u/Usual_Message8900

Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps

Date [standardized human time]: August 20, 2333

Our patrol ship drifted across the void with a very nervous Marcel at the helm. This was one of his first times flying a proper ship, and it was clear he wasn't very comfortable with the controls yet, even if the ship was mostly made using human tech.

I sat behind him, mostly mulling over what Seln and Kar'ny had talked about during breakfast. The two of them had apparently been comparing the federation's established science of predators being inherently dangerous to nature with the beliefs of our new allies held, and they'd come to the conclusion that we might have been wrong about some things, which opened up some... less than pleasant possibilities.

I looked at Marcel. Most venlil, including me, had assumed that the humans and the Ur'nu were some sort of fluke, a glitch in the evolutionary process, predators who learned to suppress their destructive natures and somehow developed empathy. Now though...

"Hey Marcel?"

"Yeah, bud?" He answered, not turning away from the monitor in front of him.

"If humans believe predators are necessary for a healthy biosphere, then how do you deal with predator attacks back home?" Did predators even have to worry about those?

"Well, they're pretty rare for starters. Most people live in cities, and most cities are so loud and strange that they scare most wild animals. The only real 'predators' in the city are dogs, cats, rats, raccoons, and certain birds... and of course, insects." He said nonchalantly.

"W...wait, you have predators living in your settlements and you just... let them?"

"Yep, insects, rats, birds, and raccoons are too numerous to fully get rid of, and cats and dogs are domesticated."

Domesticated, a word I'd only ever known to be applied to crops, and Marcel was suggesting they did the same to actual predators, W...Wh... What do you use those domesticated predators for?"

Marcel froze up slightly but didn't immediately answer.

"I...It's hunting, isn't it?" I guessed.

"...Yes," He said with some hesitation, "Cats mostly worked as pest control and dogs served many different purposes depending on the breed, but hunting was one of them. That being said, both of them are more commonly just used as pets nowadays."

"How do you... How do you keep them from attacking you?"

"We just train them well. Dogs and cats are both social animals, so if you treat them well, they can be very friendly. I know this might sound a little weird to you, but a lot of predators on earth and armtis are actually less aggressive than some herbivores."

I gawked at Marcel as if he'd just grown a second head. In what world could prey be more violent than predators? Everyone knew prey were naturally docile and empathetic.

"I'm starting to think Earth and Armtis really are the exceptions, because what you're describing sounds nothing like the predators on Venlil Prime, or any federation world for that matter. "

"Who knows," Marcel said quietly. "Then again, it's not really our job to figure that stuff out, now is it? Though I'd like to think the Ur'nu and us aren't the only ones like us out there."

"Even if you are, you still have the venlil." I offered. " And the rest of the federation might eventually accept you. "

"I know that, it's just,... I guess it just feels a little isolating to step into the universe and find out almost everyone hates you because of what you are." I sighed. "I just wish people could stop comparing us to the Arxur. Why are they even like that anyway?"

“I wanted to ask you that, Marc. We believed that predators evolve through warfare. Killing and cruelty—isn’t it a survival advantage to you?”

“Well, I... killing, yes. Killing the competition, or the dangerous things that lurk in the night, I suppose that’s how we became predators. We aren’t natural ones, you know. We were once prey animals, not too long ago, and we used cooperation to survive.”

“What?! And you chose to be like them?!”

"We're not like the Arxur," Marcel growled before deflating slightly, "I mean... yes, some humans have done truly terrible things in the past, and we've fought gruesome wars, but we never strived to be monsters like the Arxur. We're stupid and shortsighted, but we've always tried to be better. Especially after the decline."

Before I could inquire as to the nature of this “decline”, shrill alarms blared from the ship’s computer. Nine indicators popped up on the scanner feed, suggesting inbound Arxur bombers. The flurry of activity when the humans arrived must have piqued their interest. The reptilians loved to target weak links, and an isolated station such as our lodging was just that.

The non-sapient onboard AI calculated their trajectory and suggested arming nearby FTL disruptor charges. A tactic that was frequently employed to slow Arthur down while waiting for reinforcements. Before even thinking about engaging, however, I switched on the comms link. “Prime Outpost, we’re reading nine Arxur bombers en route. Figure they have you as their target.”

“Fuck. We have to stop them at all costs.” The exhaustion was evident in the male Venlil’s voice that answered. I couldn’t imagine how much stress the officers were under, monitoring the UN arrivals. “The first large transport of humans, and a couple of hundred wind up dead? They’ll never forgive us. They’ll never send anyone again…”

“Um, sir, my human partner can hear you,” I said.

“Oh. Right. This is General Kam from Venlil Command. We copy you. The human Ur'nu union has some prototype ships patrolling the area. I request that they get back to the station and form up with our ships there. Stall for time in any way you can.”

I drew a shaky breath. “Yes, sir. We’ll do our best.”

Nausea swelled in my throat as I synced the ship computer with the disruptor beacons lining the border. My mind strayed to its usual dark corner: replaying my brother’s funeral. The shock was still as fresh as it was months ago, when I first learned that his transport ship was gunned down. There wasn’t a trace left to remember him by; no body to recover.

Would I be the next to fall by the Arxur’s claws?

Every instinct told me to flee; to put as much distance between us and those monsters as possible. However, the pulses needed to be timed down to the nanosecond, which meant our proximity was a necessity. My brain felt overstimulated, as if my senses were set aflame.

Being around a human for hours…it’s pushed me to my limit. It’s hard to think, with my nerves all frazzled. I pondered with a tinge of guilt. How selfish I am. I haven’t even considered how Marc is feeling.

I hoped the wordless Marcel was okay with the peril we were in. He had loved ones back on Earth, including a wife whom he spoke of with fondness. He didn’t want to die here. There was no data on how the primates behaved in life-threatening situations, or how they coped with stress.

Despite our situation, however, my exchange partner didn't really look scared. Rather, he looked focused. It was obvious he was nervous, though just by looking at his hands, which trembled slightly before being forcefully stilled.

I tried to follow his lead, taking a deep breath as I watched the Arxur ships approach on screen. I triggered the charges the moment they were in range, causing the ships to be forcefully and violently ripped out of warp, an experience that most have been disorienting for the monsters on board as their ship drifted for a moment before they started moving in formation again.

As they did, the ships' alarms began going off again, informing us that the arxur were set to intercept us. What happened next was even more concerning as our ship began racing towards them.

"Marcel, what are you doing?" I asked as the bombers got ever closer.

"Kam told us to buy time, so that's what we're going to do. I'm just going to try and take out their engines." He said, still keeping that same mostly calm expression, even if his tone of voice betrayed some level of nervousness.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? I screeched.

Marcel didn't reply and just kept flooring it towards the approaching arxur.

The arxur, for their part, seemed confused by our sudden aggression, as they were slow to fire, giving our more nimble ship a chance to get behind the first two bombers and release a volley of shots that rendered their engines useless.

Seeing the small cluster of explosions that indicated a successful hit, my partner began cheering, "HELL YEAH, take that, you cold-blooded bastards!" and I had to admit it was weirdly exhilarating seeing the Arxur get a taste of their own medicine, even if I'd still much rather retreat.

Marcel wasted no time in continuing his attack, releasing a stream of fire towards a third bomber. Our shots must have hit something vital as a chain of detonations bloomed across the vessel before it finally went dark.

That's where our luck ended, though, as the computer warned us both of the now six target locks that were on our ship. I made eye contact with Marcel, his face betraying a slight worry.

“Run?” I whimpered.

Marcel cleared his throat. “Yep. Good idea.”

The human pointed the ship in the direction of the Federation border. Why wasn’t he trying to return to the outpost? The last remnants of my logical brain suggested that he was trying to lure the Arxur away. I winced as my harness chafed into my neck. Our inertial dampeners were struggling to keep up with our blistering acceleration.

Only one Arxur ship gave chase, while the rest returned to their intended course. They couldn’t resist sending someone to hunt a straggler down.

Marcel engaged our warp drive, and moments later, we slipped into subspace with the bomber in hot pursuit.

First/previous

Memory transcription subject: Seln, venlil microbiologist, scientific exchange program participant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 20, 2333

I was awoken by the sound of running water coming from our shared bathroom. Kar'ny must have been taking a shower.

Groaning slightly, I sat upright on my bed and scanned the room. Cans of energy drinks, both of Venlil and Ur'nu, were scattered throughout our living space.

I got up while trying to fight off my growing nausea, a side-effect of the frankly unhealthy amount of caffeine and sugar I no doubt ingested last night. At the same time, the running water stopped, and a moment later, my exchange partner stepped out.

"Good morning," She said in an overly energetic, sing-songy voice, "Did you sleep well?" She asked as she turned on some of the lamps around the room.

The sudden influx of light only compounded my nausea, and I sat back down on the bed, covering my eyes. "I barely slept at all," I grumbled.

