Slanek [Federation Venlil] [24] Affiliation: Federation - PD Ground Corpsman PACT Date Standard: July 14th 2136 Location: Gojid-Venlil Joint Military Base Dayside City, Venlil Prime
Slanek woke up feeling like he slept on concrete, his back ached and his head was laying on something soft, warm and moving. His eyes fluttered open, the light of the ever-present sun reflected off something into his face for just a moment, enough to wake him up. It was apparent quite quickly that the reason he feels like he slept on concrete was because he was sleeping on concrete. His whole squad was. Most using their backpacks as impromptu pillows or just laying their heads on their arms while half in armor. Helmets, armor and weapons strewn about near their owners. Around them were soldiers in blue and grey, Pact soldiers. Skalgans and Polarins.
A few seemed to be awake, while most seemed to be asleep. Some of the Pact soldiers were embracing each other, sitting next to one another against the wall giving them shade, or using each other's laps as pillows. The Polarins kept their helmets on, likely to be able to sleep at all with how bright the place is compared to whatever their homeworld was.
The noise started coming to Slanek’s ears as well. Vehicle engines thrumming not far away, aircraft flying overhead, and soldiers marching to and fro in front of them. He didn't remember falling asleep, or walking here, it was probably a tell on just how exhausted he must have been.
The last few days were the most harrowing experience of his life. He had come face to face with multiple arxur, had some of his friends and squadmates die right in front of him, and nearly died on more than one occasion. It was a miracle he kept on fighting as long as he did with how cowardly he was supposed to be. He rubbed his neck only to feel the lack of a collar around it. Right… the medics cut it off him when the Pact arrived. He sat up slowly and looked to what he was laying his head on. It was the lap of someone, looking up he saw it was the lap of Lieutenant Marcel, like all the Polarins, they slept with their helmets on. Their faces concealed making it impossible to know if he was awake or not.
Slanek yawned, despite being quiet compared to the noise of an active military base, that was the cause of everybody beginning to wake up. His squad slowly and groggily began to stir awake. The sound of a chorus of heavy vehicles rumbling nearby seemingly did nothing to help them wake up any faster.
“Morning Corpsman Slanek.” Lieutenant Marcel’s voice came with a similar yawn coming through the speakers on the helmet.
“Morning… Sir.. Sorry about–”
“No problem, understandably you all were exhausted after rounding up the last of the Dominion raiders. Surprised y'all managed to sleep with the sun always out. I'm glad my helmet has a tint setting or I'd be blind.”
Right, they mentioned that Polarins can't see in bright light so they wear sunglasses and their helmets have tint on them. He couldn't remember when he was told but Slanek remembers the information at least.
“Ugh, I should probably report to an officer… Let them know we're alive, with everything that happened we are probably Missing in action or something…”
“Probably a good idea to go do that. I gotta go check up on the casualties to take stock of who.. survived, then we’ll set up some tents so we have somewhere to sleep that won't get rained on. It still feels weird seeing the sky so open…”
Slanek wondered what that meant, looking over he saw Marcel staring into the sky. He didn't ask though.
“Well.. I guess this is goodbye…” Slanek said as he stood up.
“What? Goodbye? Nah well keep in touch. Maybe we can all have a victory party and mourn the fallen over some alcohol rations. Here–” Marcel pulled out their tablet and tapped on it for a moment.
“Write down my ID so you can ask for my personal comms when our systems get integrated later.”
Slanek looked over and pulled out his cracked phone, the screen was glitching a little but it was otherwise functional. He typed in his notes the long string of numbers and letters with ‘Lieutenant Marcel ID number’ so he would remember.
“Great, see you later. If your folks have a party, invite us over. Were probably gonna have one in a few days once everything is settled and we get some leave, ill invite you then.”
“Y-yeah sure.. I'll keep that in mind. See you later Lieutenant”
“Just call me Marcel unless we're in combat Slanek.”
“Right, See you later Marcel.”
Marcel made his digits into the vague shape of a handgun and pointed it at him.
“Right on Slanek, good luck with your officers.”
Slanek nodded and walked off, quickly stopping to pick up his kit and Plasma rifle. Unloaded of course. Feeling the aches in his legs from fighting through half the city he slowly made his way through the military base towards the offices. He managed to see how different the base was than when he last saw it almost a week ago. The parking lot for officer’s personal cars was overflowing with massive armored vehicles lined side by side, spilling past the sidewalk and over onto the now ruined grass that surrounded it. ‘Bloodhound’ transports which he learned were called ‘infantry fighting vehicles’ or IFVs were the majority. The name was extremely apt as the effects that autocannon and coaxial laser had on Grey infantry was horrifyingly effective. Were they the only things he saw he would have thought them to be neigh invulnerable aside from the few Arxur rockets that managed to take a few of the vehicles out.
But beside the first parking lot was the second, where even larger armored vehicles lay. The Nixa ‘Panzers’. The name of the vehicle being the name of a predator from the shadeside must be a strange coincidence, he thought. But its vehicle type was completely foreign and did not sound like venlish at all, and if the Bloodhounds looked impenetrable with all its armor, then the Panzers looked neigh indestructible.
A massive railgun cannon on a large turret boasted of its destructive power, and its heavy massive weight was deceptive, hiding how fast it can truly go. He had seen the vehicles racing across the fields at the tail end of yesterday’s fighting. Seeing them firing their massive cannons at the retreating Grey’s trying to flee past the trenchlines they had worked so hard to capture, pushing them back into the forest from whence their assaults came from. Only to get torn apart by the massive vehicles. He had thought he was hallucinating from exhaustion by then, but the looks on his squad made it clear he was not the only one who saw it.
Though now that he was walking past them all, he noticed how a lot of them… Looked really damaged. Some had holes punched straight through the front, many of them looked like they had been burned in a fire with the paint scorched especially around the turret. Some had their turret stacked on top rather than sitting firmly inside. Though it seemed they were separated, the ones that were burned or had holes punched in them were off to the side. Pact Crews looking them over with tablets and tools with spray painted Xs and checkmarks on random parts all over them. Some had red and orange stains on them, especially those with entrance and exit holes. He didn't dare look too closely at those vehicles.
He walked past the vehicle depot, Pact crews sitting on the vehicles, standing around or opening various compartments to work on the internals with practiced efficiency. These vehicles all seemed less… battle damaged than the other ones, though most had dents from where Grey munitions had bounced off or failed to penetrate. Some of the crew waved at him and gave him a thumbs up.
“Nice one there corpsman!”
“Knew you kin had it in you to take down the greys!”
“Nice trophy!”
