed Marcel favoring the leg he’d been shot in, so I decided not to ask for a ride.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Marcel gritted his teeth. “My conditioning’s not…peak, after being injured for months. Recovering from Sovlin’s fun room was hard enough. Gotta get my fitness back up…rebuild strength in this leg.”

“That makes sense. We lose strength if we’re sedentary too. Our scientists think that Venlil physical activity has declined alongside the native predator population. Fitness isn’t as important without threats.”

“That’s probably right. Likewise, a predator’s…our fitness correlates to our participation in hunting. Which we don’t do anymore.”

A resounding bark jolted us out of the conversation. Dino sat beside a crate of black powder, which bore the insignia of mining companies. A fuse was attached, but the device hadn’t been triggered yet. The Tilfish must be waiting for humans to pass by. It was the extermination officers’ humor, to weaponize a predator’s tactics against them.

The dog’s handler whistled, and it came running back with eagerness. I guess the mutt wasn’t keen on escaping after all; the primates had it under their spell. Come to think of it, even a feral predator wouldn’t run away from an easy source of flesh. Terrans must keep control with generous helpings of food.

It’s playing along, because it’s learned that humans reward it handsomely. But the second they run out of food, it’ll eat them alive.

Whatever my thoughts on Dino’s motives, it was impressive that humans trained a beast to detect weaponry. Its scouting potential was valuable to our foray, and its sensory abilities made the journey safer. Powder explosives were primitive compared to the Terran arsenal, but I still didn’t want to stroll past one.

Once our troops were clear of the blast, a UN soldier flung a match at the canister. It erupted with a puff of smoke, churning up the nearby dirt. Marcel waved a hand, and the combat-ready primates pressed on. There had to be Tilfish enemies in close proximity, if they planned to trigger a blast. Terran drones circled back to our position, searching for hiding hostiles.

Marcel whistled. “Come out unarmed; this is over! We see you. Yes, you right there.”

Our surveillance had yet to locate any Tilfish, but the bluff fooled the unseen assailants. A trio of insects scuttled out of a burrow, and opened gunfire. I snapped my firearm in their direction, focusing on lining up the sights. After a split-second of concentration, I depressed the trigger.

My bullet pierced through an insect’s skull, ejecting brain matter from the wound. The humans reacted swiftly as well, unleashing a string of kinetics. The enemy hit two of our men before we shot back, but wandering out into the open spelled their demise. Predators didn’t miss a clear, unobstructed target, and this scuffle was no exception to that rule.

I drew a shuddering breath. “T-that was my first kill.”

Sympathy flashed in Marcel’s hazel eyes. “The first time is the hardest. If it’s any consolation, we’ve all been there…I still remember mine.”

“But you’re human.”

“Doesn’t matter. Unless you’re a sociopath, taking a life is something you wrestle with. You feel like you’ve changed…and you have changed, Slanek. Just remember what you’re fighting for.”

The Terran brigade marched toward the town square. I was certain the extermination office was our first target, so this was no time to get emotional. My participation was for my friend’s sake; the why was something I had no qualms over. Every bit of training was so that I could be effective, and prove to the galaxy that Venlil weren’t a laughingstock.

Finding the route to the exterminators’ workplace was easy; all we had to do was follow the trail of posters. Several predators stopped to scan visual translators near bulletins. The human likeness, often an unflattering caricature, was visible on many of them. It was obvious the predator-killing guild took particular offense to their presence.

Marcel inspected one, shaking his head as he read the translation. The caption asked, Do these look like arboreal eyes to you? A human was clutching silverware, as they stared at a Krakotl on a plate. It looked accurate to Earth cutlery, which was a nice touch. The artist’s rendition had their mane sticking up in all directions, exaggerated fangs curving out of closed lips, and veins popping in dilated eyes.

I ambled further ahead, and tapped a different poster. It depicted Gojids in a pen, cowering away from a human hand. Earth’s silhouette was superimposed in the background, with a foreboding red glow encircling the planet. The tagline read, Asylum for all. The refugees themselves could confirm the conditions weren’t nefarious; cattle ships belonged only to the Arxur.

The one posted by the entrance at least had a basis in reality. It depicted an actual photograph of human soldiers dropping from the sky, as Gojid stampede victims littered the ground. Coming to a city near YOU, the propaganda proclaimed. The subtext listed an exterminator recruiting URL, specifically for volunteers to resist a UN invasion.

“I don’t think they like us, Slanek,” Marcel growled. “No clue where I got that impression from, though.”

I took cover, waiting for humans to breach the door. “You have an uncanny resemblance to the one munching on the Krakotl. Is that your long-lost twin?”

“Funny, I was thinking it looked more like your mother.”

“Hey…we’re going to settle this after the battle!”

My predator snarled, revealing his pearly fangs. The UN soldiers exchanged hand signals by the entrance, before setting a breach charge. The blast rocked the door off its hinges, and the humans stalked into the building. There were a few rifle bursts, as the Terrans picked off the Tilfish in the entryway.

I shouldered my own gun, and slunk into the lobby. Smoke clouded the air, wisps visible in the dimly-lit environment. The predators were inspecting a layout of the building; their first step was to seal off exits. We knew where the bulk of the enemies were located, thanks to the drones. It was a matter of our success clearing them out.

The humans were closing in on the rogue exterminators, and I pitied the fools who dared to fight back.

A/N - Part 77 is done! Slanek has a close encounter with a dog, while accompanying human soldiers to deal with rogue Tilfish. The UN navigate traps and obstacles, and use drones to locate enemies. Will the exterminators stand a chance against predator ground troops?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! Hope you had a great holidays; only one more release in 2022.