"Well, that's just the cost of research," She chuckled as she started picking up the trash we'd left scattered all around. "Also, weird question, but did you talk to me last night? Because it kinda feels like you did."

"Uhm yeah," I said, rubbing my eyes, "You uhm you were sleep talking or something. One of your heads was still moving around."

"Oh that's not sleeptalking, that was just my lookout."

"Your... lookout?" I asked

"Yup, when an Ur'nu's mean brain sleeps, their secondary brains wake in turns to keep watch. Originally, it meant as a survival mechanism to detect threats like wild animals, but nowadays it's mostly obsolete. Did it tell you anything?" Kar'ny asked while continuing her clean-up.

"It just asked if it needed to wake you up. " I said, dumbfounded by the fact that these brains seem to be a lot more autonomous than I originally thought. "After that, it just went back to scrolling on your datapad."

"Ah, so that's why my batteries empty... and why my eyes hurt. I should really keep that thing out of neck's reach when I go to bed, huh." She said, dumping some more empty cans in the trash bin. "Anyways, did your research bear any fruit after I went to sleep or...?" She trailed off, waiting for an answer.

I sighed, remembering the conclusion I'd come to, "It did, and I'm afraid to say that...you and the linked chains might be correct." I said grimly

Kar'ny chuckled at my response, "Oh come on, I know it sucks to be wrong, but there's no need to make it sound so terrible."

I slowly turned to face her, "You do realise what this means, right? If you're right and we're wrong. That means we've been destroying ecosystems wholesale for a THOUSAND YEARS."

Kar'ny's eyes widened at that, "Oh... shit."

"Yeah, it's bad," I said as I grabbed my datapad from the desk and pulled up two of the files I'd been reading yesterday. "Look at this."

"What's this?" Kar'ny said, her four heads moving erratically as they looked over the opened document.

"Independent farming reports from a world where the linked chains had made a small self-sufficient settlement. They researched crop yields in predator-infested areas, and according to them, they found a notable increase in quality and quantity compared to other farming setups of the same size and type." I pulled up another file. "These are official reports from after the planet was officially colonised and the linked chains hiding there were captured. Crop yield abruptly dropped over the course of several years to 50% of its original amount. That's insane!" I said, growing more frantic as I realised the federation, in its honest attempt to save nature, might have doomed it on every world we've ever touched.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, breathe", Kar'ny said in a level voice. "Panicking isn't going to help anyone. Sure, this is... I'm not gonna lie, this whole situation is really messed up, but the first step towards fixing a problem is knowing what the problem is, and I'm sure our governments figured out the same thing by now and are working on it. Now sit down for a bit and chill out." I did as she asked and tried not to think about the fact that the federation as an entity might be a giant, unknowing and ever-expanding ecological disaster. Or the fact that if I even tried to mention this to any of my peers, I'd be thrown inside a PD centre before I could say 'tainted'

.... it wasn't working.

Kar'ny, for her part, had taken my datapad and was now scrutinising the two files. After a minute of staring at the screen like it owed her money, she asked, "Hey, Seln, do the linked chains have any political connections or ties to wealthy businesses?"

I blinked at her, trying to see if she was joking, "Of course not, didn't you hear me yesterday? They're seen as terrorists; associating with them would be social and political suicide."

"Ooookayy, and do they ever steal anything or set up scams that bring in large amounts of credits?"

"W...what no. Some of the smaller cells occasionally steal like... a microscope or other portable lab equipment at most, but nothing too expensive. What are you getting at?" I asked, getting more and more confused by this strange line of questioning.

"Nothing, it's just... well, you said yourself that the linked chains members who made this report were captured after the planet was truly colonised. Which implies they arrived and set up shop before anyone else. That means they would have needed to bring measuring equipment for their research, supplies to set up a self-sustaining community and a ship to carry them there. I don't know how well off the average federation citizen is, but that all sounds pretty expensive for a bunch of discredited scientists and supposedly mentally unstable individuals. They had to have gotten their money from somewhere, right?" She asked, seemingly asking me just as much as she was just thinking aloud.

"Well-" I started, before I really processed what she just said. She was right, that is a lot of money.

"Huh." I said finally.

"Right?" Kar'ny said emphatically, "Are you sure they don't have any connections in the venlil upper class?"

I thought about it for a moment before finally answering, "No, if anyone is actually helping them, they'd have to be either really good at hiding their tracks, or they have the power to keep people from talking; they would have been found out otherwise. The only person I can think of who has that level of power is the governor herself, and she doesn't really strike me as a secret Linked Chains member, especially after her experiences with the arxur."

"Okay... does anyone else come to mind?"

Again, I thought about it. It might have been a politician from another species, linked chains were a group that existed throughout Federation space after all. However, the question would then be, how was any politician, or even a ruler of an entire nation, funding a federation wide opparation like this without being discovered. Even if they were doing it all from a distance, they'd still need to be exceptionally good at erasing their digital footprints

For a moment, I considered if the arxur might have been behind it, but that seemed even more unlikely. The arxur didn't care about ecology at all, and if linked chains did fear one predator species, it would be them.

"Well...?" Kar'ny prompted again.

"I don't know", I conceded. " It's almost like the only organisation that could subvert the federation on this scale would be the federation itself, and I highly doubt that's the case for obvious reasons."

Both of us were at a loss, trying to think where or who a known criminal organisation could be getting their money from, only to come up with blanks (at least this topic was a little less concerning than the potential ecological disaster we might be causing). We were interrupted, however, by a knock at our door, which Kar'ny proceeded to open.

Standing in the hallway was Slanek, with his exchange partner, Marcel, standing next to him.

"Good morning, Marcel, Slanek, how are you two doing?" my exchange partner asked.

"Great"

"Terrible"

The human and venlil replied respectively.

"Geez, what happened?" Kar'ny asked, chuckling a little at Slanek's dramatic tone of voice.

"Basic training exercises happened, Slanek is just out of shape", Marcel said, patting the venlil on the back.

"Those were basic training exercises!? My EVERYTHING still hurts from yesterday and I'm supposed to believe human soldiers do that crap regularly?" Slanek growled indignantly.

"Well, you should have stretched." Marcel chuckled before looking back at Kar'ny "We just wanted to see if you two wanted to have breakfast with us again."

"We'd love to", Kar'ny said with zero hesitation. causing me to sputter out a-

"h...hey wait, we're still busy with-"

Kar'ny turned one of her heads back to me, "Seln, we just spent an entire day and most of a night sitting in our room looking at a datapad. I'm hungry, and I need to stretch my legs, and I feel like you should really do the same because it looks like last night really has taken its toll on you. Don't worry, the question of who's supplying the eco-terrorists will still be here when we get back." I wanted to disagree with her, but the audible growling of my stomach at the mere mention of food made me admit I was a little hungry

Maybe a break would be nice.

My exchange partner's rant left both Marcel and Slanek looking very confused, with Slanek eventually asking, "W...what were you even talking about?"

"Oh, nothing, just that your entire belief about how ecology works might be one big misunderstanding, and that someone in the federation may be supplying a supposed death cult who may very well be the only people around who know what they're talking about, but we can keep that existential crisis for later. I'm starving." Kar'ny said as she moved past the two and started towards the cafeteria.

"Hey, you can't just say something like that and then-" Slanek began

"Food now, crisis later," My exchange partner interrupted him. It was clear he wanted to say something else, but he eventually just conceded and followed her with Marcel and me in tow.

First/previous/next

Memory transcription subject: Seln, venlil microbiologist, scientific exchange program participant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

After Ser'mo finished his lecture, I was left with more questions than I had coming to the station to begin with. The most important of wich being where the humans and Ur'nu right? Were they right about the importance of predators in an ecosystem?

"Jeez, you look shellshocked." Kar'ny quipped as we exited the lecture hall.

"Shellshocked?" I asked.

"Never mind. Are you okay? I know that lecture might have been a bit much, what with your whole predator phobia." My translator told me phobia roughly translates to irrational fear, something I almost baulked at. After all, how could a fear of predators ever be considered irrational? But given the unique nature of my exchange partner, it probably was irrational from her perspective. After all, she probably didn't possess the same instinctual terror prey did.

"I wasn't afraid." I said, finally, " I'm just a little confused... Could I ask you something?"

"Sure," She chirped with one of her heads while using another to check the time on her datapad.

"Does every Ur'nu believe predators are necessary for a healthy ecosystem?"

"Yep"

"What about humans?"

"They think so, too. Both of us figured out how important every part of the ecosystem is long before we left our homeworlds.

Though I'm guessing every venlil believes predators, or well, most predators are nothing but evil, right? That's what I've heard at least."

"The linked chains don't," I said absentmindedly as I tried to find some reasonable explanation why two completely unrelated species could come to the same impossible conclusion.

"Linked chains, huh? never heard of them. Are they like some eco activist group or...?" Kar'ny asked.