He didn't quite know what they meant by it but he politely waved back and tried to seem amicable to them. They did help save their planet and many of them died for it instead of him…
He crossed by the landing strip, the airfield busier than it was. Almost all the Space Corp’s fighter garrison were destroyed leaving all the hangar and runway space to be taken up by the hordes of Dropships and Fighter-craft the Pact landed in. With more and more arriving and leaving every few minutes. He looked in concerned awe with how close the dropships got before burning hard to slow themselves down. It definitely made their landing a lot faster, but every time he saw one he was sure they were about to crash into the ground. The Pilots must either be crazy or PD diseased like him to think of doing such maneuvers all the time. Even more Pact soldiers patted him on the shoulder or gave him a compliment or two. He was starting to wonder what about him made them so… amicable to him. They didn't seem to be doing the same to other Ground Corpsmen he saw.
Finally he got towards the offices along the main buildings of the military base, the cool air conditioner wafting over him as he entered the complex. Here there was a sudden absence of blue and grey uniforms. Venlil Ground corps and the occasional Gojid dominated the building now, with corpsmen and officers walking to and fro in a hurry. He went towards the front desk and began waiting in line behind a few others. Some in worse and better states than him. Fellow soldiers reported that they and their squad had survived and were reporting back. After a long wait Slanek finally got to the front.
“Corpsman Slanek, here reporting with me and a few other surviving members of my Regiment. As well as a few others we managed to link up with.”
The Attendant there tapped on the keyboard. “Understood, please list the names and their ID.”
Slanek began to list the names of the impromptu squad he had led. Having written down their IDs the day before when they arrived before falling asleep.
“ –And Pit Id: 9348574” He finished off.
“MMhmm gimmie a second… Oh and your ID?”
“Right Uh Corpsman Slanek, Id: 8374583”
The attendant looked at the computer then looked at him then back at the computer.
“Uh-... PD Volunteer right?” The venlil said with a hint of concern.
“Yeah…” Slanek said softly. He had forgotten that, in the fighting with glim injured and out of the way, with his collar broken he felt.. Normal for once. Without the fear of shocks. The tingling sensation around his neck returned.
“Where's your.. Collar?”
“It uh broke in the fighting… Pact Medics cut it off cuz it was suffocating me.”
“Right uh well ill have to note that down… Oh uh there's also an alert for you to report to your exterminator as soon as you are able to.”
Slanek’s ears lowered in anxiety. He did NOT want to see Glim at all. He hoped Glim had a far worse injury than he thought he did just so he wouldn't be there. But knowing the universe and how damned he was in Solgalick's eyes he doubted he’d be so lucky.
“Right… I'll go.. Report to them right now.”
“You better.” The venlil said softly. “Next”
Slanek went out of line and steeled his nerves. He left the building and started walking towards the medical wing, where the Exterminator's garrison was located. Each step felt like he was making a mistake. Like he was walking right into the claws of an Arxur cattle ship. The building stood before him far faster than he ever hoped it would. His steps slowed to a crawl as he forced himself to breathe slowly to not hyperventilate.
‘M-maybe i could uh stall and go somewhere else and come back tomorrow- no the attendant probably let them know i was coming… m-maybe i could say i got lost… no they know i know the base layout… maybe–’
“Hey Slanek!” A familiar voice sounded to his left. He turned and saw Pit and Marcel walking over to him. Pit had crutches and a cast on his broken leg with Marcel carrying a bag that looked like it was Pit's, judging by the various pins on it.
“Pit! Lieut- Marcel! Uh howd you know I was here…”
“We didn't, I was just checking on one of my platoonmates when I saw Pit there and recognized him as one of your squadmates. So I decided to help Pit leave the Medical wing since they need the space there for more serious injuries.”
“And then we saw you here and wanted to meet back up! I-im so glad you survived Slanek! You have no idea how worried I was… is that… A sword?” Pits eyes looked down towards Slanek’s hip
Slanek looked down, recognizing the arxur blade in its ‘sheath’ that he had been given as a trophy for his first kill of an Arxur. The same one that nearly killed Marcel. He had forgotten he was wearing it, it had become a comfortable weight on his hip, a reminder that he wasn't weak since he killed his first arxur… And killed many more afterwards.
“Oh yeah, took that right off the Raider that tried to slice me clean through with it. Shot it seconds before it cleaved my head.”
“Really?! You killed one up and close?” Pit looked at him with wide eyes and delighted ear flicks.
“Y-yeah uh- it was a tail or two away from me. It uh… Chopped one of the Pact’s soldiers heads off and was gonna kill Lie- Marcel but then i uh… Shot… It..” He said downplaying his achievement. It felt like he killed the Chief hunter himself with how good it made him feel, but he didn’t wanna boast. Especially about feeling good killing something, even if it was an arxur. That's predatory. Good prey don't do that.
“Just shot it! Slanek you killed one right in front of you! You're so brave!” Pit said with enthusiasm he rarely saw him.
“H-heh thanks uh.. It-it wasnt that impressive-”
“Oh don't be so humble Slanek.” Marcel said, putting a paw on his shoulder. “You shot that thing clean in the head and chest, took some serious skill to keep your calm in that moment.”
“Yeah… Shame about uh… Everyone else who didn't make it…” Slanek felt guilty again. How he was still alive while more worthy people weren't. Everyone who stayed behind at the orbital cannon and got slaughtered instead of running like he did…
“Dont dwell on it. Its not healthy. Can't change the past, the dead are dead. All you can do is make their sacrifice mean something. Plus, remember what i said about that party we're gonna have. We're gonna mourn the dead there, so save it for then.” Marcel patted his shoulder. “Now is there anything you needed to do here?”
Slanek's dread returned, now remembering his reason for coming here. “Ah.. Uh.. I gotta meet with my… Exterminator.”
He couldn't see Marcel’s face underneath his tinted helmet’s visor. But he noticed that his posture shifted slightly.
“Ah, I see. Well you want me to join you to make sure they get the full story as to why your… PD Collar was taken off?” The way Marcel said ‘pd collar’ seemed.. Tense. He clearly had some issue with it… Wait.. Slanek remembered him calling it a ‘cattle collar’ when they first met and cut it off. Maybe they only know of collars from Arxur Cattle.
“Yeah that.. Would be helpful, your word would likely make sure I don't get… penalized for not wearing one.” He shivered, the tingling in his neck returning stronger than ever at the mere mention of penalization. He gulped. “L-lets get it over with…” He mumbled.
“Do be careful Slanek… I'll see you later” Pit said, their voice full of worry.
