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The Nature of Predators 173

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 25, 2137

Aside from my visit following the Battle of Earth, I hadn’t been to the Kolshian homeworld in a long time. Recel used to invite me to family celebrations, when he’d return home and pass along his stories from the war front. On occasion, I accepted my protégé’s offer to mingle with his family. I hadn’t been interested in reminders of my nonexistent loved ones, by see...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (6/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Cedric Flynn, Human Civilian

Date [standardized human time]: March 5, 2137

The thought of killing Mallin had stabbed at my heart, so I was grateful to have spared the bright-eyed Yulpa. He didn’t seem averse to predators in the way Kippe was; it wasn’t my impress...

The Nature of Predators 172

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 25, 2137

The lasers from the planetary defenses gave the Kolshians no quarter, as humanity ramped up its efforts against the shadow fleet. While the Arxur were getting eviscerated by the higher quality drones, we took it upon ourselves to direct our allies. The Sapient Coalition, who’d been distracting the Dominion so the Duerten could go after the Commonwealth, joined the avia...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (5/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Kippe, Yulpa Predator Catcher

Date [standardized human time]: March 5, 2137

The predator had orchestrated so much death, with so little time to prepar...

The Nature of Predators 171

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 25, 2137

After the human troops leapt from our ship toward the lunar surface, survival up in the stars proved to be a harrowing task.

There were several factors that left our warship in a precarious spot. On a grander scale, the gap we’d cleared with three rounds of antimatter bombs had sealed. The UN drones had borrowed seconds for us against hopeless numbers, falling by...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (4/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Cedric Flynn, Human Civilian

Date [standardized human time]: March 5, 2137

The charged energy reached my veins with an exhilarating rush, as my senses...

The Nature of Predators 170

Memory transcription subject: Chief Hunter Isif, Arxur Rebellion Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 25, 2137

Landing on Liberty’s Bastion, I could see the fruits of humanity’s ventures into the universe. The colonists, who’d been evacuated under threat of the Mileau shadow fleet “curing” them, had returned to the frontier. Secretary-General Zhao was making his first in-person visit to the colony, and agreed to meet me here: a shorter journey than tr...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (3/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Kippe, Yulpa Predator Catcher

Date [standardized human time]: March 5, 2137

Hours after the predator vanished, we’d had zero leads on its wherea...

The Nature of Predators 169

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

I desperately shoved my paw over the bullet hole on Carlos’ helmet, trying to seal the gap that exposed him to the vacuum. Viscous blood adhered to my suit, slathering over the smooth exterior. How was I supposed to give the human medical attention, when removing his mask would freeze him and strip him of all oxygen? Samantha knelt by my side, her body language distraught. ...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (2/6)

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Memory transcription subject: Cedric Flynn, Human Civilian

Date [standardized human time]: March 4, 2137

There was nothing but darkness meeting my eyes, as I lay prone underneath the tarp that had covered the fruit shipment. I’d crawled into the back of a parked semi, at a...

The Nature of Predators 168

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

The humans had really done it.

The deranged predators strapped themselves into multi-layered spacesuits, and leapt straight into space. I wasn’t sure what compelled my stout legs to follow their lead, but here I was, coasting alongside Carlos and Sam with no way back. The jet pack alongside my oxygen gave me a small push toward the lunar surface, with...

The Nature of Predators - The Sacrifice (1/6)

Memory transcription subject: Kippe, Yulpa Predator Catcher

Date [standardized human time]: March 4, 2137

Nature was transactional, requiring death in exchange for the preservation of our lives. The Spirit of Life was the arm of justice; the blackened heart of a hunter, pierced in a holy sacrificial ritual, gave our deity the bargaining power to spare us from beast and famine. Predators represented the highest tier of killing, so bringing one scoundrel down was what allowed our society to ascend...

The Nature of Predators 167

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

Our fleet crested toward our waiting enemies, with the greatest tools and allies mankind had been able to assemble. As impressive as Earth’s wartime innovations had been, it was their relentless pursuit of friends that we’d reaped the most rewards from so far; having others to back us up made it possible to challenge a multitude of foes. The road to reach Aafa’s orbit hadn’t been...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (10/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 17, 2136

An electric jolt passed down my spinal cord, causing my eyes to blink open in a fog of uncertainty. My body felt light enough to float into the clou...

