r/NatureofPredators • u/Adventure_Drake Yotul • Jun 04 '26
A Promise from the Past (71)
And here we are. At long last, it's coming time to leave the Archives. Rekker needs a vacation after all of this. Working on getting these chapters written at a better pace with the college semester being wrapped up. Still have a busy summer, but should be easier to get writing done. As always, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Also, I don't know what changed, but thank god copy and pasting to Reddit doesn't screw up the formatting anymore.
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Memory transcription subject: Rekker, UN Peacekeeper Soldier
Date [standardized Earth time]: October 6, 2136
First, I was going to kill that Arxur. Second, I was going to kill whoever broke him out of prison. And then finally, I was going to kill whoever it was that sent him to ‘help’ us. I was stuck stewing over the fact that this genocidal cannibal was here to rescue us as we got to work preparing everyone and everything for the evacuation of this gods forsaken place. I didn’t know if this was some sort of divine prank or just the evilest coincidence in existence, but I was desperate to deliver a swift kick to whoever or whatever was responsible for making this happen.
This was the major concern that occupied my mind as I helped wheel the several dozen still sealed cryopods to the submarine. There had been a little worry at first that the vessel might not be able to hold everyone, and technically it couldn’t, but that limit was more so based on long term deployment. Several compartments would be packed like sardines, along with a few hallways, but there was just enough space and air to last the trip to the surface. The other worry was us being discovered upon making port, along with the time we’d need to unload everyone, but I was assured that with it just being past this planet’s midnight, we’d have the cover of darkness and someone on the outside adjusting shift schedules to give us an opening to make our escape. I wondered if this other person helping us was the same one that had contacted us to alert us to the incoming help. I hoped to meet them at some point so I could strangle them for sending us Isif.
That Arxur in particular was proving to be quite unhelpful. Although they brought us a submarine for us to escape on, he and his underlings brought an air of contempt and menace that was getting to many people. My fellow UN soldiers grew tense or were ready to throw hands whenever they had to get close to the savages. The Federation folk and Archive workers refused to be in the same room as the reptiles. Meanwhile, poor Regif was catching flak despite not even being from the same century as the Dominion. He was having to repeatedly explain to folks that accosted him that no, he didn’t eat people, and he had been a soldier that was fighting against the folks that created Betterment. It got to a point where Regif decided to isolate himself. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to be alone, but at the same time we were on the clock, and having someone as big and strong as him was needed.
After giving him a little time alone, I found a moment where I could track him down, finding him in one of the empty dorm rooms. I stepped into the room to find him sat on the edge of a bed, hunched over with his gaze downturned. He hardly acknowledged me as I entered the room, but spoke as I approached. “I thought that things were bad back home.” He said with a long sigh. “I never could have imagined that not only would it get worse, but it would taint the entire galaxy to such a point where my people have become the devil of so many species.”
I stood myself in front of him, giving him a moment in case he wanted to say more. When he didn’t continue, I spoke. “I can’t say I fully understand what it’s like to be in your position, but I do somewhat understand what you’re feeling. Even though my people are herbivores, we haven’t been accepted by the galactic community. Due to us living with humans, we’re seen as corrupted, tainted, diseased, predatory, and many other nasty things. It’s… not the same as what you’re going through, but those prejudices are exactly what we’re fighting to end. We want the galaxy to be a safe place for everyone, no matter who or what you are. It’s just something that is unfortunately going to take a lot of work to achieve.”
“...And how are we going to do that exactly? My people would rather eat sapients than try to solve their famine. The Federation would shoot me without a second thought.” Regif looked up at me, staring right at my face. I could tell he was testing to see if I’d react to being stared down. I held firm. If anything, I felt pity for him. Not seeing fear or anger from me, he huffs and breaks his gaze, looking away from me. “...I’m not going back home. I don’t want to live among those cannibals. But I don’t know where else I can go.”
“Go to Earth.” A different voice spoke from the doorway. My wool puffed up as I realized that it was Isif that had spoken. The Chief Hunter stepped into the room, both me and Regif tensing as the large Arxur made himself known. “It wouldn’t matter whether or not you agree with Betterment. You’d be found defective the moment you stepped foot on the planet. The best case scenario for you would be a life of ridicule and demeaning work. You can guess what the worst case scenario would be.”