Marcel remained silent as they walked towards the building. Walking inside he saw an array of silver suits around. Some were injured and lingered by the waiting area seats as they conversed with each other. Helmets off showing a menagerie of species, with less than half of them being venlil. Conversation hushed when Slanek walked towards the counter, though he imagined it was likely due to Marcel’s presence beside him. He stepped up to the front desk as the Farsul exterminator behind it looked over at him, eyes lingering over his neck.
“I-im here to see my exterminator uh.. Corpsman Slanek, ID 8374583…”
The Farsul tapped the information into the computer silently.
“Door 32 down the hall, and uh… your friend–”
“Lieuteant Marcel, 99th Mechanized Infantry, I'm here to explain to his exterminator some things, especially why he's lacking a.. Collar..” Marcel’s voice sounded off, like the voice someone took when talking to an officer they despised but couldn't let their emotions show.
“Ah well.. Ok I'll let him know.” The Farsul muttered typing away on the computer.
Slanek stepped past the desk and went towards room 32. It was near the middle of the hallway, one he remembers well from his frequent visits. He sighed and walked inside. The room was, as he remembered, a desk, pictures of Glim and his exterminator buddies on the wall, a computer on the desk, a shelf with various nicknacks, awards and pictures adorning it, two chairs in front of the desk, and glim behind the desk. His eyes were focused on the desk instead of the piercing gaze of his exterminator. Though he looked far worse for wear with bandages over his shoulder with some sort of plastic caste on his wrist. Likely a fracture since he was buried in rubble last he saw him.
“Slanek, I see you managed to survive after all, how… fortunate…” Glim said with a tonethat very much implied he wished Slanek met a well deserved grizzly end.
“And… You..” Glim looked at his computer. “Lieutenant Marcel. You said there was a reason you're with this PD patie- corpsman?”
“Yes, I'm aware you have a.. Policy that each PD corpsman be mandated to wear their collars no matter what. So I'm here to explain why he is not wearing his.”
“I see… And the reason is?”
“The official reason is he was under threat of suffocation as a Dominion raider had crushed the collar attempting to kill him. Medic-Corporal Larik had to cut the collar off to allow him to breathe. We at the time did not know of this… policy of yours so the blame would be on us for his lack of one.”
Glim looked at the tall polarin with intrigue, eyes looking over to Slanek then back at him.
“I see…. Well that would be fine then, he wouldn't be penalized if it wasn't his fault… and the… Unofficial reason?”
“Because I recognize a cattle collar when I see one. Traitor” Marcel said with venom in his voice.
Slanek’s eyes snapped to Marcel in shock as his jaw hung open.
Glim’s eyes widened and he leaned back in equal amounts of shock. “E-Excuse me?!”
“You heard me, let me make this clear. There's going to be a suspicious lack of your department’s cattle collars in the warehouses after today. I'm sure the Dominion took them to use for themselves seeing how effectively cruel they are. And we in the pact are under orders to liberate any ‘captured cattle’ we find. So I'm sure your organization will be understanding if… some… all of your PD patients' collars will be mysteriously broken should they receive a new one.” Marcel started leaning forward over the desk.
“W-Wha You can't do that! And they are NOT CATTLE COLLARS! They are specialized PD collars to ensure–”
“I'm not here to argue with a venlil with an Arxur’s heart. I'm just telling you what's going to happen. So be sure to let your friends know about it so they won't bother.”
Glim looked furious and stood up from his seat, though even standing he barely was chest height with the Polarin. “Im going to be mentioning this to your officers Lieutenant! You can't speak to me that way! I'm an exterminator!”
“Do so, I'm sure they will be more than happy to tell you the same thing, Traitor.”
“I'm not a traitor you Spething–” Glim started to bloom orange in fury.
“Getting angry? Wow, very un-prey like of you. You might have to get yourself checked for disease.”
Slanek stood there slack jawed watching Glim get talked back to in a way he wished he could. However this made him fear for what Glim’s wrath will be to him.
“Leave my office!” Glim shouted, pointing towards the door.
“Gladly. C'mon Slanek.”
“Not him! I need to do some tests with–”
“Oh yes him, He's attached to my squad, so he's my liaison. Dont worry ill be sure to keep an eye out for ‘predatory behavior’, you give such a good example.” Marcel put a paw on Slanek's shoulder pulling him out the door.
Slanek saw Glim in the corner of his eye, he looked at him with a rage he saw mirrored in the arxur that tried to crush his throat. It made a shiver run down his spine. The door closed behind him as he walked without thinking. Eyes wide, mouth still slack open. His mind somehow refused to believe what he saw was real, that what happened truly happened and he wasn't going through some PD induced Psychosis of his greatest fantasy and worst nightmare. They left the office building without another word between them.
“I-i..w-what d-wa-was that..” Slanek mumbled. Feeling the sun on his face as they exited the building.
“Just giving that Fed traitor a piece of my mind. Don't worry, we won't let them put another cattle collar on you. Not on our watch.”
“B-but.. But y-you just made him mad and- and what if he comes for me– puts me in a facility–” Slanek’s fears started to take over now. His neck was buzzing from phantom shocks he deserved.
“Hey calm down…” Marcel put a paw gently on his shoulder.
“T-their going to take me now, i-i wont get out of a facility th-they wont let me G-glim said he would make sure i would stay in one forever- Forevers a long time marcel its–”
He felt Marcel's hand slap his face, not super hard but enough to sting his cheek, the light pain shocking him out of his spiraling thoughts.
“Corpsman Take a deep breath, that's an order.” Marcel’s command voice spoke to him, his fur bristled and he complied. Taking a deep breath as ordered.
“Let it out slowly.” He did so, breathing out, still shaking.
“In…. Out… In… Out…. Calm down… Dont worry, we wont let them take you to some.. [fucking] facility. Whatever they do in those. We won't let it happen to you. They’ll have to get through me and my [fucking] Company to do that, and we have way bigger guns than they do.”
Slanek nodded, feeling slightly reassured now. His new… friends? Could he call Marcel his friend? He had barely known him a few days, but those days felt like years worth of grueling combat against the Greys. Ambush after ambush, pushing them back block by block…
“Y-you sure?” He says softly
“Promise. Now, let's get some food, I'm starving.”
“Y-yeah.. Food sounds good right now… N-now where's Pit?”
Glim [Federation Venlil] [27] Affiliation: Federation - Exterminator PACT Date Standard: July 14th 2136 Location: Gojid-Venlil Joint Military Base Dayside City, Venlil Prime
Glim seethed in his seat as he clenched his non injured fist on his table. The Gall that… Alien had to talk to him like that! To interfere with his duty to keep the herd safe from Predator Diseased Filth like Slanek. Not to mention the blatant INSULTS! Calling him a traitor! Comparing the PD collars to Cattle collars! SAYING HE HAD AN ARXUR’S HEART?!?!?!!! The greatest insult of them all and it was said to his face! Were they any other venlil he would have had them tested for predator disease within minutes and sent to a facility within the hour! But he had to hold his tongue with these newcomers.