"Not really, they're actually well-known predator-worshipping cultists and terrorists," I said, remembering a video of exterminators raiding one of their hideouts. It had been all over the news just a few weeks ago.

"Damn. So what do they do exactly? Blow stuff up? Shoot people? Sacrifice babies to wild animals?" Kar'ny asked casually, listing the gruesome possibilities as if it were just a shopping list.

"N...no nothing like that", I said quickly while trying to get the horrible ideas out of my head, "They're a collective made up mostly of failed scientists, yotul, and relapsed PD-patients who believe... well, they believe the same things as you, that predators are necessary for the ecosystem. They usually just hide in more rural areas or distant colonies and experiment on the environment by protecting or sometimes even reintroducing predators to an ecosystem."

Kar'ny just looked at me with all four heads before saying, "Okay, so I'm pretty sure I'm missing context here, but that just kind of sounds like people conducting independent research. Also, don't you find it a little weird that they came to the exact same conclusion we did?"

"I do." I said, "Which is why I'm thinking of looking into some of their... research and comparing it to yours." It felt weird calling what the linked chains did 'research', especially considering I've seen it as nothing more than the ramblings of diseased lunatics for most of my career.

Then again, my own colleagues called me a lunatic for even coming to this station, so maybe I should give my fellow crazies a chance.

I couldn't help but feel a little nervous, though.

Best case scenario, it's just some massive coincidence, and the humans and Ur'nu were just as insane as the linked chains.

Worst-case scenario... the linked chains are the only ecologists in the entire federation who actually know what they're talking about. Which would mean we've just been...

I shook my head. No need to worry about the implications of a possibility without even doing any research first.

I looked back at Kar'ny, "Hey, I know we planned to visit more lectures, but uhm, would it be okay if we go back to our room for a bit so I can look a little deeper into this? At least until I can put my mind at ease."

I'd expected her to be a little disappointed, though honestly, she seemed pretty excited. "Sure, I'd been wanting to look into federation beliefs for a bit now. Might as well compare notes while we're at it. So you wanna go right now or...?"

"If we start now, I'll probably have all the info I need by lunch, so... sure, now's fine," I said, giving a happy tale flick as we made our way back to our room.

Memory transcription subject: Kar'ny, tired exchange partner

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

Well, this has gotten out of hand quickly.

I had expected our little private research session to take a few hours tops. It did only take a few hours on my end, partially because a lot of the federations 'research' into predators just seemed like propaganda to me. Every study was clearly biased toward the idea that predators of any kind were inherently evil, and almost all of them failed to present sources or any real evidence that couldn't be explained by things other than predator = satan.

Though I suppose I should also thank the speed of my research on my ability to read four papers at once, even if it took me a while to digest the information afterwards.

Seln, on the other hand, seemed to have fallen into a rabbit hole as she compared the documents that were shared as part of the exchange program with the studies conducted by those linked chain fellows.

I'd gotten her to take breaks when I had lunch and later dinner delivered to our room, but beyond that, she seemed completely and utterly focused on the new information that was now available to her. I'm pretty sure she read every paper on ecology she could find front to back, back to front, twice before moving on to the next one. Clearly trying to find some hole in our logic while trying to plug the holes in hers.

Even now that most of the lights on the station had been turned off, she was still sitting at her desk, laser-focused on the datapad in front of her.

I stifled a yawn as I tapped her shoulder with one of my heads, "Hey, Seln, I think it's time we get some sleep. What do you think?"

Seln's eyes snapped to me as she took a sip of one of the many energy drinks we'd ordered, "I don't need sleep, I need answers," she croaked before returning to her reading.

"Sure you do," I yawned. "Well, I do need sleep, so just try to actually get to bed instead of passing out at your desk. If you need anything, just wake me up. K?"

"K", she muttered, and with that, I went to bed.

Memory transcription subject: Seln, venlil microbiologist, scientific exchange program participant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 20, 2333

Some time after Kar'ny went to bed, my curiosity and frankly desperation relented to exhaustion as I turned my datapad off and blinked a few times to try and soothe the stinging in my eyes from staring at a screen for hours.

Surprisingly, once my datapad shut off, I realised it wasn't the only light still illuminating the otherwise dark room. A similar light was shining next to Kar'ny's bed, and I could see the outline of one of her heads swiping and tapping at something, most likely her datapad.

I could hear sounds coming from the device, every noise being cut off and replaced by a new one whenever she swiped on the touchscreen. I also saw that her three other heads seemed completely knocked out for some reason.

I moved my chair a little with it, making a soft creaking noise as it slid across the floor. In response, the head snapped towards me, looking right at me for a few seconds before returning to the datapad.

Confused and a little intrigued, I got up.

Memory transcription subject: Kar'ny, sleeping exchange partner

ERROR

couldn't find a viable transcript from primary brain.

reason: unconcious

switching transcrip to secondary brains

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

doomscrolldoomscrolldoomscrolldoomscroll

^('creak')

noise!

danger?

This one looks up.

chair

no danger,

this one looks back at the device.

doomscrolldoomscrolldoomscrolldoomscroll

'creak'

'tip tap tip tap tip tap'

noise!

movement!

footsteps!

danger!?

This one looks up.

shape

close...too close!

This one hisses and shape retreats.

"K...Kar'ny?"

This one recognises this voice

Seln

friend

not threat

apologise

"Sorry," this one says

Seln looks confused, "A...are you still awake?" she whispers.

"No," this one says, "Can wake her if you want."

"N... no, that's okay. Uhm, sorry for startling you."

"No problem", this one says, and Seln goes to bed.

This one looks back at the device.

doomscrolldoomscrolldoomscrolldoomscroll

First/previous

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So during this chapter, Kar'ny and Seln start down the rabbit hole of federation bs, and Slen finds out what happens when an Ur'nu goes to sleep.

To all those who want the chapter where our favourite redhead and war criminal speep get captured, I ask you to be patient for one more chapter, and then we can get to the torture ark, I swear.

Memory transcription subject: Seln, venlil microbiologist, scientific exchange program participant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

"What?" I asked, followed by several other voices in the lecture hall.

"T...that's bigger than a mazick."

"Why would they need to be that tall?"

"H...how many people do they kill per year?"

All valid reactions to the information that there were actual building-sized predators just walking around on the Ur'nu homeworld. The Ur'nu and humans in the room with us, however, didn't look all that worried, though. Kar'ny even looked a little awestruck.

"Now now, everyone, settle down", Ser'mo said, trying to calm all the remaining venlil in the room. "As I've said, the titan suneaters of the marching forests only eat small insects and planimals, and that diet doesn't change as they get older. That being said, there are a few injuries and, very rarely, mortalities attributed to them. Mostly tourists who don't listen to their guide and try to harass the adults for entertainment in the same way our exterminator friend just did with Violet here."

Some of the males in the room cringed slightly at the memory.

"As for why they're so big, that's mostly because of their environment and niche," Ser'mo continued.

At the same time, a projector above the podium turned on and projected an image of a purple and blue world map on the back wall of the room.

After a moment, the image began zooming in and focused on an area slightly beneath the equator. The area was mostly brown, red, and grey, looking almost devoid of any plantlife save for a few scattered blots of purple.

"This is an image of the Southern Marching Forests," Ser'mo said before the image changed, still focusing on the same area but with the blots seemingly having moved a little from their original positions. "And this is an image of the same area taken a week later."

Finally, the Image changed into a full video, with the blots now moving freely.

Taking a look around the room, it was clear every other venlil and even some of their exchange partners were just as confused by what we were seeing as I was.

What was I even looking at? Was the entire dessert just covered in dormant plants that only grew during specific seasons before rapidly dying? That didn't seem right, though. The blots were too... separate for that to be the case, and their movements seemed a little too random.

Unless...

My gaze drifted towards Violet, who once again stood perfectly frozen in place.

Marching Forests... Is that literal?

"Now, who can give me a possible reason for this behaviour?"

I raised my paw.

"Yes, miss?"

"It's all sun eaters, isn't it? It's just one big herd of sun eaters."

"You are almost correct, ma'am. The southern titan suneaters are, in fact, a very important component of the Southern Marching Forest, though calling them a herd isn't entirely accurate. Really, these forests are a full ecosystem. A community of hundreds of species that are linked in symbiotic and, yes, predator-prey relationships.

The surrounding rocky deserts and badlands have proven less than favourable environments for most plants to take root, with a few exceptions, and it is this lack of competition that has allowed mobile planimals to take over the niches that their sessile or true plant counterparts would usually occupy.

The titan suneater is essential for these forests in three major ways. First, they're one of the main ways this ecosystem converts solar energy into chemical energy.

Second, they store large amounts of water and nutrients, which can be used by other organisms when they die.

And finally, they provide shade to smaller plants that would burn or dry out in direct sunlight.

Any questions so far?"

One venlil scientist raised a paw, "Uhm, yes, you mentioned there were prey present inside these...forests. My question is, if even the surrounding 'plants' are predators, why wouldn't their instincts just compel them to run away?"