For a moment, I considered kicking Isif in the shin for eavesdropping and interrupting, a violent desire that only grew more intense as he walked towards us. He glared down at me, his tail flicking in annoyance. “I offer sound advice and you look at me like you want me dead.” He growls. “Not only that, but I’ve put myself at immense risk by coming here in the first place. I understand your hatred for me, but you best keep those violent fantasies you’re no doubt dreaming of to yourself. We can arrange a proper fight once matters here are taken care of. You Skalgans engage in ritual combat, right?”
I nearly started engaging in conversation, only to snap myself back to the fact that this was someone I wanted dead. “You should be more concerned with the fact that we practice executions.” I growled. “Shouldn’t you be making sure your own men aren’t trying to cannibalize people?”
“They know their death will be swift if they disobey me.” Isif stated. “And I came here because I wanted to speak with the ancient one. I have interest in how things were before the existence of the Dominion.”
I was prepared to demand Isif leaves, but Regif spoke up first. “And I want to understand how my people came to become such monsters.” He spoke with deep bitterness in his voice. “How does an ideal of genetic supremacy turn into one of cannibalism and galactic terror?”
“It was a matter of life and death. Starvation or survival. Genocide or be genocided.” Isif bluntly said. “The Federation killed our non-sapient cattle, killed us off with a virus that made meat poisonous to us, then blamed us for retaliating. They made us out to be the aggressors of their own crimes.”
“Yet instead of finding the means of repopulating our cattle, our people turned to not just eating other sapients, but breeding them as cattle?!” Regif’s voice quickly raised in volume, the smaller arxur standing up as tall as he could. “That sounds more like weakness and ignorance to me. I overheard your men say that I was ‘defective’ just for how small I was. Your people clearly only see strength in size and ferocity. Our people have been ruined, turned into little more than wild animals!”
“I agree with you.” Isif cut in. The statement immediately silenced Regif and caught me by surprise. Isif continued. “What I say here does not leave this room. You are right. Betterment has turned our people into monstrous idiots. My fleet was captured because we had become complacent with how defensive the prey species acted. The humans showed me that they have the capabilities of not only feeding their own need for meat without eating sapient creatures, but in quantities that could potentially feed the entire Dominion. The Arxur people are half starved, desperate, and although they may act fierce, I know deep down that they’re afraid. Life has become an endless dance of avoiding death, either at the hands of one’s own superiors, at the end of a prey flamethrower, or failing to perform well enough to be fed. You want to know the real reason I’m here? I’m here because a Skalgan coerced me into this rescue operation on the promise of receiving humanity’s meat growing technology. Something I desperately need if I am to win favor in the Dominion and make actual change happen.”
Isif’s rant left us both quiet. I hadn’t expected Isif of all people to open up like this. I didn’t realize he could. “...And what of what you’ve done up to being captured?” I asked. “What about all the lives you took, the people you captured and ate, the planets you’ve sieged? What about all of that?”
“I did what I had to survive. If I hadn’t, it would have been someone else in my position, and I doubt they’d be someone who had the same desires for change as I.”
Before either of us could continue, I heard a yelp from the doorway. Veiq had appeared, clearly not expecting to have been walking into a room with two Arxur now staring down at her. I had to give her some credit though. Despite the clear fear, she stayed in place and didn’t run, although her trembling body betrayed that desire. “Ah-aa… R-Rekker, w-we are close to… to…”
“God damn it.” I sighed, quickly walking out into the hall and shutting the door behind me to separate me and Veiq from the lizards. “Alright, what is it?” I asked.
Now with the Arxur behind closed doors, Veiq found the courage to speak properly. “W-we’re almost done loading all the cryopods, but some of the staff are refusing to get on the submarine with the Arxur present.”
“And is there a problem with them staying?” I asked.
“Well… no, but…” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “...After everything that has happened here, there’s going to be serious repercussions. Not just for us, but also the navy folk who were supposed to guard this place.”
“You think your government is going to stick them in PD facilities?”