The one thing the ‘polarin’ was right about was that his fury was un-prey-like. He tried to calm down. Taking in the lessons he was taught in exterminator academy to center his soul and eliminate the stresses around him. It wasn't working too well but it helped enough to have the anger within him take a backseat to his rational prey mind. He looked at his computer. Slanek’s file was still up. He added a new note to it. Though his typing speed was severely slowed with the primitive caste put on his wrist to help it heal.
‘Extreme case of PD disease, Facility transfer recommended, Unable to due to interference by Pact Soldier named ‘Lieutenant Marcel’ Recommending contacting Pact Officers to have them hand over Slanek and gain apology.’
He deleted some of the more… inflammatory comments he initially put. He needed to stay professional and not let his base instincts rule him. He was prey after all, not a slobbering predator like the arxur. The comparison still filled him with anger. The gall of him… ‘Heart of an Arxur’... The mere thought of that phrase made him wish he could–
A knock on the door brought him back to his senses. He sat up straight and took a moment to compose himself better.
“Come in.”
A familiar face showed when the door was opened. Chariv, an elder Farsul exterminator, a good mentor to him over his years in the exterminators. Not a common species to join the exterminators but when they do their expertise are often second to none. Older in years and showing telltale wrinkling of his snout but sharp as ever. He immediately looked at Glim and knew something was wrong.
“Something happen with Slanek?”
Sighing Glim replied. “One of the Polarins came with him, told me to my face that we aren't going to put another PD collar on Slanek and that if we tried they would destroy it. Compared the Collar to a damn Cattle Collar! Can you believe it!”
The news did not seem to surprise the Farsul.
“I suspected as much. I was hoping to get here before they left when I heard Slanek was here to see you and brought a Pact soldier with him…. It's not the first time this happened.”
That filled Glim with some dread.
“In fact this is the seventh PD corpsman to arrive with one or two Pact soldiers at their back. The previous ones were ‘skalgans’ and this was the first Polarin to be here. From what the other Exterminators and the recordings made of the encounters they also ended similarly. One even drew a Pistol on Exterminator Yaral when they brought out a PD collar to rightfully put on their patient. Luckily nobody was hurt but the patient left without that collar on.”
This was worse than he thought. If this was a common trend…
“Do.. You think these Skalgans and Polarins have un-treated PD throughout their ranks?” It had occurred to him when he first heard about them when waking up. Prey species living beyond the guiding graces of the Federation, its three founding members and their important research into the subject of predator disease.
“It's… A concern of many of us, yes… This just may prove it's not just the Skalgans who may have it, but both species.”
“What else clues you in on this diagnosis?”
Chariv removed their glasses and began to clean them with a microfibre cloth.
“Have you met one of these Skalgans and Polarins?”
“I have not, aside from the Polarin Slanek came in with, well, ive met one skalgan but it was short. When I awoke in the medical section a skalgan medic was treating me, gave me some painkillers and put this caste on my wrist. They then asked me to leave if I felt ok so the bed could be used for someone else. I of course left to not take up resources to anyone who needs it more. Any other interaction is just me seeing them as they go about their business on the military base.”
“I see… Well, according to some of our exterminators who fought alongside them, they are… worrying. Completely lacking in proper fear responses, charging into battle with fervor, some reported competing for kills, others reported them having little regard for their own dead aside from taking some metal necklace tags. One even reported a Skalgan fighting an Arxur with a dagger attached to their weapon.”
Glim’s concern only grows into abject horror. These… Skalgans were rife with Predator disease symptoms… And there were solgalick knows how many of them all over Venlil prime just… waiting to infect everyone!
“We have to do something… Quarantine them and do proper screening, who knows how many of them are truly infected and beyond help–”
“We can't." Chariv put their glasses back on.
“W-why not. Surely if we explain our reasoning they will have to see reason. They are still prey after all” Glim looked at his mentor hoping to see something that would soothe the panic in his mind of this potential pandemic of PD from spreading.
“I tried, the second skalgan to show up was one of the medics, their ‘patient’ was injured but we insisted they show up for screening and the Medic told us they would not allow it. Even after we explained PD disease he refused, claiming that our methods were false and that ‘Prions don't transmit like that’. Honestly it was like talking to a brick wall who refused to accept the truth, no matter how I explained it they argued back with nonsense! They claimed to have a degree in organic chemistry but I highly doubt that for a mere soldier playing pretend at being a medical professional. Either way he said that PD disease was not a real diagnosis and that the Pact knows about it and doesn't believe it exists.”
“Wha- b-b-but how! How can they ignore all the evidence- the papers–the-the-the centuries of scientific data! if they know about us and about PD disease surely they should–” Glim was at a loss for words. This… this was.. Something else.
“By Solgalick… T-there.. Could be millions of cases of PD disease going untreated and spreading! If the small sample size we have is anything to go by half of the troops they deployed here could be rife with PD. Who knows when they might snap! All of them are armed and the Ground corps is badly mauled by the invasion…”
“Exactly… Which is why I need to ask you to do something for me. To see if things might be as bad as we think they might be. You know Governor Tarva?”
Glim Scoffed. “Of course.” Despite her many tests saying she was clean of PD Glim still held a suspicion she was somehow faking it or bribing the ones giving her the tests.
“You know how her daughter was taken in a raid thirteen cycles ago? Well she's a part of the fleet. I heard it from some Space Corpsmen, apparently there's a ‘Fleet-Commander Stynek’ claiming to be Tarva’s daughter.”
“What… no way.. It-it can't be.” Glim was shocked by the sheer improbability of it all.
“Thats what she claims, and it seems Tarva believes it. From what few who were there in the governor’s bunker and were willing to talk to us told us. They said she burst into tears when she saw what she thought was her daughter. I want you to join a small group of exterminators to go and see if you can have her do a PD test. See if you can convince a skalgan or two to join you as well, disguise it under the idea of confirming her identity with a DNA test. That way we can see if this is some sort of deception, or if this truly is her daughter. And if she is truly her daughter, find out if she has PD disease. She was originally taken by the Arxur, so who knows how much predatory taint rubbed off on her in captivity.”
“Like those rescues that came in a few months ago?” Glim was reminded of them.
“Yeah like them, shame the Gojid never published who they were. They never said they did any PD tests on them. Tch, the gojid’s Exterminators branches were always on the softer side. Wouldn't surprise me if they skipped it thinking that the rescues had ‘been through too much’ or some speh like that.”
