《Of Mangos and Murder》 Chapter 1: A simple meal. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Junior Exterminator, Nishtal Division Date [standardized human time]: January 12th, 2128 I stood to attention: head up, feet together, wings straight to my side. The office I had entered was just as grand as the station it represented, filled with plaques showing the great deeds done by its leaders over the years, the Exterminators logo embossed into the far wall in blue and gold, representing the billions of prey protected and saved from the predators that lurked in the dark. It was impossible not to feel pride standing in such a place, my own uniform perfectly maintained, sidearm cleaned and with deadly accuracy from training. The Exterminators were a wall against the horrific predators that sought our destruction, and I was a single brick in those defences. I knew what pain and horror predators could bring. I knew of the mother I never met, the father I found killed by a predator in our small home a mere five years ago. That was why I joined the Exterminators two years later, at the age of twelve; to make sure nobody else felt that same pain that I did. Well, worry also filled my mind as I stood in front of the commanding officer of the head Nishtal branch, Ghelsim. The Krakotl was a legend, a force of nature keeping all of Nishtal safe, one of the greatest Exterminators alive. For a Junior Exterminator such as myself to have been called up for a meeting¡­ I¡¯d either done something very, very good¡­ or very, very bad. ¡°So, Estala is it? Let''s cut straight to the feather''s edge on this. Dr Prelala, what happened there?¡± I couldn''t help but feel confused at this being brought up. It was a standard case by the book. ¡°Yes sir. Dr Prelala, standard Predator Disease accusation due to a possible pro-predator ideology. Empathy test was applied as per regulation 1H-52. All readings were nominal, she was released shortly afterwards.¡± ¡°Do you know why the accusation was made?¡± ¡°I do, sir. Dr Prelala was involved in research with findings suggesting that the Yotul predators ¡°Hensa¡± may increase farming yields.¡± Ghelsim looked at me questioningly, as if I was a small chick who had said something very stupid. ¡°Yet with this, you saw fit to release someone proclaiming predators can have benefits? I would think such a PD accusation would be simple to verify?¡± ¡°The definition of Predator Disease in 1H-05 does not define such actions alone. While such predatory ideals can be used as an initial screening tool, as described in addendum 1H-TY, the key feature for such a variety of predator disease is an incorrect fear response to predators during an empathy test. Dr Prelala did not fail this portion, and therefore does not legally have Predator Disease by Federation law.¡± I spoke calmly and simply, listing off the relevant pieces of Exterminator regulations that entirely remained within the bounds of Federation law. The document listing every process, strategy and regulation was given to all Exterminators upon joining, and I had taken the entire thing to memory. I often got the feeling that my fellow Exterminators tended to¡­ skim the rules, especially since they were only officially found in this one location, and the entire document was a dense 50,000-word document filled with waffling propaganda and long verbiage. ¡°I thought it would be something like that. I can see your results Estala, you are turning into a fine young Exterminator, brave and competent, but your percentage of confirmed Predator Disease cases are far lower than average.¡± ¡°1H-26 demands that all cases must have two negative empathy tests, to avoid false positives, and initial screening measures cannot replace an empathy test result.¡± A step that most other exterminators seemed to skip, which was just being lazy. Inatala had brought the Krakotl into the Federation, and the Federation had created these rules and regulations to keep us safe from predators. To be honest, I didn¡¯t understand why people would avoid learning such things just because it took a little extra time. Wasn¡¯t keeping the population protected worth the extra effort? ¡°Estala, do you really think having someone like Dr Prelala around keeps people safe? That having someone spreading dangerous pro-predator ideas isn¡¯t going to end in tears?¡± I paused for a moment, unsure what answer Ghelsim was expecting. On the one hand he was right, the ideas Dr Prelala spouted could lead to others copying her and being put in danger. On the other hand¡­ the rules were very clear. ¡°All due respect sir, if being wrong or stupid was a sign of Predator Disease, the facilities would be overflowing.