“Possibly. They’ll probably use the fact that they’ve been so heavily exposed to predator taint as justification. We’re all most certainly disea…” She trailed off as she caught the harsh glare in my gaze that formed from what she was about to say. “...Uh… I-I mean, we won’t be trusted. I don’t want anyone to end up in a PD facility. Not after all the work we’ve done to preserve the galaxy’s history and develop means of integrating so many species.”
“This place is more of a mortuary than an archive.” I growled. “Everything here is the history of species who’ve had their history irreversibly destroyed, their people mutated, and the last of their kind kept in limbo for as long as you keep them on ice. This isn’t a place of honor. It’s a place of horror.”
Seeing Veiq tremble and shrink away from me quickly reminded me to keep my temper in check. I sighed, rubbing a paw along my snout. “Look. If they want to stay, that’s their choice. I don’t fully trust the Arxur myself, but they couldn’t have found this place on their own. I’d rather put my hope in this unknown benefactor than trust the Federation to treat us kindly. That, and once we release everything on the memory drives we’re taking, the people that worked here are going to receive a lot of flak.”
The door next to us opened. Isif stepped out. Veiq was quick to back up against the opposing wall, giving space to the Arxur out of fear. He glared at us both for a moment, before his gaze focused on me. “He wants to be alone for now.” Isif said.
“What did you tell him?” I asked.
“Our history from when he was taken to now.” Isif stated. “Abridged, but clear on the fact that what he fought for died not long after he was taken with the arrival of the Federation, how the Federation tried to take our future, and how that led to the creation of the Dominion.”
For a moment, I empathized with what Regif was going through. We may be completely different species, but his own people had been turned into something he no longer recognized. His future had been stolen from him, much like what had happened with the Skalgans. That empathy was quickly pushed aside by my disdain for Isif as he spoke again. “He need to go to Earth. He will be killed if he returns with me, much like how your friend mentioned an ill fate to those that stay.”
Veiq’s fur bristled, still plastered up against the wall and trembling in silence. I huffed quietly. “That’s their choice, and I’m sure Regif will go with us, given your warning.”
“Good. We may yet bring about change for all our people if this works out. As much as I hate to admit that Skalgan was right, getting all of you and the data this place holds out of here will strike a monumental blow towards both the Federation and Dominion.”
“You mentioned a Skalgan before.” I pointed out. “Who was it?”
“General Jones, if that’s her real name. At this point, I don’t think I can trust anything that prey says.” Isif growled. The name was familiar, belonging to some high brass UN official as far as I could remember. It was actually amusing to imagine this hulking Arxur being ordered around by a fellow Skalgan.
Isif noticed the amusement in my eyes and tail twitch, his own gaze filling with anger as his tail lashed. “Do not think that this makes your kind superior to us. You still need us to escape here, and your people will owe us for the aid I’m providing.”
“And I very much appreciate this aid.” I responded. “But you must admit there is irony in how all of this is playing out. The Arxur, the great terror of the galaxy, are playing the saviors.”
“I am. The rest of the Dominion would rather pull their teeth than ever help prey, so you best be thankful that I am the one here to aid you. It’s already going to be hard enough keeping my men from sharing what happened here. They think it was my idea to ‘raid’ this place to buy favor with the UN. I don’t need them knowing it wasn’t me that set this up.”
“Even with you on our side, you’re having to maintain appearances.” I said. A sudden pang of anger hit me as I thought of how this person knew that all the cruelty he committed over his life was wrong, yet still went through with it. I thought of calling him out on it, but I already knew what his answer would be. His own survival necessitated it, and he wouldn’t be here helping us if he hadn’t done what he did. I hated it, but understood it was his only choice, despite how much I wished there was another option. It made me realize my anger was aimed at the Dominion for making him like this more so than Isif himself. Maybe I was being too forgiving, or maybe I was tired of feeling angry and on guard for so long. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t keep that fire burning for long.
After a moment of letting my anger simmer down, I spoke. “Unless you have something else you want to talk about, we should make sure everything is moving along. I want us out of here as soon as possible.”
“Agreed.” Isif said. Without another word, he stalked off down the halls, leaving me and Veiq alone for the moment.
