The Nature of Predators 2-47 (Patreon)

Memory Transcription Subject: Tassi, Bissem Alien Liaison

Date [standardized human time]: August 11, 2160

Pulling General Naltor aside hadn’t presented too much of a challenge; the Selmer had been awaiting my return to the SC corridors, while keeping a close eye on the budding Sivkit settlements on our homeworld. While Lassmin had signed off on the plan as a way to ingratiate ourselves to the galaxy, the Grand Herd had a reputation for being destructive. I could see why they’d constitute a security threat to our military, but from my vantage point, the fluffballs mostly wanted to mind their own business. If the humans could gain control over Tinsas, I imagined the Sivkits would be happy to move off of our abandoned continent and back to their homeworld. With how the arctic Bissem was stewing, after what Dustin just disclosed to him, I wasn’t sure whether he’d pull me off of that detail.

I was making tangible progress with Loxsel; he was starting to warm up to me, and perhaps Bissems by extension. We could have friendly relations, existing side-by-side. It’s a good thing our public is being kept away from the herd for now, since it’s strange for us all to have aliens on our planet.

Naltor’s eyes narrowed with suspicion and outrage. “Tassi, why the fuck would you even consider selling out your own people? It’s that important to you to be friends with aliens that’ll use you, and banish you? So much for humans being peaceful—or fucking different from our own conquerors. It’s exactly as I feared, with not much we can do to lift a flipper against you; yes, you half-feathered nerd!”

“Tassi is a scientist, and this is her one dream: she was manipulated by a much more experienced player. She isn’t prepared to…handle herself against foreign agents. It’s not like she turned on you; she wanted an out, clearly,” Dustin objected on my behalf.

“If the Terrans didn’t know for certain about the Arxur, they certainly do now after Tassi confirmed it, and spouted everything to you before me. You, the one who told us half of the galaxy’s story, as secretive as some Tseia recluse!”

“All I want is to help. Think what you want of me, but I am your friend, Naltor. I can try to fix this; I’m the only one on the first contact party who will try, it seems. Why don’t we keep our heads, and figure out how to play this?”

The Selmer paced back and forth, flippers folded. “Leave, nerd. I’m not involving you in sabotaging your own people’s intelligence, because I have standards; I don’t use civilians. You’re committing treason by telling me any of this. When you betray your country for another, you can never go back—you better be damn sure. I would know, with how the Huddledom still spits on my name. I made my nest and laid in it, but you have no intention of packing your bags for Ivrana.”

“I’m here to ensure that Bissems get a fair shake. I’m no traitor; I’m upholding the Sapient Coalition’s values of peace, equality, and friendship. I’ll never play any part in twisting another species to do our bidding, like the Federation monsters that came before us. If it’s treason to see that these schemes blow up in Jones’ face, then I can live with that. You always said I’m a martyr, didn’t you?”

“If you recall, I added more to that with Zalk. You are hopelessly naïve, just as Tassi is, and you give others too much credit on their intentions. Your Sapient Coalition’s stated ideals are just that—ideals. No idealism survives the real world.”

“I don’t believe that, Naltor, and neither do you. You believe in Lassmin’s ideals of Bissem Unity.”

“Look how that’s worked out. I thought we were on a better path before the new Global War piled bodies in the streets. Ivrana is holding together by a single feather. I’m trying to keep my people safe against an insurmountable threat.”

“We all are,” I chimed in. “Humanity, in their defense, sees the Sapient Coalition as their people. The Arxur are a complication, just like the war breaking out on our homeworld; the Terrans fear bloodshed, and a conflict within their own ranks. Kaisal buying his planet goodwill might further everyone’s objectives.”

Dustin flashed his teeth. “The decision is yours, but Tassi and I are on the same page about how to play this. The cat is out of the bag; directing the grays toward a vulnerable planet could, straight up, save lives. It’s not about politics or spies. You heard what was said at the Sapient Coalition meeting. Nobody is going to protect the Farsul and the Kolshians.”

“Let me get this straight. You tell me that humans tried to fuck us over, that Tassi was feathers away from going along with it, and I should try to push the Arxur—somehow the only fucking allies we’ve got—into doing exactly what you asked? What’s next: I should send Jones our nuclear codes?”

“Naltor, the best weapon you have is making Jones feel like she’s still in the driver’s seat. I know that you know how double agents work; you control exactly what’s sent to her, and can steer her wrong at the important spots. My idea is that, to beat back any questions about contacting the Arxur, document this exchange; make it look like Bissems reached out, and got the grays to turn their ships toward Talsk. Then, Jones has nothing to even bluff that she can use against you. It cements your value in the SC’s eyes, exactly as you intended!”

“This would still involve Tassi being used as an intelligence pawn, Dustin. I’ve tried to keep her safe, you know; to protect her from the brunt of the ugliness out here.”