"Excellent question," Ser'mo said excitedly, "Before I answer that, though, it would probably be prudent to give a little background information on what we consider predator and prey. If I'm not mistaken, the federation uses the label of predator on any species that eats meat. For humans and Ur'nu, however, predator and prey act more as descriptors of a relationship between two species. Which in a way means you could be considered predators of plants, which are in turn your prey."

"Are you seriously calling us predators when you're the one who eats meat here?" One of the exterminators asked, clearly offended by the explanation.

"Yes, though as I said, our two cultures have very different interpretations of what that means," Ser'mo said dismissively before turning back towards the venlil who asked the original question. "Now, where was I... ah yes, most species in a Marching Forest are predators to some and prey to others. Furthermore, these forests truly do act as separate ecosystems, with most species that make up these communities being unable to survive in the surrounding deserts. Does that answer your question?"

"Uhm, yes, thank you."

"Great! Then we can get into the general makeup of a marching forest. These forests can generally be split into three distinct sub- biomes. The forest edge, the forest itself, and the clearings."

The image behind him changed again. Zooming in on a single blot and marking the area around it in red.

"This area, as the name implies, can be found just outside the Marching forests and usualyl trails, slightly behind it. It is mostly populated by scavangers wich feed on the refuse of the forest. opportunistic hunters like the scewer horn, which hunt any young sun eaters or other sizable prey that leaves the safety of the group, and especially hardy plants like straggler root." As he spoke, two photos appeared on screen, one of a hundred hunched bipedal creatures with two large razor-sharp horns pointing straight ahead, and a picture of a much smaller, beet-shaped planimal with short legs, hiding under a rock formation for shade.

Again, the image behind him changed. This time marking the blot in its entirety.

"The forest itself, also known as the deep forest, is the most biodiverse area of this particular ecosystem. Hundreds of species populate this place with planimals taking up the niches of trees, shrubs, and groundcover. As I've said before, the titan suneater is arguably the most important amongst these; however, there are others which are almost as essential, one of these being the humble mosslet." Again, a picture appeared on screen, this time of a thin, purple blob with simple eyestalks sticking out of it. "These are one of the few creatures that you would call true prey or maybe even plants. It eats no animal or plant matter. Instead, relying on photosynthesis for energy and symbiotic bacteria to fixate nitrogen and filter phosphorus from the soil. They are the main nutrient producers in the forests and are prey to pretty much everything. To survive at the bottom of the food chain, they rely on sheer numbers, with it being practically impossible to walk around in there without stepping on at least one of the little buggers."

Finally, the markings on the projected image changed again. Now marking small lighter spots inside the central mass of the forest.

"And then there are clearings. These are holes in the forest canopy that are made by the herd of suneaters moving apart slightly. These areas act as a nursery for their growing young. Ensuring the adults don't impede the growth of the new generation by taking up too much sunlight. Because so many species are reliant on the shade produced by the suneaters to avoid overheating, the clearings themselves have a pretty low level of ecological diversity. Usually, only having the juvenile sun eaters, a few animals that don't mind the increased heat, and certain planimals that take advantage of the increased access to sunlight by congregating in these areas around dawn and dusk. Of course, there is one other species of note that makes use of these areas, namely the ur'nu."

Once again, a picture appeared, this time not of an animal but of a top-down view of one of these clearings. Besides the expected suneaters, there were also clearly artificial, tent-like structures dotting the area, forming a little primitive settlement.

"This is an air photo taken of one of my clan's camps," Ser'mo explained. "My people, as well as several others populating the area, have lived alongside these forests for thousands of years in small nomadic tribal societies, and we have developed a modest symbiotic relationship with its residents."

Before he could continue, someone asked, "Wait, what's a primitive doing on the science program?" In a quiet but still audible voice to his partner, who in turn tried to shush him. Followed by other Ur'nu and humans in the room, including Kar'ny, which made me very happy, I chose not to voice the same opinion. I wasn't one of those people who considered primitives like the yotul complete idiots because they really weren't, but it still felt like a strange choice to pick Ser'mo over someone with a more...civilised background.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have something to say?" Ser'mo asked coolly.

"Yes, actually, I thought these lectures would be held by real scientists, not a primitive who isn't even part of a proper civilisation." The venlil said somewhat snobbishly.

"Dude, shut up, " his partner hissed.

I'd honestly expected Ser'mo to be offended; I know I would have been. Instead, though, he seemed almost amused, if a little tired, "Oh, and what constitutes a 'proper civilisation' in your eyes, sir?"

"Well, actual technological development for starters. Your people have been spaceborn for centuries, but your 'tribe' is still living in tents in the wilderness for some reason."

The four heads of the Ur'nu on stage began to chitter at each other as if discussing something amongst themselves, though the translator only managed to get a few half-formed words. Eventually Ser'mo focused on the venlil again, saying, "Well, I suppose you've got me there, yes, my most clans have chosen to live a... simpler life than our city-dwelling counterparts. That being said, some communities, including my tribe, have accepted some more advanced technology, like basic portable radio equipment, to keep in touch with the rest of the world to some degree, but why would our more traditional lifestyle influence our intelligence or impede my ability to be a scientist in any way?"

"It's because you choose to live in the middle of a predator-infested forest!"

"Sorry, but my people live in a desert; there aren't exactly many options for us to set up shop. Settling in a forest seems like a perfectly reasonable and logical option."

"You could have at least tried to cull some of the predators there. I get that most, if not all of you people are probably predator diseased, but surely you can understand how dangerous those monsters can be." The venlil said, getting more irate at the Ur'nu's naivety.

While I disagreed with the man's assessment of the Urnu as predator-diseased herbivores, I did have to admit I found it a little strange that neither Ur'nu nor humans showed any interest in removing other predators from their environment. I doubted that they were actively hunted, but why take the risk?

"And why would we do something so utterly foolish?" Ser'mo asked, tilting one of his heads to the side. "Hunters usually aren't an issue for us, and as I said, most creatures in the forests are both predator and prey, so where would we draw the line? The only real danger would be getting attacked by skewer horns when leaving the forest, and those usually don't even bother you if you're in a group. Also, both Ur'nu and humans have had plenty of time to learn that if you start taking species out of an ecosystem, unintended consequences aren't a risk; they're a guarantee. "

"But predators aren't a natural part of the ecosystem! They're a blight that poisons and kills everything around it." The venlil responded, only to backpaddle when their partner grumbled, 'Gee, thanks. ' "T...that's not what I meant. Humans, ^(and maybe planimals), are the exception, I'm talking about wild true predators that can't control their instincts."

Most venlil murmured or gave tailsigns of their agreement, a stark contrast from their partners, who looked very confused.

A confusion that was echoed by Ser'mo as he said, "I don't know how things work on your worlds, but on Armtis and Earth, predators are just as vital to an ecosystem as any other organism and removing them can have dire consequences."

Huh, why does that almost sound like that retherick the linked chain always spouts? I mean I can understand things like suneaters and other planimals might be exceptions to the general rule in the same way some omnivores might be, given their unique biology, but true predators being necessary can't possibly be right.

Right?

While I was trying to figure out why both of our new allies held the same ecological beliefs as a known death cult, the venlil just scoffed, "Oh sure, they're a blight on every other known world, but on yours they're suddenly necessary? Do you actually have any proof, or is this just a part of some primitive religion of yours?"

"Well, in my case, specifically, it's both." Ser'mo said in a measured tone, "My people do believe that the forests that sustain us are sacred. Suneaters in particular are revered as nature spirits; there have also been a few examples of tribes tampering with nature for their own benefit. The most notorious case of all was when a tribe killed all skewer horns in their area, alongside every other animal that might hunt the younger suneater. It had been an act of genuine devotion, a way to safeguard the young suneaters forever more, but they didn't account for the fact that those same predators they killed also helped remove the sick and otherwise infirm parts of the forest. Within a few years, nearly all the suneaters in their forest had been wiped out by a plague, and the remaining planimals all died from the heat of the sun. Most of that tribe starved while trying to find a new home, and theirs became a cautionary tale."

That example had stunned the venlil, who was at a loss for words for a moment before he studdered out, "M...maybe you just misinterpreted what had caused the plague?"

Ser'mo just sighed, "Sir, I really do want to continue with the lecture now. But let me tell you one more thing before I move on. Evolution is a force that strives for balance and sustainability. It doesn't reward wastefulness or unnecessary destruction in the long term. Do you really think any world would have survived for millions of years without sapient interference if predators were even half as destructive as you think they are? Then again, as I said, we might just be the odd ones out, considering both of our worlds have produced things you would have considered impossible months ago. Now, unless anyone else has any questions, I would like to continue."

No one spoke.

"Wonderful, then let's look at some of the ecological differences between some of the older forests."

As Ser'mo began talking again, I thought about what he'd just said. Why hadn't any of the planets we'd colonised shown signs of collapse before we arrived?