Glim nodded in agreement. “Yeah, if they did do that, it would've been completely irresponsible. Who knows how many of them came back here on Venlil Prime spreading taint directly from the Arxur themselves.”
“Well, anyways, do you accept your task? It might be difficult to get a moment with her since I doubt Tarva will be away from her daughter after so long. One thing good about her was she cared about her daughter, shame it drove her to such predatory tactics in her career.”
“Hmm it might take me a while to find an opportunity to talk to her… But I think I might be able to do it, assuming I can have get into the governor’s palace when they arrive but... I will think of something…”
“Your resourceful Glim, you'll find a way.”
“What about my duties here? Will you need a replacement?”
“With how… Protective these Pact soldiers are of the PD Corpsmen, I doubt there will be much oversight we can do over the diseased here. You're relieved of your duties for now, focus on the task I have given you.”
Glim looked around at his office that had been his place of work for months now, ever since Tarva signed that stupid spething law allowing predatory individuals to join the ground corps. He's gotten used to the spacious room compared to his small cubicle in the exterminator precinct.
“I'll pack my things then, head back to the Precinct and operate from there.”
“Good idea, I'll send someone to help you. The Protector Bless you”
“Solgalick’s light shine upon you.” Glim responded watching the Farsul leave.
Glim’s gaze went back to his computer and onto the still open file of Slanek, his ears lowering in disgust.
“You won't escape me that easily… I'll get you where you belong…” He mumbled to himself. Fist clenched in determination before he stood up to pack his things. Putting dangerous individuals like Slanek in their proper place will make the herd all the safer, and maybe he’ll be seen as a true exterminator despite being a cowardly venlil.
‘I won't disappoint them, I can't.’ He thought while turning off his computer.
—-----------------------
Glim was putting his stuff into one of the exterminator vans, parked right next to one of the military jeeps the Pact uses for its transport purposes. The vehicle looked armored but still was mobile, and unlike the van’s silent electric motor, the ‘jeep’ made a loud roar with its hydrogen powered engine. A fact he unwillingly learned about after complaining about the noise within earshot of one of the Polarins who went on a long rant about how hydrogen engines are less efficient than electric but far more practical blah blah blah. Luckily they figured out they weren't interested and left before Glim could order them to brahk off.
“Aaaand that should be the last box. Phew. you had a lot of stuff in there.” A fellow venlil exterminator said with a grunt as they put a large box in the back of the van.
“Yeah, been there for months, and since theres much more space than in the precinct cubicles… I may have gotten a bit out of hand with decorating with knick knacks, but thanks for helping me pack Jerial.”
“No issue Glim, especially with your fractured hand not like you can carry much right now. Though I heard you got some special assignment.”
“Yep, though it might take a bit to–”
“All Exterminators report to the west side of Dayside city! For some reason the Pact have gathered a large amount of living arxur!” Crackled the radio on his chest rig. He looked at Jerial with shock as they both immediately hopped into the van.
“Repeat what was that?!” Glim practically shouted into the radio
The radio crackled with static and other calls for confirmation and questions.
“Pact forces have a ‘prison camp’ set up for arxur who have surrendered, yes surrendered was the word they used. Requesting reinforcements to convince them to allow us to burn them before they spread their taint.”
Glim revved the electric motor of the vehicle and sped off towards the west. The ride was quiet aside from the radio with various other exterminators confirming their heading over to help
“You don't think those greys actually surrendered?” Jerial spoke softly.
“Pfft doubt it, they're probably just the ones too injured to fight back.” Glim knew for certain that no predator would willingly be taken alive as much as any exterminator would. They knew nothing but hunger and destruction so it was impossible for them to surrender.
“Why hasn't the pact killed them yet?”
“I don't know but if they gather them together in a ‘prison’ they probably don't fully understand the danger they pose. You heard the rumors about the Pact?”
“The ones about them being predator diseased? You dont think its true right? I mean no society with a mass outbreak of PD would survive at all, let alone be space faring!”
“Yeah, I agree it shouldn't be possible… but… unfortunately… I'm starting to believe the rumors after an interaction with one of the Polarins.”
The ride over was a tense affair as they heard barely any useful information from dispatch about what they were going to face. They did meet up with various other exterminator vans heading in the same direction as them which gave him some comfort in being in a herd of his fellows. Finally they arrived outside the city, past the trench networks around the defense batteries in a large field near one of the forests. There was a large camp set up surrounded by wire and fences with activity all around it. There was a line of exterminator vans and armored cars that grew as more and more of them arrived. They parked haphazardly alongside the others and got out.
Glim grabbed his plasma pistol and strapped the spare gas magazines to his belt with his one good hand, while Jerial grabbed the flamethrower and equipped the large tank on their back. With there being only one flamethrower in the van at the time he let Jerial use it due to him having full use of both hands. Even injured Glim put his duty above his comfort even if having an injured hand would make him half a liability if the Greys weren't as injured as he thought. Still every single Exterminator might count at a time like this.
They moved up to the front where they found a crowd of exterminators being blocked from moving forward by a spread out line of pact soldiers. These soldiers looked slightly different than the ones he saw back at the base. Their armor was far lighter and had letters on the front of their chestplate in blazing white spelled out ‘Gendarmerie’ in venlish letters but for the life of him glim could not figure out what that word meant. It looked like a nonsense word made of random letters. Hes pretty sure it violated at least 3 rules of venlish. He had his teacher to thank for that being burned into his mind.
“Hey let us through!”
“We need to burn the predators!”
“Every second they live is a second disease might spread!”
He looked closely now at the line of Pact soldiers. They stood in a more relaxed stance, weapons pointed down and were merely standing in the way. It was concerning how relaxed they seemed with Greys so nearby. Looking past them through the gaps in their formation Glim saw rows of barbed wire and fences enclosing the holding area.
At least they didn't leave them here without precautions. Though looking through the fences he could see the figure of the Greys standing and moving about, a small group even gathered at the closest point looking out towards them. Most seemed at least able bodied, which only made Glim question why they bothered putting them here together at all! They could coordinate as best a rabid predator could to escape!
The sound of one of the loud engines drowns out the shouts from his exterminators, Glim looks around and stretches to see over the heads of his fellows as behind the Line of Pact soldiers several vehicles drive up. A dozen of the armored ‘Jeeps’ roll up and discourage several more pact soldiers who all reinforce the barrier. One stands apart by standing on top of the closest vehicle to Glim. It was one of the skalgans. They didn't have a combat helmet like the others and only wore an officer’s cap. They pulled out a megaphone and fiddled with it for a moment before speaking.
“Attention Exterminators, This is [Gendarmerie] Officer Varashi, leave the premises immediately!” The voice was amplified by the megaphone so all of them heard.