¡± I gave a small nervous laugh at this, one that was not returned. I decided to just ask the commander directly what he wanted. ¡°The rules are part of the Federation that keeps us safe sir. Should I not be following the Federation¡¯s rules?¡± Disappointment. I could see it in his eyes, and my heart fell as he looked at me. Was that the wrong answer? How could it even be the wrong answer? Rules were rules, and they were made by the Federation, if they were wrong and didn¡¯t keep us safe the Federation would change them. ¡°Of course not, Estala. You are just following the letter of the law to your best ability. In fact, this is the real reason I wanted to speak with you: You have exceptional weapons range scores, are consistently praised for your actions while removing predators, and your¡­ commitment to following Federation official rules is admirable. I believe your talents are currently wasted here on Nishtal.¡± Part of me wanted to mention that I only practised my aim so much because the official minimum passing rate for an Exterminator was higher than most Exterminator firearm aptitude scores. I decided not to bring this up however, as I realized this wasn¡¯t the right time. ¡°What do you mean, sir? Isn¡¯t the Nishtal Exterminators the best guild in the Federation?¡± ¡°Indeed, and because of that Nishtal is a safe place. Most predators have been eradicated and the Arxur would never dare raid us. Nishtal Exterminators often have trouble getting real experience, which is what I want to give you. What do you know about colony work?¡± Who didn¡¯t know about colony work!? I could feel confusion giving way to a small amount of excitement as I realized what I was being offered. ¡°Colonies are the forefront of the Exterminator¡¯s efforts to aid the Federation, sir. Often headed by some of the best Exterminators in the galaxy, carving out new planets from predatory influence.¡± ¡°Exactly Estala. There is a new expedition leaving in [two weeks] time to a planet with the name of ¡®Little Yortu¡¯. I want you to be part of this, spend a year gaining much needed experience and do something amazing for the federation.¡± Gaining experience was putting it lightly. This was an amazing opportunity. Nearly every single major Exterminator had done some kind of Colony work, and even now I could see the badge representing his time colonizing ¡®Horatus¡¯ pinned to Ghelsim¡¯s vest, gleaming in the light. ¡°Certainly sir, I¡¯d be honoured to do so! I won¡¯t let you down!¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to, Estala. Hopefully some real world experience will give you some¡­ context for the Federation¡¯s rules to bring back with you.¡± ¡ª-------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Exterminator, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 5th, 2137 I stared down at the item in front of me, a swirl of emotions running through my head, ingrained instincts fighting against logic as my heart pounded in my chest. I knew I was safe, I knew that nothing was going to happen to me, but looking at the food sitting in the paper bowl, mere inches away, caused a turmoil of conflict. Fried chicken. Or at least, something made out of vegetables designed to replicate the sight and taste of flesh using vegetable matter and a complicated cooking process. I wasn¡¯t stupid or suicidal enough to try actual meat, considering my biological allergy to such a thing and the anti-cure not quite being ready for mass Krakotl testing. Logically, this should make this meal no different to the many other tasty human foods I had tried. Logic was taking a backseat in my mind. That wasn¡¯t mentioning the many eyes staring at me in this dingy restaurant, with practically everyone staring in my direction to see my reaction. A Yotul and a Gojid were the only non-human clientele. The rest were humans, many of them with pads raised up to record the first Krakotl to come by this hidden establishment. While nothing they were doing was strictly illegal, the idea of cooking ¡®prey food¡¯ to resemble flesh was something only accepted by the most¡­ progressive members to break free of the Federation¡¯s grip. ¡°You OK, Estala? You don¡¯t have to do this, you know. You don¡¯t need to prove anything.