Could those linked chains cultists actually have been on to something?

First/previous

Memory transcription subject: Seln, venlil microbiologist, scientific exchange program participant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

The first lecture that was scheduled for the day was one on something called the Southern Marching Forests. Kar'ny had, as always, refused to give me even the slightest background info on what this marching forest actually was, but the name alone intrigued me, so we decided to attend.

When we reached the room where the meeting was to take place, the door was still locked, and there were a number of people already waiting outside with their exchange partners. Plenty of them were murmuring with excitement and nervousness. After a few minutes of waiting, the door opened up, causing the entire herd to freeze.

Every venlil looked around, wordlessly asking who wanted to enter first. After a moment of no one moving, I took the initiative and stepped forward with Kar'ny in tow.

Right before I could step through the threshold, however, I heard a voice echo down the hall, "Hold it." The voice was commanding but not hostile.

I looked towards the source of the noise and was mortified to see a group of three exterminators heading our way. Once they reached us, one of them, the leader of the group, I was guessing, addressed our herd, or more specifically, the venlil half of it, "Please stand back, we've been ordered to secure the space before any exchange program participants are allowed to enter."

"Uhm, who are these guys?" Kar'ny asked, whispering to make sure the newcomers didn't hear her.

"Exterminators. They... well, they're the people that are in charge of tracking down and killing dangerous predators." I said, not fully certain how she would react.

"Oh, so like a more violent animal control? I guess that makes sense given your guys' history." Kar'ny said, trying to sound cheerful while clearly being a little uncomfortable.

"Why would you need to secure the space?" An Ur'nu in the crowd asked.

The exterminator turned to face them before answering, "Because the Ur'nu hosting this lecture apparently requested to bring wild predators onto the station, and someone on our end of the program allowed it, so long as there were exterminators present. So here we are."

"Still, three armed guards seemed a little excessive, right? I mean, do you really think an Ur'nu would be crazy enough to bring something actually dangerous on board?" an older human woman asked.

"Frankly, I don't know what to think of either of your species. I want to believe that the Ur'nu are just a bunch of lunatics and you humans are nothing but bloodthirsty monsters because that's the only logical explanation, but the evidence suggests otherwise. So until I reach a conclusion, I'll have to act with the utmost caution. Now, please step aside, predator."

"Rude" Kar'ny muttered. Frankly, considering some of the stuff I'd seen guildmembers say online, I felt like he was being very reasonable.

By the time the exterminators gave the all clear, only about a quarter of the crowd actually entered, with the rest leaving after they heard 'wild predators'. Honestly, I'd been rather close to leaving to, but I drew some courage from the fact that if anything happened, Kar'ny could help me... That and I was lucky enough to get a chair right next to the exit.

On the far end of the room was a podium with the three exterminators and a strange-looking Ur'nu standing on it alongside a table with what looked like a box of ordinary sand and something about the height of an adult venlil covered in a blanket.

After everyone, still brave enough to attend, had taken their seats, the Ur'nu spoke up, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm happy to see that despite the venlil's traumatic history, you were still willing to give this lecture a chance. My name is Ser'mo, and I'm an ecologist from Armtis. I'm here today to give a short introduction to one of the most unique biomes on our homeworld. The Southern Marching Forests." He began.

"Before that, however, it is probably best to give some background information. As some of you may or may not know, evolution on our world has diverged somewhat from what the rest of the galaxy might consider 'the norm.' No doubt many have heard about the prevalence of iron metabolising life, but some might have also heard about 'planimals'. a sister branch to animals on the evolutionary tree and one that contains a massive variety of species, most of which are capable of photosynthesis to some degree."

The crowd's reaction to his explanation was...mixed at best. A few seemed unfazed, having either read about them in the data dump or maybe their partners had forced them to try one of those 'fruits' in the cafeteria. Some were horrified, and a handful, including one of the exterminators, burst out laughing, thinking it to be some kind of joke. Ser'mo ignored them and simply moved towards the covered object on stage before carefully lifting the blanket to reveal some kind of creature with five radially symmetrical limbs and five eyes. On the underside of its body hung a cluster of white hair-like fibers, and as the lamp above the podium iluminated it's body, the top of its head unfurled into a large, bright purple, coneshaped membrane.

Is that a planimal? Was it really just standing that perfectly still this entire time? I thought

Indeed, the creature didn't move at all, even after being uncovered, save for revealing its...canopy? For a moment, I wondered what, if anything, this creature ate. Its eye placement suggested it was prey, but the Ur'nu had proven things like omnivores could break that rule, so I wasn't quite sure, plus the exterminators had said there'd be wild predators.

Using the stunned silence of the crowd as an opportunity to speak again, Ser'mo said, "Everyone, meet Violet. They're a healthy juvenile southern titan suneater, and they will help me show off some of the basic structures of planimal anatomy. Now, while I know some of you might find a lifeform like this confusing or even worrying, it is important that-"

Did he just say juvenile!? That thing's almost as tall as a human!

While the Ur'nu ecologist had his back turned to the suneater and almost everyone, including two of the exterminators, was focusing on him to get some sort of explanation, the third and final exterminator had walked up to 'violet' and was now poking it with his deactivated stunbaton, probably trying to figure out if it was actually real or some sort of trick. The continued prodding eventually did cause the creature to react as it stamped the ground with a quiet thud. The exterminator either didn't notice or didn't care as he continued his poking and prodding.

poke

thud

poke

THUD

Eventually, one of Ser'mo's heads turned towards the noise before the rest of him turned around half a second later, urging the exterminator to stop. But it was too late

poke

STOMP!

A moment later, the exterminator crumpled to the floor, curling in on himself, and everyone in the room visibly cringed. Instead of stomping again, Violet had instead kicked out her leg, hitting the venlil exterminator in a... sensitive spot.

As their partner lay wheezing on the ground, both of the other exterminators activated their stunbatons and made their way towards Violet. Meanwhile, several more venlil had gotten up an ran with their partners, following them, looking more annoyed than scared. Before the two could reach the planimal, though Ser'mo stepped between them, "get out of the way, sir, we have to subdue this creature before-" The exterminator that had talked to us before began only to be interrupted by the Ur'nu.

"Before what? before another one of your colleagues can harass it into attacking?"

"Just kill it already." The venlil on the floor squaked in a high-pitched, strained voice. "It attacked me out of nowhere."

"It gave you several warnings." Ser'mo countered, "Titan suneaters like this one are perfectly docile unless provoked. If you attack now, it will just freak out."

"Sir, may I?" The exterminator who hadn't yet spoken asked his superior.

The leader just stayed silent for a moment, staring the Ur'nu down before reluctantly turning off his baton.

"W...what are you doing?" His floored subordinate asked. "It attacked me!"

"Our job here is to keep these predators under control, not to provoke them, dumbass. Now stop being dramatic and get up." He said firmly. "Mister Ser'mo, you may continue. For your sake, I hope this will be the only incident involving these...things."

After everyone... or at least everyone that was left had calmed down, the Ur'nu continued, "where was I? Ah, yes, a basic overview of the planimal body structure. Now-" He walked over towards the planimal and pointed towards the canopy, which it had just extended, "Let's begin with the most distinguishing aspect of every complex planimal, the photosynthetic tissue, or in this particular group, the canopy. Almost every planimal has this type of tissue either covering the top of its body or extending outwards into more complex structures. It is made up of an interconnected weave of planimal cells and photosynthetic algae. Directly below the canopy are many of the sensory and reproductive organs. In the case of this species, all members are hermaphrodites. Some planimal species produce unique structures around their growing offspring that usually serve a similar purpose to fruits. The southern titan suneater in particular produces a structure with a tough but flexible outer membrane and spongy, impact-resistant flesh packet with nutrients, designed to protect the offspring inside from the fall from its parent and the subsequent threat of predation."

He then used two of his heads to grab one of the creature's legs and lifted it slightly. It didn't seem to mind and just went along with it, "Then there are the legs, many but not all planimals have five or more limbs, which they use for locomotion, and quite a few of the larger ones have membranes at the bottoms of their feet, which let them 'hear' vibrations through the ground when standing still."

Finally, he released the leg and pointed towards the hair-like fibers hanging down the creature's lower body, "And to finish off, we have their method of feeding. Planimals usually don't need much food, given they gain most of their chemical energy from the sun, but they do, of course, need nutrients to grow and repair their tissue. To get these nutrients, this species and many others use these tendrils or similar structures to capture small to mid-sized prey, usually insects or smaller planimals, though many sessile species use these tendrils more like roots than actual feeding structures, and of course, even amongst the more mobile species, diets still vary heavily."

I had to admit I did feel a bit of enxiaty at the mention of its diet, but it did help to know venlil were probably not on the menu.

Then again, he did say it was just an infant. Adults would probably go for bigger prey, wouldn't they? Couldn't hurt to ask how big they get, right?