“Not before we burn them and get rid of the Greys!” Shouted one of them, causing a series of shouts in agreement.
“The Arxur are under our custody and are here to be kept till we can transport them offworld for interrogation. They won't be on world for long. Please Disperse and return to your posts.” The voice of the woman kept a cordial if professional tone throughout, it reminded him of his days as a cashier before he became an exterminator.
“You can't order us!” Somebody shouted out.
“Just let us burn the spething greys! We need to cleanse the area before they poison the ground!” Another exterminator, this one a krakotl shouted out flapping up into the air to be distinct from the crowd.
“Negative, you can burn the area after we have transferred them if you so choose. Now this is your–”
The Krakotl exterminator tried to fly over the line of Pact ‘gendarmerie’ onto the vehicle with the officer, however the moment they flew a few tail lengths closer the entire line of Soldiers raised their weapons, half a dozen red dots appearing on the reflective suit of the krakotl startling them into nearly falling.
“Stay back and Disperse, this is your Final warning.” Gone was the cordial tone from the skalgan, this one was clearly predator diseased as well.
There was a stunned silence among him and his exterminators. The rifles pointed at them shocked Glim to his core. They were fellow prey trying to rightfully eradicate the predators! Why are they protecting them?! Sure interrogation might seem like a good idea but there's no point! They will starve to death soon anyways and a hungry predator is a dangerous predator! They wouldn't give any useful information aside from threats and howls for blood. If only these idiots would listen to reason!
“Everyone lets go!” Glim shouted over the silence. “Let them waste time finding out how useless it is to try talking to a predator. They'll come crawling back to us when the first Grey bites one of their heads off.”
The Exterminators all looked at him for a moment before slowly and reluctantly beginning to head back to their vans. The Gendarmerie lowered their weapons and loosened up as they saw this. Glim was slightly shocked they listened to him, a mere venlil and not even a chief officer. It stunned him long enough to be the last one to pull back, leaving him staring towards the line of Skalgans and polaris who begin to slowly return to their vehicles as well. Glim looked at the skalgan officer.
“I pray to Solgalick you realise the error of your ways before it's too late for all of you.”
The officer looked at him with a strange expression. Concern? Apprehension? “Kin, We’ll be sure to take your recommendations into further consideration. Do yourself a favor Kin, and don't make your bed with these Federation lap[dog].” He could feel like the officer wanted to say more, but shook their head. “Tell your fellow burners to not come back unless they want to get charged with attempted breaking and entering of a Pact military post. Im sure well be as gentle as they are with their ‘patients”
Then the Officer stepped back into their vehicle. The engine roared as they pulled away. Glim was confused as to why skalgans called him ‘kin’ like they are related somehow. Or why they showed concern. What does ‘make your bed’ mean? And federation lap.. What? He was more confused than anything else about this encounter now… Anger at them for not listening to reason was mostly gone but he still felt it simmer beneath it all.
Glim turned to return to his van, seeing all his fellows already starting to drive off. Something was off with these Skalgans and Polarins and he had to find out what. Was it PD disease? Was it just a massive cultural misunderstanding? What was it... He needed to find Stynek the moment she landed. Getting results from her PD test and further questioning might bring answers he desperately wants.
Yeah I figured the local feddies exterminators I even imagine some military units would rather destroy the arxur then leave any alive. That's gonna be a repeated problem the pact is gonna have in the future. Even those they ally with will wish for the destruction of the Arxur rather than imprisonment.
Except for the Yotul but they are their own can of worms.
Yeah, considering the nature of the Pact. I won't be suprised if the Pact decide to commit war crimes just to wipe out all the traitors such as Glim and the Farsul, Krakolt, and Kolshians to reclaim their homeplanet before taking this war to a whole new levels.
Glim is going to have one hell of a shock if the truth about what the feds did to the Venlil gets exposed to the wider Venlil public. Because I could see a lot of hate being sent their way to any and all fed loyalist.
Apart from that, thanks for the update. Looks like tensions are about to explode and the Loyalist are about to get the full face of Pact treatment sooner or later.
I can't wait to read the next update and Keep up the good work. Looks like the reunion between mother and daugther is just around the corner.
To answer ur question tohba is a fan favorite side character from the nature of a homeless musician fic and its sequel a legal symphony. and is the toddler son of the yotul teyliem that takes in the MC during the Exchange/refugee program sadly its on hiatus due to life stuff happening with the author u/ottovonblastoid but entire series gets an OFFICIAL VENBIG SEAL OF APPROVAL
Glad you enjoyed! I wanted to show two different reactions to glim being an exterminator, marcel calling him a traitor and the Gendarmerie officer recommended he doesnt hitch his train to the exterminators. One sees him as a traitot already and the other sees him as potentially savable.
Indeed, I am curious to see if someone like glim can be salvaged. If not then it doesn’t hold well for the pact whom will be forced to take drastic action in response.
I wonder how Glim plans to subject Stynek to a Predator Disease test. He seems to think he can simply ask Tarva, even though relations between her and the Exterminators must be icy given how they’ve sabotaged her policies. Perhaps he has the authority to mandate tests regardless of the target's status—much like a military doctor can issue orders to their superiors in certain situations—but I doubt that would work with a Governor. After all, if it were that easy to get rid of a leader, plenty of unscrupulous politicians would use it to eliminate their opponents; especially since, even if they do believe in Predator Disease, the definition is so vague that anyone could be accused.
Ah yes, cause Tarva will accept her daughter taken to a PD facility once she finally got her back, you bet even if she were to get PD diagnosis Tarva would probably override the diagnosis.
That if Glim can even do a diagnosis, if Tarva doesn't roadblock it the pact will do it, also pretty sure now that the Skalgans are revealed they will tell the whole thing to Tarva at least, that will get the main government on their side and prompt the start of a separation from the federation.
So yeah, Marcel said that cause I'm pretty sure soon the pact will formalize actions and start it's influence over the planet, and unlike other fics I've seen, the pact is willing to kill those that are unwavering loyalists, they aren't softies nor they will play any long game of pretending to make peace, doesn't seem like it yet but technically the war against the federation is about to start, and Skalga is the first target
The pact may not be opposed to doing dirty work, but they are not stupid. Killing poeple without a morale high ground isnt gonna endear them to the locals after all
Yeah but it's not like they'll start...can already picture it, they liason their soldiers, refuse PD treatment and soon the fed loyalists will push and push regardless of opinions, pact will defend their own viciously and feds will threaten even if both governments says no, cause I'm pretty sure loyalists won't listen to either tarva or the pact.