“It hasn’t succeeded,” I answered bluntly. “If it had, I wouldn’t have been targeted by Terran Intelligence. That speaks for itself.”

The human nodded, curly mane bouncing against his pale forehead. “This is beating Jones at her own game. Personally, I think you’d have a tough time persuading Kaisal to save Aafa; the Kolshians’ collusion with Betterment is why his people were starved for many years. But Talsk is a different story. This part of what Jones wants is stopping an enemy that’s in our space, and killing indiscriminately. Bissems can’t possibly be at odds with that aim, especially when we still haven’t a clue who attacked the Tseia.”

Naltor’s beak parted with frustrated breaths, as he weighed Dustin’s argument in his head. “I heard you when you told me how many worlds were destroyed, when the Arxur first roamed the galaxy. We don’t need any more. As fucking infuriated as I am at your people, I’d rather humans win the war than the cloacabeaks who’d use civilians as fodder. But don’t think for a second that I’m over this.”

“I’m not over this either. When the United Nations learns what was done to a newly contacted species…let’s just say I’ll do everything possible to ensure this can never happen again, for future first contacts.”

“None of this was on my list of hypothetical first contacts,” I mumbled. “We’ve already meddled in matters we shouldn’t have, but there’s still a chance to push this in a positive direction. The Arxur were breaking quarantine anyway, and with Kaisal’s past misdeeds, he might as well help to save lives.”

The Selmer tilted his puffy-feathered head. “Past misdeeds?”

“Kaisal participated in the raid against the cradle, and ate Gojids alive. That’s part of why I felt guilty over helping him in the first place.”

“You can’t make this shit up! Aliens suck all around—um, no offense, Dustin.”

“None taken. You really haven’t had good luck with most of us, or found…any bit of extraterrestrial history that didn’t have blemishes in it,” the human sighed. “You should be wary, of both the Arxur and of us. Bissems have to take it one day at a time, and try to find what’s the right thing to do: idealism won’t actualize itself. What do you say we try to give Kaisal a push toward Talsk?”

“I need to contact Lassian intelligence agencies. I’ll recommend authorizing your plan, but that’s not a decision I can make alone. I hope Tassi remembers which planet she belongs to as well.”

The Selmer stormed off down the hall, holopad making its way into his flippers. I turned a grateful gaze toward Dustin, glad he’d done most of the talking; without a friend to defend me, I wasn’t sure I could bear Naltor’s harsher judgments. The positive news was that the Lassian general had given no indication that he’d take me off the Sivkit or SC diplomatic missions, and had agreed with the suggested course correction on our Arxur policy. Right now, the enemy drones were still crawling through the outskirts of their targets’ territory, since they were slowed by disruptors. Nonetheless, our time to rally a rescue party wasn’t infinite, even if we had gained a few extra weeks. I couldn’t help but remember the Arxur leader’s specific wording on Leirn: that he’d always been willing to come to the defense of non-herbivores.

We’d have to see if Kaisal was willing to consider the idea of aiding an old enemy, saving their planet just as his kind had once done for Earth. It might give us the best odds of success if we convinced him this was for the good of the Bissems, the Osirs, and humanity, rather than simply to save the Farsul homeworld.

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What kind of notes would be left in my file, after finding out I’d been contacted by a foreign government? General Naltor wouldn’t keep that to himself, I imagined. I was the first Bissem to be approached by an alien intelligence apparatus; we’d not only need to divert diplomatic resources to the stars, but also covert ones to deal with these affairs. Lassmin had much less information on the Terrans than they had on us, from observing us before first contact. When I went to check in on the Selmer’s call, I thought I heard him mention an intelligence-sharing arrangement with the Yotul. That was certainly an idea—one that, if accepted by the Technocracy, might put a permanent end to their opposition. It’d steer them away from undermining our SC status.

The Yotul Technocracy are quite active in the espionage sphere, according to what Nulia first told me about them; she said they were paranoid, with a habit of spying. Naltor was paying attention much more than his flippant attitude would’ve shown.

The question of what they might want from a fledgling species like us was one I already had the answer to—the Yotul would definitely expect us to back loosing the Arxur, which would dig us deeper into this debacle. That was, unless they were willing to do it out of sympathy for a fellow “uplift”; Bissems did have common ground to play into with them. Surely they could respect us trying to gain respect among the Sapient Coalition, just as they had to fight for every square inch with the Federation. General Naltor was a much more jaded, seasoned individual, so I was certain he could consider the playbook much more thoroughly than myself. It’d be nice if the marsupials would support the Talsk agenda, since they had leverage on the Arxur Collective, but I doubted they’d have any sympathy for the Farsul.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Dustin asked, as I waited for any word back from Naltor.