¡± Joseph¡¯s words broke me out of my staring contest with the food, causing me to look across at my human friend with his own faux flesh meal. I¡¯d just wanted to do something nice for him, and after finding out about a place that sold humans food rarely found on Skalga, I¡¯d decided to take Joseph here as my treat. I¡¯d not been planning on sampling the cuisine myself. It felt all so easy responding to the asshole, I quite literally got ¡®baited¡¯ into this by a predator. Many of the clientele didn¡¯t seem enthusiastic at a Krakotl, let alone a Krakotl Exterminator, arriving at their doorstep. Not that I cared, they could take their disagreements and shove them where the sun didn¡¯t shine. But when a random shit for brains through it would be funny to shout ¡®Try the KFC¡¯... I let pride and annoyance drag me into this situation. ¡°I¡¯m fine Joseph. I can do this, it¡¯s just plants.¡± Just plants. It didn¡¯t look like it, it looked like something that would come off a small bird and covered in a golden brown crust. I also hated to admit, it also smelled¡­ amazing. Turning plants into flesh, what a predatory concept. Shut up Feddie Estala, there¡¯s nothing wrong with this. You would have tested anyone else for PD for just thinking about eating this¡­ I said shut up Feddie! In a final burst of will power I drove my sharp hooked beak into the first of the human creations, feeling it tear apart easily. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what I was expecting to taste. Bitterness? Evil? In reality¡­ it was amazing. Juicy on the inside, salty and crispy on the outside, I felt a small part of me, hidden away and locked behind Federation tampering for generations, finally breathe out in relief for the first time. I wanted all of this food inside of me right this second. The rest of the first tender disappeared in an instant as I destroyed it, practically inhaling the second before Joseph interrupted my feasting with a laugh. ¡°It''s good then?¡± I felt myself turn purple with embarrassment as I endeavoured to slow down, giving an enthusiastic affirmative chirp in response. ¡°Is this really what meat tastes like? How do you even turn plants into something that tastes this good?¡± The question was rhetorical as I ate the third piece and moved onto the fourth, but Joseph answered it anyway. ¡°Well it''s not 100%, probably 90% there. Not sure how they do it, but I know there was a lot of work put into replacing meat in the early 2000s because of environmental issues. Then lab grown stuff took over, though it made a comeback in the last year for obvious reasons.¡± ¡°Whatever it is, by Inatala it¡¯s good.¡± I finished off my fourth piece, only to glance down with a forlorn despair at the horrific realization that there were no more pieces of the fake meat left, only - also delicious - chips. Part of me wanted to freak out over this new revelation, that liking the taste of such a meal made me ¡®predatory¡¯, but there were only so many mind shattering world breaking pieces of information a bird could take, before I just decided to go with the flow whenever this kind of thing happened. Krakotl like flying, Skalga is tidally locked, and the Federation lied about everything in my life. ¡°Well, now that that¡¯s over, I¡¯ve got something fun to show you.¡± There was a moment as Joseph reached into his bag under the table and pulled out a small soft plushy, placing on top the table triumphantly. My alarm and embarrassment came back with a vengeance as I realized exactly what the toy was. ¡°It took me forever to find this, and they¡¯re supposedly super rare, but look, it¡¯s a little you!¡± The little soft toy was indeed a little me, a far younger me, back when the guild wanted to use what had happened on Voyak as a PR win. There had been interviews, voice lines recorded for the VR Federation tour, and of course¡­ the range of soft toys. I looked down as the little me sat there in plush on the table in full Exterminator gear. ¡°It even has voice lines, look!¡± I continued to watch on in horror as Joseph pulled the still working string in the back, causing a far younger me to proclaim out loud ¡°Together we will keep the Federation safe!¡±. I wanted to sink into the floor, covering my head with my wings in embarrassment of the reminder of my brief foray into the public eye. Even worse, Joseph clearly knew this was embarrassing, the predatory grin on his face as he showed off the little soft version of me was all I needed to see. ¡°Where did you even get that? They only made them on Nishtal for a handful of months¡­¡± ¡°Some guy on Bleat was selling one, Cost more than you¡¯d think. It turns out you¡¯re not just an adorable mango loving birb, you¡¯re also a collectible.