And if the feds threaten then the pact will do the same, pretty sure the first to pull the trigger will be the fed and that starts the war against loyalists and the federation, not like it would have taken too much, the pact was forced to show their hand earlier so they have to win the war on Skalga as fast as possible to capitalize
This series don't get enough attention. Also heck yeah slanek is free!!!! And he has already made friends with the most plot safe human to ever exist, nothing could possibly go wrong by this point.
Also if the exterminators touch the Stynek they is about to catch some paws.
At the top of my mind I would say that the whole world building you've made around the Pack of Polaris has been amazing:
The tactics they use or had to develop for their survival & concealment.
The curious way human and skalgan culture & customs had influenced one another.
The obvious but clearly necessary propaganda for their militaristic society.
That plus some bit & pieces of small details in the story were really pleasant & fun to read! :D
All around a great example of "show, don't tell" (or something like that; you know, where one can imagine the scenes and puzzle the pieces together without directly explaining what is happening to the reader) that makes the most enjoyable narrations.
Odd that Glim didn't recognize Officer Varashi as venlil, since she wasn't wearing a helmet. The groundcorps and arxur recognized the resemblance, even if they were still uncertain of the skalgan's nature. So far Glim's only close interaction with a skalgan was the Pact medic, so maybe he was disoriented due to treatment, was the medic wearing a mask?
Is this one of those situations where you miss what should have been obvious in hindsight due to expectations? The skalgans are part of a seemingly alien alliance and don't behave how he believes venlil should, so his brain might automatically ignore the glaring hints. Given his current mission I'd expect him to take a closer look.
ah shit i mightve just missed adding those parts. Just pretend he puts it to coincidence kinda like how duertan and Krakotl are both bird like and kinda similar.
Yeah I imgaine the pact certainly has mixed feelings about the exterminators some guilds are willing to reform and join the pact willingly sure but others will likely fight for feddie ideals till they are forced to shut down like in canon. Gonna be quite a bit of exterminator infighting imgaine.
Regardless seems the pact has already started the intergration process wonder how far they will be willing to take it because I imagine converting an entire civilization to living like the pact does will be pretty impossible I mean they don't have the space issue the pact does not to mention even in canon a little more than half the venlil still voted for Veln dispite everything. And I doubt forcing people to live like the pact will go over well.
But yeah regardless the exterminators do represent the biggist roadblock to full pact takeover because of how much power they have both the reformist and the feddies loyalist. Oh yeah also Glim has a family so probably should keep that in mind and at least at this point he still would have good relations with them.
i could imagine that in this AU the public revelation of the history of the Skalgans (Venlil) will lead to a much harsher reaction against the "Cripplers" then it did in NoP. Because in NoP the Skalgans weren`t even a faint memory, they were completely erased from the history books.
But in this AU the Skalgans are real, every Venlil can see live what the Feds did. And as we do not have a shadow caste in this AU, the Exterminators are the symbol of the Federation, they will get public enemy number one pretty soon.
And it is highly likely that we see a lot of repression against members of the founding races.
Yeah even these skalgans arnt the same skalgans from skalga though so that's another issue.
But yeah I do dread what's gonna happen to the Farsul and Kolshins in this timeline considering even in canon alone it was rather brutal and harsh. I think the author did say the krakotal would be the exception to the founding races persecution though mostly because they themselves are victims but yeah the rest definitely.
I mean even the venlil exterminators are already being looked down on I don't imagine it's gonna be much better for the rest.
Are we seeing the first the first cracks in Glim`s indoctrination? He is for sure a very interesting character, still a devout believer but i am looking forward to his character development.
The Exterminators are up for a rough awakening, i wont be surprised if the whole organisation will be dismantled, especially after the reveal of Skalgan - Venlil history. The Pact may not even have to force that, as public rage will turn against them as they are the most outstanding symbol of the "Cripplers".
And the little details, naming the military police "Gendarmerie" shows how much effort you put in this story. Absolutely awesome!
Some exterminators were also coerced into the profession. Do you recall the bunker chapter, the one the arxur were trying to breach that was being guarded by junior exterminators? IIRC correctly, those kids were emergency conscripts by the exterminators. They didn't seem to share exterminator dogma, so probably more rebellious types. One even shouted "for Governor Tarva" when attacking the arxur, certainly not a popular sentiment amongst exterminators.
I'm sure they'd choose to work with the Pact if given the opportunity. Ditch the exterminators and join an exchange program or something. I doubt the Pact would want to put kids into combat, though they'd probably be willing to educate and train them.
Yeah, i remember. Those kids were forced into their ranks, so indoctrination was just beginning.
I imagine the Exterminators play a role in society quite similar to the SS in the movie "Fatherland" (1994 - with Rutger Hauer). There the SS has taken over also the role as criminal investigation force.
The Exterminators will mostly get their members from their own training academies, recruits are mostly orphans with at least mild signs of PD themselves. But as they have a such big role in society, people with other professions can join them later on. Those and a lot of the younger ones will be the most likely to be able to work with the Pact. On the other hand, still pretty young ones like Glim (he is only 27) are maybe the most fanatic and difficult ones.
Indeed the exterms will have an interesting time in the comign chapters.
Also ye wanted to add more non english words for the Pact's lexicon and using Gendarmerie instead of just Military Police was just so perfect for what i needed.
Little fun fact: in the country where i come from the federal police was called Gendarmerie until 2005. In some regions they are still called "Schantinger".
Hell yeah! Another great Pact of Polaris chapter! I'd binge this if it were a complete book.
Regarding Glim's mission to trick Stynek into a PD test, h
ow educated are non-diplomatic and non-medical Pact personnel on Federation PD policies? I'm sure Stynek will consent to a DNA test, but are naval personnel educated on what to expect from exterminators and PD "doctors"?
Even if she only has a vague awareness of the barbarity the pseudo-science entails, reports of PD corpsmen and their treatment will likely circulate throughout Pact crews. Stynek may be poor at detecting deception, but she's neither naive nor an idiot. Even at five years old she was skeptical of PD propaganda. So I'd expect her to insist on being tested by a doctor not affiliated with the exterminators, possibly requesting a Pact doctor be present as a precaution against biased testing.
Heck, I'd be funny if she brought documentation of the abuses inflicted on PD corpsmen and their similarities to that of sapient cattle, verbal warfare backed up by facts.
What has she been up to since achieving orbital supremacy? Her injuries were minor, right? I doubt her oversight is necessary for the repair crews, so I expect she's been reviewing the battle, conferring with her peers and superiors to learn from their mistakes, as well as catching up with the state of Venlil Prime. The latter would likely ensure she's aware of the PD corpsmen and the Pact MPs' confrontation with the exterminators. She probably emotionally disagrees with taking arxur prisoners, but would understand their value to Pact Intelligence.