The Nature of Predators 166

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

After my wishing for the Kolshians to face steep retribution for everything they’d done to Leirn, it turned out there was no need to prompt humanity to begin bombing. The Duerten Shield had been eager to obliterate anything housing life on Caato’s surface. Watching the settlements vanish beneath a fiery glow, visible from space, did nothing to temper my rage. It didn...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (9/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 17, 2136

The reality of being trapped underground with th...

The Nature of Predators 165

Memory transcription subject: Ambassador Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

The first meeting of the Sapient Coalition was in the past, but now more than ever, my sights were set on the future. Humanity’s assortment of allies had been very receptive to the idea of fixing the Venlil’s hindrances, since in our case, it had nothing to do with us not being herbivores—it was about us not being meek, deformed herbivores that followed the ...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (8/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 8, 2136

My eyes burned from being glued to the television...

The Nature of Predators 164

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

The crewed vessels of the Terran fleet advanced on Caato, where the unlikely Commonwealth-Dominion alliance waited. On a separate course, UN drones and Yotul Technocracy ships were flushing the shadow fleet out from the system’s asteroid belt; their band had been saddled with Ilthiss, since their particle beams allowed them to match his aggression. I was ho...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (7/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 3, 2136

Even if a shower made my physical form feel less ...

The Nature of Predators 163

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, United Nations Fleet Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 24, 2137

Now that humanity and its allies were here at Aafa, I could feel the weighty gaze of history upon us. The chance to free our societies from the Federation’s grip was both terrifying and inspiring; the Kolshians had stripped us of our own cultures, and thrust us into a censored life of suffering. A government that valued control above all else must not be allowed to exist. J...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (6/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 2, 2136

Caleb’s binocular eyes shifted from the two Terran...

The Nature of Predators 162

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 23, 2137

The captain bore a somber look on her face, as Tyler first imparted the news of Dominion reinforcements from the direction of Kalqua. There were a few hushed and hurried conversations, as I strained to pick up the comms chatter. While I couldn’t hear what our personnel were saying, I could see the humans’ faces cycling through different emotions. The bridge crew were...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (5/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 2, 2136

Throwing out Nathan’s flesh supplies had be...

The Nature of Predators 161

Memory transcription subject: Onso, Yotul Technical Specialist

Date [standardized human time]: March 23, 2137

The march to Aafa defied expectations, with the lack of open confrontation we faced.

The Kolshian Commonwealth had a vast expanse of territory; as the original founder, their most storied colonies predated the Federation itself. Their population had necessitated spreading out across the stars, so even after a hypothetical conquest of Aafa, it would have to be seen ...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (4/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 2, 2136

My goal had been to document the full extent of ...

The Nature of Predators 160

Memory transcription subject: Ambassador Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: March 22, 2137

The first Sapient Coalition convention felt like a trimmed-down version of the Federation’s meetings, with the familiar markings of diplomacy I’d seen for years. These were the parties that I’d devoted my life to negotiating with, long before I knew the peaceful union in the stars was a lie. Today’s agenda was centered around anything relating to genetic research, though I...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (3/10)

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Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 1, 2136

The elevator ride down to the ground floor was n...

The Nature of Predators 159

Memory transcription subject: Chief Hunter Isif, Arxur Rebellion Command

Date [standardized human time]: March 18, 2137

The humans, and their higher-ups, believed that my tliskis duel with Ilthiss was a poor idea. There was a history on Wriss of high-class society settling feuds through this strength display; though there was no obligation to accept such a challenge, I knew I couldn’t afford to be seen as weak by my rebels. Doubt had been sown by my friendliness with the humans, and my persona...

The Nature of Predators - Becoming a Predator (2/10)

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CW: mention of suicide

Memory transcription subject: Narlem, Krakotl Exterminator Fleet Comms Technician

Date [standardized human time]: October 1, 2136

My skull, which was heavy as a stone, crashed back against the pillow while I screamed to my heart’s content. The ...