¡± A buzzing from my pocket alerted me of a possible chance to get out of this embarrassment, giving me an excuse to get out of this conversation. Technically I was off work on medical leave, but I¡¯d take any reason to escape the soulless clutches of plushy Estala. ¡°Hey, I know you¡¯re on time off, but I¡¯ve got another human who¡¯s had a bit too much to drink, and I don¡¯t trust anyone else to deal with it.¡± Time off was one way of putting it. ¡®Oops, I almost died¡¯ was another. I could still feel the cast placed on the side of my head, covered with fake blue feathers, helping my skull to heal. A human rock concert had turned into a human riot, one I¡¯d helped to resolve non-lethally, but not without me taking a microphone stand to the skull. Brittle Avian bones and angry humans did not mix well. The message was from the owner of a local bar. Humans had a tendency to overindulge in Venlil liquor, and it wasn¡¯t uncommon for an overly intoxicated human to require Exterminator intervention. However, if I was being fully honest, the quality of that intervention can vary wildly. ¡°Give me 15, I can swing by and-¡± My response was cut short as the pad was ripped from my fingers, my eyes looking up as Joseph now looked at me with a stern look across his features, staring at me as if I was a naughty chick, holding my device out of reach ¡°No working, you¡¯re supposed to be healing! Whatever it is, there has to be someone else in the Exterminators who can deal with it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a human who¡¯s a bit too drunk, I can just swing by quickly, stick them in the drunk tank. It¡¯s easier if I do it.¡± The look on Joseph¡¯s face suggested that was also the wrong response. ¡°So there¡¯s nobody else you trust to deal with a drunk human? Because if you¡¯re the only person in the entire district that sounds like a bigger issue.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I guess there¡¯s Jkob, or Vaill, or Kallak. I could go ask them¡­¡± Joseph waited a moment, before handing my device back to me. ¡°Good. You¡¯re supposed to be healing. You nearly died, and if you go jumping back into work you could get seriously hurt.¡± The human sighed before continuing. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve been noticing you overworking yourself. Ever since you went back to the Exterminators, you¡¯ve been working 60-hour weeks, which for a not persistence specialist species is not good. You¡¯re going to burn out, have a mental breakdown, go into the woods, and try and find another human to eat you. Then I¡¯m going to get jealous because that¡¯s ¡®our¡¯ thing.¡± Oh great, the embarrassment was back. The double whammy of being reminded about how I met Joseph and my embarrassing attempt to ¡®discover the predatory evils¡¯, as well as being scolded as if I was a young chick again. ¡°I guess¡­ it just feels as if there¡¯s so much work to do to reform the Exterminators.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be no good to anyone if you¡¯re overworked or injured while doing it. These next few weeks, no working. Take up some hobbies, look into painting, or something else. Try out one of the human activities we¡¯ve brought along with us, and you¡¯ll feel much better and more able to accomplish your work when you¡¯re no longer on medical leave.¡± Joseph was right of course, and that idea did seem like a nice concept. Humanity was already having a major impact on the culture of Skalga, so picking up a human hobby seemed nice, relaxing, a way to unwind. What could possibly go wrong? Chapter 2: Daytime TV Memory transcription subject: Estala, Junior Exterminator, ¡®Little Yortu¡¯ Colony Cleanup Division Date [standardized human time]: July 27th, 2128 Everything hurt. There was dirt and dust between each of my feathers and every single muscle ached and screamed in protest. I wanted to pluck every feather off of my skin and soak forever in warm water until I stopped feeling this way. Sadly, I didn''t have time for that since I, along with the 4 other junior Exterminators of my squad, stood to attention as our commander stared each of us down as he walked among us with his pristine feathers and dirt free uniform. A stark difference to the 5 of us who had actually done the work. ¡°Very good job squad. Sector UG-4 is now considered cleansed of all predatory taint. We have done a good job today!