I tugged at my feathers from stress, slicking them with natural waterproof oil. “We might be involved in the outcome of an alien war, with an entire planet at stake. Not to mention the spot this puts Lassmin in, as a neutral observer in the Bissem war. Zalk already mistrusts outsiders, and hearing that aliens tried to manipulate us…”

“Wouldn’t surprise me one bit,” a low voice said behind me. “They’re at war, and that trumps all other concerns. They want to see what they can get from us; whatever anyone says, they don’t give freely. You have to assume any foreigners are out to get you.”

A chill ran down my spine, realizing that the Tseia overheard my words. “Zalk, I…”

“Can we not lump all foreigners in one basket? We both are foreigners to you,” a flummoxed Dustin replied.

“Humans tried to invade us, just from within. Naltor told me,” Zalk commented. “You did well to rebuff their attempts and notify your superiors, Tassi.”

Is that the version of events Naltor is telling other Bissems? I’m…glad he protected me, and even more relieved I didn’t sell him out. Telling Zalk, when he doesn’t trust the Tseia at all, is certainly a shocker.

“Yes, she did. The doctor was too smart to fall for any manipulation,” Naltor chirped, waddling through the doorway. His eyes met mine, an unspoken message laced into his words. “Zalk and I began our secret meddling in the Arxur jailbreak together. It’s a problem for both of us now. We knew it could attract attention if we were discovered.”

The Tseia scratched his headfeathers. “Dustin, could you please give us the room? You might’ve helped us, but you are a foreigner. A non-Bissem intelligence.”

The xenobiologist bobbed his shoulders, locking eyes with me to ensure that I’d be alright left alone. “I understand why you wouldn’t want a United Nations employee listening right now. I’ll be in my quarters if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” I said with sincerity, as the primate marched from the conference room at a brisk pace.

Zalk waited for several minutes in silence, checking the hallway in paranoid fashion to ensure Dustin was gone. “As Naltor was saying, we have a common enemy, one that we can’t match up against. The humans can’t crack our communications, so we’ve decided to use them to coordinate with Lassmin on alien affairs. We need secret channels for our true plans, and other ones to let information slide, where we don’t mind it falling into Terran hands.”

Naltor, you sly devil. This is how he gets the nomads to hand over their technology…and it’s their idea!

The Selmer lifted his beak coyly. “We need to build our own alliance, Tassi, so that means we go after everyone lacking friends. You get enough other parties who, on their own, are weak, and eventually it gives you power. Why stop with Sivkit refugees? If the Arxur save Talsk, we make sure the Farsul know they’re indebted to us. We can even take a few in with the help of the Terran Kessler-worthy ships, and make them see us as a fresh start—”

“Just like Kaisal does,” Zalk agreed. “It’ll show our generosity, or as I’d put it, our usefulness. We’ll take the people they don’t want. We come during crises, so they should devote full energy to resolving our ecological one. Maybe they’ll even pretend to care about the Starlight Incident.”

“Take in some of the Osirs, raise them, and we have our own carnivore alliance. With the Farsul, Yotul, and Sivkits intermixed—and hopefully, the SC off our backs. An unlikely team that’ll serve as a buffer between us and the anti-carnivores, while the Coalition thinks we’re just helping them out.”

“That’s a nice plan, but I’m not sure if we should take people from Talsk; the wider SC doesn’t want them let out any more than the Arxur. If everyone hates the Farsul, do we want an official alliance with them?” I asked.

“It’s called covering your tail feathers. We show it as healing the galaxy. The Arxur and the Farsul, working together; it shows that they’ve changed. We can take credit for that. All we have to do is get Kaisal to agree to go to Talsk, and he’s basically committed. We do this together, here and now, documenting it so we can show the SC our ‘true’ plans.”

“Human intelligence won’t know what hit them,” Zalk cackled. “Shall we begin, Tassi?”

I forced a composed look on my face, and moved toward where Naltor had situated a camera. “I’m ready. Let’s get Kaisal to save Talsk.”

General Naltor had begun routing a video call through our backdoor channels with the Arxur Collective; they had tucked warships away in our space as gifts, after our previous tip about the Osirs. However, we couldn’t dare to retrieve them—at least, not until we had political cover for an open alliance with the grays. General Jones wouldn’t expose us even if we did make a move on them, but there were other SC observers in our solar system that could catch a glimpse by chance. I tried to imagine what Ambassador Loxsel would think of this half-baked plan to include him in an alliance with the Arxur, and one of the founders who stole Tinsas from his people. The Grand Herd might not be easily sold on joining this compact, especially with how they spurned all aliens for decades.

I might’ve gotten out of spying on my people, but I’ll still have to conceal…this from Loxsel. I feel like I’m making headway with the Sivkit. He’s not all bad, and I’ve been enjoying seeing his literary catalog.