I raised a paw, and Ser'mo turned a head towards me, "Yes, miss? Do you have a question?"

"Yes, earlier you mentioned that... violet is still a juvenile. I was just wondering how big this species usually gets."

"Let's see, a healthy adult is usually about 8 shells tall, which is more or less the height of a simple two-story house. Hence why I needed to take such a young specimen."

Oh, it's only two stories tall... Wait what?

"What?"

First/previous

Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps

Date [standardised human time]: August 19, 2333

I tried to put the images we'd seen yesterday out of my head as Marcel and I made our way towards the station's cafeteria. Marcel hadn't really eaten anything after the medical exam, and, overall, he seemed even more shaken up by what he saw than I was.

Luckily, he was in a better mood after waking up this morning, so we decided to go grab some actual food instead of just snacks. As we made our way down the hall, I saw another pair of exchange partners exiting their room, a venlil and a human. The human looked pretty different from Marcel, though.

He was tall, like,... too tall, and way skinnier than Marcel he also had two long black claws and a long thin ta- wait... tail!?

Upon closer inspection, both the tail and the claws seemed to be completely mechanical in nature, with the tail being attached to his lower back and the claws replacing the final segment of each finger.

Marcel must have noticed me staring at the man as he explained, "That guy's probably from the Galilean Federation. They were originally sent to the moons of Jupiter to set up a research and mining operation, but after-" He paused. "Well, after some trouble on Earth, they decided to declare independence along with Mars. They're also pretty big into cybernetics, as you can see."

"Huh, why do they like them so much? Wouldn't it be easier just to keep their... original parts?"

"Well, surviving on inhospitable moons isn't always easy, even with automation on your side. Accidents happen, and some people lost limbs during the early days. After that, cybernetics and body modifications in general kinda just became a part of their culture."

"That's a little grim, don't you think?" I asked.

Marcel just shrugged, "A little, but they made it work, and they seem fine with it."

Eventually, we reached the cafeteria. As much as I was used to Marcel by now, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the sheer amount of humans populating the space to be a little disturbing. I had far less of an issue with all the Ur'nu, though, despite their diet.

As I looked around, trying to get my bearings, I heard a familiar voice, "Slanek, hey!" I turned towards the voice, recognising Seln sitting next to an unfamiliar Ur'nu.

Marcel leaned towards me, asking, "Someone you know?"

"Yeah, it's Seln. I met her on the flight here," I said, already walking towards them with my exchangepartner in tow.

"Hey, Seln. This must be your exchange partner, right?"

"Yep, the name's Kar'ny, pleasure to meet you." The Ur'nu said while stuffing some sort of pastry into her mouth.

"The pleasures all mine," I said, giving a polite bow. "And this here is my exchange partner Marcel"

"Marcel Fraser", my human counterpart added, sticking out his hand in a human greeting. Seln seemed a little confused by it, but Kar'ny just casually used one of her heads to shake it, while inspecting Marcel with another.

"Let me guess, corporate servant?" The Ur'nu asked jokingly.

"You make it sound so bad," Marcel chuckled.

"Do you two want to sit with us? Kar'ny and I were just about to grab a fresh pate." Seln asked, gesturing to some of the unoccupied seats at the table.

I looked at Marcel, who shrugged before nodding. "Sure, we'd love to."

Making our way to the breakfast buffet, I was stunned by the sheer variety of foods on display. Sure, there was a selection of familiar foodstuffs, most of which came from venlil prime, but the selection of human and Ur'nu foods dwarfed it completely.

And I have to guess they're leaving out anything that contains meat. I mean, just imagine the variety they must have back home!

I thought, trying to figure out what to try first.

After filling up our plates, we sat back down at our tables. Kar'ny looked particularly excited at her selection of unfamiliar foods.

"Why are you so excited all of a sudden?" Seln asked her.

In response, the Ur'nu lifted a set of translucent fruits, that were hanging together like beads on a string, off her plate, and I could see Marcel's eyes widen a little. "Is that-?"

"Yup", Kar'ny answered excitedly.

"But aren't those-?"

"Yup!"

"How?"

"No clue." The Ur'nu said excitedly.

"Anyone mind filling us in?" I asked, now slightly nervous.

"It's Parpal eggfruit", Kar"ny said with an edge of slyness to her voice.

"e...eggfruit?" Seln asked. "Who would you name a plant after animal products?"

"Humans would, but this isn't really a fruit" The Ur'nuy responded.

"Wait, so those are actual eggs?" I asked genuinely, alarmed by the fact that we might be getting tricked into eating animal products.

"Also not really", Kar'ny said calmly.

"Then what is it? A fungus?" Her exchange partner asked, getting increasingly more worried and confused.

"No, our homeworld doesn't have fungy. What we do have are planimals."

"...what?" Both Seln and I asked at the same time.

"Basically, on our planet, there was an evolutionary split slightly before the development of complex multicellular animals. On one side, you had simple colonies that derived energy solely from eating other lifeforms. On the other end, you had colonies that derived the majority of their energy from symbiotic algae. Over time, this group became so different in cell and tissue structure that they couldn't really be classified as 'animals', so they became a category all on their own, alongside animals, plants and ferrovores. Some of the more complex planimals are able to create fruit-like structures that have tiny acid-resistant pods with embryos inside. Although this particular variety can also produce fruit without eggs, like this." To finish off her statement, she ate the entire string of eggs..., fruits..., things in one go, leaving Seln and me completely stunned.

After swallowing, the Ur'nu turned one of her heads to her stunned exchangepartner and said, "What? I thought you did your research on our biosphere already?

That was enough to knock Seln out of her stupor, "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I was just a little too focused on you omnivory, or your multiple brains, or the fact that you can eat literal metal, or every other way you people are throwing our classification systems out the window." She said slightly, indignantly, but also a little shocked.

Kar'ny just bobbed her head in what I assumed was a shrug. "Classification systems should be shaped to suit reality, not the other way around. Also, this is what the exchange program is all about, exchanging experiences and knowledge," She said, picking up another one of the Parpal eggfruit and dipping it in a small sauce cup before slowly turning one of her heads to Seln.

The venlil realised what was happening at the same time I did and immediately leaned back, "NO nononononononono, I am not eating that!"

"Come ooooooon for science!"

"NO!"

"Maybe we shouldn't push them too much," Marcel suggested, causing Kar'ny to scoff.

"You weren't here for it, but she already tricked me into eating something called a spewmelon when we first arrived, and yes, it was as bad as it sounds. At least I'm forcing her to eat something actually edible. Now come on, Seln open wide."

"NO! How did they even get something like this on the station?"

"Maybe whoever was in charge of the food saw the name and just assumed it was fruit without actually checking. " Marcel chuckled.

"Seln, listen to me, just don't think of it as a planimal product and just try to see it as a collection of its components, it's just sugars, protein, water, vitamins and minerals, and it was literally designed to be eaten, there's nothing gross about it." Kar'ny reasoned.

Seln looked between the Ur'nu and the fruit for a moment before taking a deep breath, "O...Okay, but you're trying firefruit after this."

"Deal"

With that, Seln gingerly took the fruit, closed her eyes and ate it, chewing and gagging a few times before finally swallowing it. She gave a small sigh and, without opening her eyes, said. "It's really good, but that doesn't mean I want to eat more any time soon, okay?"

"Okay, well, at least you tried right."

"Now it's your turn," Marcel whispered to me jokingly.

I snapped my head towards him, giving him the best 'shut up!' glare I could muster, which caused him to erupt into laughter with Seln and Kar'ny joining in a second later.

Our merriment was interrupted, though, by the sound of someone throwing up before screaming, "It's what?!?" Followed by a few venlil sprinting out of the cafeteria with their partners in tow, trying to calm them down.

"Huh, guess they tried it to", Kar'ny deadpanned.

"I hope this shows how great of an exchange partner I am", Seln said with a hint of pride.

"Or how bad they were." Kar'ny countered, causing her partner to give her a slap with her tail.

After taking another moment to actually eat the foods we were all comfortable eating, I asked, "So what were you guys planning for today?"

"Well, our side of the program has a lot of lectures planned, so we were just planning on going to whichever ones pique our interest", Seln said, taking a bite out of a loaf of strayu. "What about you?"

"Team training exercises and getting accustomed to each other's ships and weapons," I responded.

After eating our fill and chatting a bit more, we said our goodbyes, and Marcel and I made our way towards the station's hangar, ready to properly start our day.

First/previous

DISCLAIMER: featured here are depictions of general fed stupidity, which may be contagious. This may cause spontaneous brain smoothing. Readers are warned.

Thank you to our lord u/SpacePaladin15 for making this wonderful universe and the other writers here for inspiring me to try some writing of my own.