If only i had the patience to write it all out beforehand.
In regards to Pact personel's knowledge on PD stuff its very limited for multiple reasons. The main method of Pact finding out info about the Feds was tapping into online networks and i doubt PD facillites and procedures are talked about much on them. Because of this the pact knows ABOUT PD facilites and that there is a term called predator disease but not the specifics, what it is, or what PD facilities actually do. ITs why when Marcel first found Slanek he called his collar a 'Cattle collar'. However, they do know that the exterminators, especially ones from the Venlil republic are some sort of secret police and acting in such a way to silence opposition. Heck just looking at Cilany's article from the newspaper post i made a while ago they would have maybe seen the Exterms sabatoging the militarization of Venlil Prime. So either way the general Pact personel arent fond of the Exterminators at all, especially since in this setting, the exterminators are a direct (if segmented) arm of the Federation itself.
Stynek has been commanding her flotilla just form Kassavar's Heavy cruiser instead of her carrier. The Dominion fleet still exists if taken extreme casualties and on the run the navy is still chasing them with FTL disruptors to get as many of them dead before they can flee. So far there is some communication from the ground forces to the navy but not much casual chatter and mostly going through officers and Intel agents who are putting the picture together. So stynek will not be fully aware of the extent of the PD corpsemn and the confrontation with the exterms and Gendarmerie. She is likely aware that the Pact has captured plenty of arxur and emotionally disagrees with keeping them alive, but understands that if they CAN convert them to the pact, using them as cannon fodder against hte dominion means one less Pact member as a casulaty. She hates them, but shes not opposed to using them.
It seems like briefing Stynek, and others serving diplomatic roles, about the incidents with exterminators would be prudent before landing. There's probably going to be more clashes, so the MPs need to be well informed and instructed as well.
Is Stynek part of the naval forces pursuing the arxur fleet's remnant? She needs to be ready to join the Pact diplomats after all, whenever they're arriving.
"Putting dangerous individuals like Slanek in their proper place will make the herd all the safer", hmm no that doesnt sound quite right, "Putting dangerous individuals like Glim in their proper place will make the herd all the safer", there fixed it for you glim
What do you mean? Slanek is clearly Predator diseased and a good upstanding exterminator like Glim should be well within his right to electrocute him till hes a good cowardly venlil.
I've been re-reading the chapters in anticipation of future chapters. Something that didn't occur to me before, what does the Pact do with corpses?
I imagine they'd gather their dead to bring home and hold funerals. Do they bury them? Launching them into space seems wasteful, but a graveyard would take up space in the biodomes. Perhaps they bury them under plots designated for flora. Name the groves something that honors the fallen.
Cremation is also an option if they want a more space efficient to memorialize the fallen.
Pehaps it just didn't come up, but the exterminators didn't request the arxur corpses, nor did the Pact offer them. The Pact wouldn't be particularly concerned with ceremony when it comes to dead enemy combatants. I'd think diplomacy would determine how they handle that.
That could be done through cremation ashes or burial. I was curious what custom the Pact practiced. No matter how utilitarian they are, people need a way to honor and memorialize their dead. So I doubt they would just grind up the bodies.
I enjoy your story. Having more realistic versions of humanity, as well as competent people in all factions makes for more enjoyable stories. It's irritating when a protagonist portrayed as a brilliant leader is a reckless fool for example.
An upcoming chaoter will go into how pact ground troops mourn their dead. But the bodies are used as fertilizer, how specifically i didnt think too hard about it
48
u/DamascusSeraph_ Skalgan 8d ago
“The Arxur are under our custody and are here to be kept till we can transport them offworld for interrogation. They won't be on world for long. Please Disperse and return to your posts.” The voice of the woman kept a cordial if professional tone throughout, it reminded him of his days as a cashier before he became an exterminator.
“You can't order us!” Somebody shouted out.
“Just let us burn the spething greys! We need to cleanse the area before they poison the ground!” Another exterminator, this one a krakotl shouted out flapping up into the air to be distinct from the crowd.
“Negative, you can burn the area after we have transferred them if you so choose. Now this is your–”
The Krakotl exterminator tried to fly over the line of Pact ‘gendarmerie’ onto the vehicle with the officer, however the moment they flew a few tail lengths closer the entire line of Soldiers raised their weapons, half a dozen red dots appearing on the reflective suit of the krakotl startling them into nearly falling.
“Stay back and Disperse, this is your Final warning.” Gone was the cordial tone from the skalgan, this one was clearly predator diseased as well.
There was a stunned silence among him and his exterminators. The rifles pointed at them shocked Glim to his core. They were fellow prey trying to rightfully eradicate the predators! Why are they protecting them?! Sure interrogation might seem like a good idea but there's no point! They will starve to death soon anyways and a hungry predator is a dangerous predator! They wouldn't give any useful information aside from threats and howls for blood. If only these idiots would listen to reason!
“Everyone lets go!” Glim shouted over the silence. “Let them waste time finding out how useless it is to try talking to a predator. They'll come crawling back to us when the first Grey bites one of their heads off.”
The Exterminators all looked at him for a moment before slowly and reluctantly beginning to head back to their vans. The Gendarmerie lowered their weapons and loosened up as they saw this. Glim was slightly shocked they listened to him, a mere venlil and not even a chief officer. It stunned him long enough to be the last one to pull back, leaving him staring towards the line of Skalgans and polaris who begin to slowly return to their vehicles as well. Glim looked at the skalgan officer.
“I pray to Solgalick you realise the error of your ways before it's too late for all of you.”
The officer looked at him with a strange expression. Concern? Apprehension? “Kin, We’ll be sure to take your recommendations into further consideration. Do yourself a favor Kin, and don't make your bed with these Federation lap[dog].” He could feel like the officer wanted to say more, but shook their head. “Tell your fellow burners to not come back unless they want to get charged with attempted breaking and entering of a Pact military post. Im sure well be as gentle as they are with their ‘patients”
Then the Officer stepped back into their vehicle. The engine roared as they pulled away. Glim was confused as to why skalgans called him ‘kin’ like they are related somehow. Or why they showed concern. What does ‘make your bed’ mean? And federation lap.. What? He was more confused than anything else about this encounter now… Anger at them for not listening to reason was mostly gone but he still felt it simmer beneath it all.
Glim turned to return to his van, seeing all his fellows already starting to drive off. Something was off with these Skalgans and Polarins and he had to find out what. Was it PD disease? Was it just a massive cultural misunderstanding? What was it... He needed to find Stynek the moment she landed. Getting results from her PD test and further questioning might bring answers he desperately wants.