A grizzled, lengthy gray snout appeared on screen, with vertical pupils staring directly at us from amid amber irises. “Bissems. Do you have something to report from the Coalition of Leaf-lickers?”

“Yes,” I spoke up, as Naltor nudged me. “There’s an opportunity for Arxur heroism in this war. You’re passing by Talsk, which has very little support; we know that, whoever attacked the Osirs, is probably behind the drone force going toward them. You could remind the galaxy how the Collective saves worlds, as well as showing off how you’ve strengthened your military.”

“Talsk? The Farsul: one of the Federation founders? We do not like these species. We also have zero intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities, and we cannot afford severe losses during our declaration of strength. My citizens and military would doubt me. The humans have not challenged us, and that makes me a leader they respect.”

Zalk scowled. “You asked us to help you lobby for your quarantine to be lifted. You need something to point to, to get their blessing—to push the narrative away from the escape. You get the humans to accept your aid in the war, and you’ve basically forced them to officially condone your release.”

“If it hasn’t been long enough for you to move past your grievances with the Farsul, why should the SC forgive you? Show the galaxy it’s time to move on,” I prompted. “Establish that the Collective stops raids, rather than commits them; there needs to be some solid evidence you’ve changed. Most importantly, you’ll prove your usefulness to humanity, and to your subordinates. Nobody would dare to mess with or question you, if you were victorious against a force Earth lost to.”

The Arxur’s eyes gleamed, as he tapped a claw against a massive fang that protruded from his maw. “We were once very useful to humanity. They seem to have forgotten; a reminder might be in order. I suppose we could set up an…ambush. A low-risk, high-reward play, with my multitude of ships. While the Farsul would be no loss to the galaxy, I suppose I do not want these drones to have a chance to attack more carnivores, like Bissems. We all would rather fight them here, yes?”

That’s an odd sentence structure. It doesn’t sound like the rest of his speech…it’s almost like he’s parroting someone else.

“Better to fight them at Talsk than have them come after you, as soon as you set up by the Osirs’ world,” Naltor agreed. “Here, you have backup from the humans, and the element of surprise. It’s the best point for a conflict, where there’s the lowest probability of severe losses. You must see the opportunity for us all.”

Kaisal’s nostrils flared with a hint of frustration. “Yes, I suppose I do. We left isolation to help avenge the Osirs. I must show my people that I will follow through on defending non-herbivorous species, and bring back Arxur greatness. All of our work to rebuild the military has led to this moment, where the SC cannot hold us back any longer.”

“Your fleet will be their saviors; of that, I have no doubts. You waged war with hundreds of species once. Bissems have full faith that you can handle whatever these enemies throw at you, and we’re glad to work with you. You’re proving yourself to us, now more than ever—worthy of a carnivore alliance.”

“The Carnivore Alliance. It could be our own Sapient Coalition, free of their judgment and idiocy. I would not mind this, General Naltor. While all I originally asked of you was to hear me out, I appreciate the Bissems’ support of our goals.”

“You can count on it. I look forward to a day where we have full trade between our peoples, and can have our diplomatic communications openly in the future. Let us know of your victory as soon as it’s played out at Talsk, and we’ll dismantle the SC’s opposition before they’ve even realized what hit them.”

“I like the attitude. I will be in touch to request updated intelligence after consulting with my military Chief Hunters. Farewell, Bissems.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Kaisal went along with the plan to aid Talsk. The Collective might be the difference maker in that fight, as one of the few factions to help in the Farsul’s defense. Dustin would be pleased to hear the news, since he’d wanted to save Farsul lives, as an idealistic act. It served our ends as well, and let Bissems craft our plans instead of getting pushed around. Once the Arxur had intervened in an enemy attack at our behest, General Jones would have nothing else to use against us in her bluster. Someone with Naltor’s wits perhaps could outfox Terran Intelligence at their own game; it’d been a good idea to bring him into the fold. Bissems just might be able to finish our plan of securing allies and winning over the SC after all.

A/N - Chapter 47! Naltor learns about the attempt to turn Tassi into a Terran asset, though he tells a slightly different version of the story to Zalk and Ivrana when it comes down to it; he also manages to get the Tseia’s encryption. The Selmer general sets his sights on getting involved with Yotul intelligence, and exonerating his people with Talsk, adding the Farsul to his list of potential allies. Kaisal is persuaded to help the Farsul as a way to ensure Wriss is freed officially, and floats the idea of a Carnivore Alliance.

What do you think of the odd assortment of allies the Bissems are planning to assemble, and Naltor’s reaction to Tassi’s admission/his craftiness? Will the Arxur end up saving Talsk as planned, and how will the SC react to their arrival?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!