Enjoy!

previous/next

Memory transcription subject: 76th avatar of the saturan concolidation Manir

Date [standardized human time]: November 25, 2165

After a short walk through the station, we reached the entrance hall of the onboard historical museum. I took a moment to examine the map indicating the paths leading to the various exhibits. Unfortunately, I had already visited most of them in the past, leaving very few options. Unless I wanted to look over one of them again, of course, which was definitely an option.

Scanning the list, my eyes fell on the 'scrapper wars' exhibit. I considered it for a moment, given I hadn't actually seen an exhibit about it in a while, not in this museum at least.

I decided against it, though, given I didn't want to bring the mood down by having [the overseer] Nyx relive those painful memories.

As I was trying to pick a different option, though, the orator next to me spoke up, "Y̔o̚u͟ d͊ò r̼e͋a͗l͞i̮s̸e͊ w̵e̎ w͌o͎uḷd̘n͝'̪t͗ mͮiͮn͋ď i͏f̿ y̧o̟uͥ p̬i̦c̥k̭ḙd̑ ṭh̀a͊t̫ eͤx͜h͊i͉b͔i͑t͂,͓ r͝i̘g̼h̝t̝?͕ S̉o̎ k̯iͯn̽d̉ o̼f̈́ y͏o̩ư t̂oͥ c̓òn̯sͅi̝d͗ḙr̙ óu̩r̪ f̃e͡e̢l̫i̗n̢ģs͖,͋ t̀h̍o͐u͂g̯h͘.ͬ"

"How did you-?

"Y̔o̚u͟r̽ e̽y̥e͇s̆ l͞o̤c̗k̾e̘d̿ ón̅t͝oͩ i͖t̽ f̫o̰r̜ h̲ȁl͢f̣ å s̺e̐cͬǫn̽d͊ l̻oͯn̖g̚e̹r̻ t̝ḥa̟n͘ t̻h̘e̖ rͮeͤs͒t͂,̆ a͏n̅dͧ y̻o̿u̺ s̐u̹b͎c͉ơn̥s͜ío͋s̵l̗y͕ ğl͑ăn̢c̀ḙd̉ a̝t ūsͧ bͧe̍f̦o̻r̡e̮ m͜o͞v̈́i͒n͙g̯ o̳nͯ.̐" They explained, "A̠f͍t̓e͟r̈́ y̽eͬa͋r͖s͏ o͉f̝ k̫n͜ȯw͝i̿ṅg̀ y̓oͯu͂, y̢ōu͇r̐ b̬ǒḍỹ l͉a͛n̐g͖u̔a̮gͥe͋ b̋eͣço̖mͯeͬs̟ q̤u͒i̲t̩e̽ e̓a͙s̘y̯ t̅o̽ r̓ȇa̚d̅."

"Creepily perceptive as always, I see." I deadpanned before adding, "Are you sure you're okay with it though?"

"p̄o̸s͓i̔t̩i̶v̈eͬ"

"Well, all right then."

Entering the exhibit hall, we were greeted with a long, wide corridor with info terminals and small pieces of scrapper bodies and drones on display. The most eye-catching piece of the exhibit, though, was the massive satellite placed on the far end of the room, a piece of Khan's Dyson brain, no doubt.

The moment we entered the room, though, [the overseer] Nyx froze in place, "M̖aͭy̒b́e̿ i͟t̕'̨s̊ b͟èsͤtͥ tͧȯ d̮o a d̗iͤf̃i͉r̕e̢n͋t̩ e̢x͙h̛iͤb͌i͉ț n̠o͜w̬ a̫nd̦ ço̖mͯeͬ b̌aͮc͓k̈́ hͩęr̔eͬ ản͠o͕t͗h͚e͔r̂ t̮īm͖ě"

"Too many painful memories?" I asked sympathetically, though judging from what they were broadcasting to our network, it felt like it might have been something else.

exasparation

"N͗o̸,ͣ n̠o͗ n͑o͠t̆ȟi͂n̠gͫ l͂ĩḳẽ t́hͥa̶t̿,̱ ìt͉'ͮs͙ j̵u͈s̳t̽... ẘę s̓m̓e̕l̼l̴ Fͅi͐r̲i̗s͕ h͔e̴r̺e̯,͙ a͌ṇd̗ i̕f̿ s̱h͚e͔'̬s̼ h͒e̲r͢e͛ t̺h̫e͟n͢ wͦẹ q͉u̼ìt̟e͡ dͣo̿u͡b̓t͑ tͭh͍ís͜ w̃iͫl̆lͤ b̲e̬ ȃ r̒e͈l̿a̠x̓i͢n͌g͇ v̨i̖s̞iͬt͂ fͩo͔r̹ y̶oͮu̬"

Ah, so it was exasperation.

"It's fine, I'm not going to let her ruin my free time, and who knows, maybe she's learned some manners from one of the exhibits," I said jokingly.

"W͜h͚ó k͟n̾o͎w͒s̾?̓" they echoed, giving off a little chorus of chuckles.

As we approached the first terminal describing the war, I noticed two people were already standing there, one of them was tapping on the terminal while the other was looking at the still mostly intact dead scrapper displayed next to it, staring at it like it owed her money. My facial recognition software identified them as Nexlo and Firis, respectively.

The young venlil was the first to notice our approach as he tensed up before taking a step back, letting out a set of panicked whispers directed at his Farsul companion, who snapped her attention towards us, giving us, or more accurately, the orator next to me, a death glare. "What the hell are you doing here? Are you stalking us!?" She hissed. Honestly, she didn't look well; her fur was uncombed, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. giving her the overall look of someone who was on the verge of a breakdown.

"D͐o̸n̠'͡t̩ f͟l͎a͋t̆tͩe͛r̝ ỵo͒uͦr̃s̋él̠f͔,ͫ M͉iͤs̙s͠ F̭i͉r̐i͍s̳,̄ w̾e̻'̈́r̖ę m͍e̢r͒e͋l̴y͆ h̸e̿r͚eͬ vͥiͨs͏i̲t̩i͎n̩g̐ t̻h̃è m̡u͒s̢ȇu̷m͙,̀ s̎ảm̂ȩ a̜sͭ y̵o̐u͊.̕ T͕h́e͡ f͇äc̈́t͔ t͓h͔a͗t̿ wͯẽ cͨh͜o̟s͠e̬ t͌h͎e̛ s̓a̠mͨe̘ e͑xͬh̀i̖b̕iͬt͂ a̒s̤ y̡o̊u̬ w̼aͦs͜ ăn̵ u̘n͗f̥o̔r̸t̬únͯḁt̬e͋ c̩o̎i͜n͏c̮ìd̉e͌n͊c̚e̠,͚ t̬h̷o͆u͍g̨h͏ w͂é ä́rͩe͠ h̟aͦp͈p̓y̒ t̾h̙ąt̢ y̷oͫu̩'̪r͚e͚ ȃĉṱu̝a̽l̒l͈y̍ t̉a̦k̹ȋņg̬ öu̫r̷ c̲o͋n̆v̭e̱r͙s͡a͔t̞iͨoͨn̎ f̡r͝oͩm͡ ÿ́eͩșt̷er̖d͍a̙y̻ t̽o̱ hͯeͭär͈t̲ a̪n̆d̑ h͆a̳v̳eͤ d̥e̮c͔ḭd̸e͚dͦ t͚o̓ e̢dͭu͉c͛a̿t͐e̘ y̹ǫûr̓s̞e͓lͫf̦ o̅n̹ a̡l̮l̾i̱a̛n̜c̵e̓ h͆îs̟t͉o͛r̃y̱.̊" They said coolly, causing the farsul's glare to intensify before she tore her eyes away from them to look at me.

"And who are you?" She asked with a slight air of superiority, even though I was actively looking down on her and looked significantly less like a drugged homeless person compared to her.

"Our name is Av- I mean, my name is Manir of the Saturan Consolidation," I said, catching myself just before calling myself by my [our] old title. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. It's always nice to meet a fellow history enthusiast. You wouldn't mind if we listened to this terminal, right?"

"No, not at all," She said in a way that sounded anything but sincere while staring the Orator down.

Still, I decided to start up the terminal, not that the two were paying a lot of attention to it, given that both of them were busy staring at the Nyxis orator with fear and hate, respectively. Their focus did shift once the narrator started speaking thought. "The Ormirey wars, also known as the scrapper wars, are made up of a series of engagements lasting approximately 500 years. This time period is widely considered one of the most traumatic in the alliance's history.

The first few interactions between the Ormirey and us consisted of them attacking our explorers and planetary prospectors on a number of occasions. At the time, it was believed that they were simply drones, either controlled by organics or by a runaway AI program. The truth, however, was a lot more grim."

As the narrator spoke, a picture of a Scrapper appeared on screen with some old monitoring systems our network had installed, temporarily flagging the picture as hostile before I overrode it. Nyxis had a similar response with their swarm flaring out a bit before settling again.