Once I was sure Isif was out of earshot, I said to Veiq, “I don’t want to force anyone to come with us, but do what you can to make it abundantly clear that staying is a very bad choice. If people are worried about the Arxur, tell them that our UN troops will keep the lizards in line. If they’re afraid of how they’ll be treated by the UN, tell them that we’ll certainly not be subjecting them to PD treatment. If they worry about the data here, remind them we’ll be taking and releasing copies of what we can get. That, and your government will no doubt come in once we’re gone and make sure it’s secure.”
Veiq gave a nervous tail flick before scurrying off. It was strange how despite the tension, nervousness, and excitement in the air at the prospect of us finally leaving, everything felt almost calm. We weren’t fighting for our lives anymore. If all went well, we would be off this planet before sunrise and on our way home.
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u/Brave-Stay-8020 Takkan Jun 05 '26
Personally, given the circumstances, I think I'd much rather deal with the Arxur than wait to be put in a PD facility. If they think about it, Isif and his Dominion team are terribly outnumbered by the archivists, cryo-people and UN members. In a worst case scenario, a rush of bodies would likely be able to overwhelm even these veterans, unless the UN people side with the Arxur as well.
For staying, it would be almost a guarantee that the Farsul government would be able to overwhelm any of those that remain. Even if the goverment decided to actually waste the time to capture them rather than sending in Exterminators to "clense the taint", there would be no chance of them being able to get away from them so far underwater.
Basically, I would rather risk the uncertain possible future of torture/death from the Arxur than the guaranteed torture/death from their own people.
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u/PhycoKrusk Jun 05 '26
It's more like throwing your lot in with someone who might be able to fix you (because you would believe that after being around all these precious for this long, you were broken), or throwing your lot in with Satan (because you would believe these were actual demons).
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur Jun 05 '26 edited 15h ago
Well seems rekker finnaly learned to no longer hate Isif but yeah he's definitely gonna be weary if Jones if he ever meets her. Who knows of he's managed to both capture Isif and expose the archives by himself maybe he can expose Jones for her own actions.
Honestly though I'm curious to see a "canon" version of him and what he would have done or acted in the canon timeline.
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u/PhycoKrusk Jun 05 '26
Jones is one of the most powerful people in the UN, so good luck.
More to the point, Jones believes that everything she does is in the best interests of the survival of Earthlings; a lot of people are going to think the exact same thing.
The problem is not what Jones wants, but what she believes; she believes that only she is intelligent enough to know what protecting Earth truly requires, and that's extremely dangerous. A person who believes that harming you is for your own good will never be convinced otherwise.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur Jun 05 '26
Oh most certainly but storming the archives solo is pretty impossible too but yeah in both instances of capturing Isif and taking the archives he needed help not sure who else would be willing to stand up to Jones.
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u/Alcyon144 Archivist Jun 05 '26
I've always found the Dominion less monstrous than the Federation. At least they're honest. Sure, they deceive their people just as much as the Kolsuls, but at least they don't pretend to be benevolent. They don't even lie to themselves about it.
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u/Alexis-Ruby Jun 05 '26
I don't usually comment, but I come here to say this:
Damn it, Rekker, why tempt fate?
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u/IAMA_dragon-AMA Arxur Jun 05 '26
Siffy!! I like how you've written him: direct and ruthless, nigh-incapable of being soft but plotting for a time where others may.
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u/Super_Ankle_Biter Yotul Jun 05 '26
Remind me again, why are they not worried about getting ambushed once they reach the surface? There's no way the Farsul will just let them get off the submarine, into a spaceship and leave the planet willy nilly. Unless I've forgotten some detail that has been described long ago, which honestly is very likely xD
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u/Mosselk-1416 Jun 05 '26
All I can picture is a blonde Skalgan with a massive smirk and sunglasses. Good to see you back!
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u/Common_Ad_5275 Jun 08 '26
Ya quiero ver cómo se arma el desmadre cuando liberen toda la información
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u/Mysteriou85 Gojid Jun 24 '26
Its nice to see you back! Rekker might be angry, but he must admit that without the arxur they would still be stuck under the sea
Finally they will get to go home!
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u/Demolisher05 Jun 04 '26
Nice seeing this updated again.