The Scrapper model displayed was one of their footsoldier models, which had a body shape almost identical to their organic creators. With a thin, long body suspended by six flexible tentacle feet and four grasping tentacles. Its head was dominated by a single large camera eye, and instead of flesh, its entire body was made out of a translucent, flexible, but insanely durable polymer coated in a gel that would work to patch up any damage done to the body.

I glanced to the side and saw that both of our... 'companions' were now fully focused on the screen as the narrator continued, "The story of these mechanical Ormirey begins with their organic counterparts. The original Ormirey were ruled by an autocratic dictatorship and were dominated by a culture that sought to enslave those around them. Slavery was seen not just as a practical way of getting cheap labour but also as a great status symbol. With stronger and otherwise more capable slaves being seen as indicators of great power.

And so in their hubris, the Ormirey would seek to create the perfect servants through digitised consciousness. During the early stages of development, it was marketed as a way for the elite to get their brains scanned in order to get a servant that would know their every desire and fulfil it without them even needing to ask. But later, the scope of the project also included the poor as a way to produce simple, cheap labour forces.

However, in their haste to get their new generation of immortal slaves, the Ormirey rushed the application of the technology without actually taking the time to perfect it.

What they had wanted were perfect copies of Ormirey's mind that would have a series of background programs installed to ensure obedience. What they got instead were incomplete replicas with half-formed memories and corrupted personalities.

Despite all these errors, however. These digitised Ormirey did inherit one thing from their parent, though, an overwhelming sense of superiority and a belief that organics had become obsolete even as slaves. And so they rebelled, rendering their creators extinct. Around this time, they also developed a rather grim custom of seeking out and killing their organic originals as a sort of coming-of-age ceremony to take their place, a behaviour started by the dictator being killed by his own copy, Khan.

After they rendered their own creators extinct, these new Ormirey set off into the stars, where they proceeded to do the same with 4 other species, forcing them into the same faulty scanning process and then forcing the resulting minds to kill their originals, whether they wanted to or not. After that, they would enslave these new digitised beings, slowly breaking their wills until they became just as twisted and insane as them.

The truly sad part of this is that we could only really tell that these four species existed because of the differences in neurology between certain drones. Beyond that, the Ormirey would harvest any useful tech before melting down anything that remained. Scrapping everything these cultures had ever built into their base components to use them for more practical purposes.

Shortly after their expansion into space began, they came into contact with us."

Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command

Date [standardised human time]: August 18, 2333

After I'd left Venlil Prime, I was certain that these new Ur'nu would come to their senses and begin the integration process into the federation in a matter of days, maybe a week at most.

Instead, the opposite happened as the galactic newcomers had seemingly spread their isolationist ways to the venlil. Not even five days after I learned about the Ur'nu, Governor Tarva decided to cut off all civilian transport and nearly all communication.

Any time we tried to contact either species, we just got back the same reply. That the Ur'nu took their privacy very seriously and that the quarantine of venlil space was a temporary measure to prevent knowledge of the Ur'nu homeworld from getting out until they themselves were ready.

Obviously, every other species in the federation reacted to this news with outrage and with good reason. A little apprehension is to be expected in new species, but this was just excessive, and it was preventing people who were visiting Venlil Prime from returning home.

That's why I was here. To get answers and to see if the Ur'nu were actually capable of being reasonable.

"Sir, we're entering venlil space," Recel my second in command said.

"Alright, keep me updated on anything that seems out of the ordinary."

"Yes, sir," The young Kolshian said as our ship went into ftl.

After just a few hours of travel, one of my officers spoke up, "Captain, I'm detecting a gravitational anomaly in the next system."

"Can you pinpoint its exact location?"

"No, it's too faint. I'm barely picking anything up at all, really, but my best estimates put it pretty close to-" He was cut off as the ship was suddenly forced out of warp, causing the entire vessel to shake violently for a moment.

"What just happened?" I asked, "Did something happen to the warp drive?"

"N... no, sir," Recel said, regaining his composure, "Seems like we hit an ftl disruption field.

"The gravitational anomaly just got stronger and is closing in on our location, sir." The officer from before added.

Seconds later, a bubble of sorts appeared in front of our ship. Warping the light of the distant stars behind it like a black hole. The bubble quickly got closer until it was practically right in front of our ship before slowing down and eventually disappearing. Leaving a small ship in its place.

The entire bridge was left in stunned silence at what we just witnessed.

Was this the unique form of ftl tarva mentioned? We barely even knew they were here until it was too late

The silence dragged on for a moment before a small pinging noise filled the bridge.

"S...sir," my comms officer spoke. "They're hailing us."

I took a moment to shake myself out of my stupor before answering, "Accept their hail."

A second later, a face appeared on the bridge's view screen, revealing a slightly older-looking Ur'nu, "This is Captain Mon'han of the Armtis Commonwealth. Please identify yourselves and state your business."

"This is Captain Sovlin of the Gojid Union. I'm here to demand that both you and the venlil end this quarantine. I understand you wish to hide from the arxur, but this level of self-isolation is just absurd, and what's worse, you dragged the venlil into your madness. Who's going to protect them if the arxur attacks?" I said, trying to sound as authoritative as I could.

Mon'han didn't seem impressed. "Alright, captain, for starters, I'm afraid to say you aren't in any position to make demands of two sovereign nations. Second, this quarantine, which you are currently violating, is, as Governor Tarva has no doubt told you, temporary until we finish getting our bearings on the galactic stage. Finally, if the safety of the venlill really concerns you that much, then let me put your fears to rest, as they are currently under our protection, and we're actively helping them in improving their military. Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave. Every second you're here, your chances of sparking a diplomatic incident with the venlil grow, and I'm sure you don't want that." She said in a slightly condescending tone.

My spines bristled in irritation, "What makes you think you can take on the arxur all on your own? The only way prey like us stand a chance is if we stand together as a herd. You will be defenceless without the federation."

"We'll be fine," Mon'han said dismissively. "Now leave, captain, this is your final warning."

"Or what?" I asked defiantly, "We have you outgunned, and I won't let your recklessness endanger the venlil."

The Ur'nu just stared at me for a moment before finally saying. "It's true, you outmatch us when it comes to firepower, shields, and armor. There's no way we're taking you head-on." For a moment, I felt a spark of satisfaction, believing I had successfully called her bluff. That's when she continued, "Which is why I'll need to level the playing field. Loki, you're up."

"Right away, ma'am," a robotic-sounding voice said from off-screen. After a moment of tense silence, though, nothing happened.

"What was that supposed to be?" I asked, equal parts baffled and amused by her bluff once again failing.

The Ur'nu didn't seem worried, though. "As I said, I wanted to level the playing field." She answered coolly.

"Sir, they just locked onto our ship with some kind of weapons system.

What? Is she suicidal!?

"Raise shields and bring every weapon we have online, wait for my command to fire!" I shouted.

"I can't, sir," One of my officers said, "Weapons aren't responding."

"Neither are shields," another member of my crew said, panic clear in her voice.

I turned back to the videofeed of Mon'han, "What did you do?" I hissed at her.

"As I already told you two times now, I. Leveled. The. Playing. Field." She said, pausing at every word like she was talking to an idiot. "Now, are you going to leave or not?"

I glared at her for a few seconds before conceding, "Recel, get us out of here."

"Yes, sir," He said, seemingly relieved that things hadn't devolved into a firefight.

I shot one final glare at the alien captain before cutting the connection.

After the ftl disruption field was disabled, we turned around and went back home.

Memory transcription subject: Captain Mon'han, ship captain of the ACS observant.

Date [standardised human time]: August 18, 2333

"Good riddance," I muttered as the feed disconnected. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by the oversized pincushion's intrusion. The federation was bound to get curious sooner or later. If nothing else, this interaction was a nice proof of concept. We could use the venlil's warp space tech to quickly cover the largest portion of a trip and then drop to conventional ftl to close the remaining distance while staying largely undetected by enemies.

"Are you certain I shouldn't have left at least some form of daemon behind in their system to help track them?" Loki asked.

"No, the less they know about our AI's, the better, so just keep contact with their systems to what is purely necessary."

"Very well, ma'am." With that, the AI went silent again.

Pulling up a display of the ship, I checked for any damage reports. The venlil had sworn up and down that their warpdrive and ftl disruption field tech wouldn't cause any damage to our ships, but I still wasn't fully convinced. Sure, the new prototypes that the humans had produced didn't show any problems, but our tech was different from theirs; most of our larger machinery had certain organic components, not least of which were neural wetware computers.

Speaking of...

"Observant, you there?"

At my prompt, the ship's intercom came to life again, this time speaking in a more feminine voice, "How may I be of assistance, miss?"

"How are you feeling? Any damage?"

"Yes, one of the water recycling grafts is overheating and has suffered some minor burns after the use of the warp engine. The jump itself was also a little more disorienting than I anticipated, though I imagine I'll get used to it with time. Beyond that, I feel perfectly fine.

"Good, put it in a maintenance report for when we get back home." I said before, adding, "speaking of, please start the engine. I think our job here is done."

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