¡± We? That was a very strong word to use, as Officer Parsim had done nothing but sit and ¡®direct¡¯ us instead of actually aiding us like he should have according to regulations. Of course, giving the idiot a flamer to use would probably end with him setting himself on fire, so perhaps it was for the best. ¡°Yes sir, although it would have gone faster had you completely filled the flamer canisters before we left, and-¡± ¡°Junior Exterminator Estala! As always, I did not ask for your opinion or commentary.¡± I could see Parsim¡¯s feathers bristling with anger as I spoke up. Neither of us liked the other, both for the same reason. Parsim was incompetent. The most incompetent person I had ever met. I could never understand how someone as incompetent and lazy as this Krakotl had managed to become even a standard officer, let alone in charge of a squad of Junior Exterminators. If there was a task required to be completed, the officer would fail to do so, and if they did do anything, they did it with a complete lack of preparation or adherence to even the simplest of regulations. ¡°Also sir, having only 5 people accomplishing the task instead of six, results in the lack of a rear guard. This is counter to the suggested den clearing process defined in appendix PTY-61, which-¡± ¡°I said I did not ask! Since you are always so knowledgeable about what should be done, you can use that experience as a Junior Exterminator and show ¡®leadership¡¯ by taking tonight¡¯s guard duty.¡± Parsim didn¡¯t like me because I would continually point out his incompetence, not that I planned on stopping. Originally I had assumed the seasoned officer had his reasons for these mistakes, that experience would show some avenue for Extermination I didn¡¯t foresee. However, it had been six months. Six months of blatant incompetence. I couldn¡¯t hold my beak for that long, every bird has her limit. Every rule he broke, every time he failed, it put people¡¯s lives in danger. No matter how many admonishments or punishments he doled out, I at least had to try before something bad happened. Not that the officer looked like he was going to change, at least before my last few months here on the colony were up. ¡°Yes sir.¡± I stated these words with as little annoyance as possible, deciding not to push the issue further. Fighting for this idiot to actually become competent was something for another day, for now I wanted rest. Rest of the predators and their piercing eyes, blood soaked claws and large rows of grinning teeth. ¡°Good. Dismissed, get cleaned up.¡± The five of us filtered towards the temporary barracks, wings and bodies aching as the day''s events took their toll on us. Crawling through dirt tunnels, tracking down dens, and eradicating them was a strenuous task, only slightly washed away with warm water and a new uniform. I eventually made my way back to my room and crawled onto my perch. I wanted to sleep, but the upcoming guard duty made that impossible, giving me half an hour to rest instead. ¡°I don¡¯t get why you keep antagonizing him, Estala. He¡¯s not going to change and you¡¯re just going to get his ire.¡± Talsim entered the rooms, a concerned look in his eyes as my bunkmate and fellow Junior Exterminator took his own perch next to mine. Somehow, after a whole day of crawling through predator infested tunnels, he still managed to look fabulous after a shower and basic preen. ¡°Because he¡¯s going to get someone killed,¡± I responded. ¡°Even today, I noticed he was constantly staying as far away from the predators as possible. If anything went wrong¡­ I don¡¯t understand how he¡¯s even an Exterminator.¡± ¡°Dad says a lot of people join just for the prestige, then freak out whenever an actual predator appears.¡± Talsim was the complete opposite to Parsim, smart, capable, with family ties to the Exterminators. A bright spot in the otherwise rather depressing past few months. The planet was infested with mammalian predators, larger than a Krakotl, teeth a doorway to their cruelty, eyes glowing yellow in the dark. I had indeed gained more experience with predators than I could ever want on this planet, and seen the results of their evils inflicted upon my fellow Exterminators as we cleared out this new colony for the Krakotl people. Frankly, I was looking forward to being back on Nishtal. The two of us sat in silence as we both tried to get our energy back from the gruelling day¡¯s tasks, as the minutes continued to tick by. Talsim continually fidgeted and glanced around, as if he had something on his mind as I sat there trying not to fall asleep. ¡°Estala¡­¡± He said, finally hitting the courage to break the silence. ¡°I¡­ I really don¡¯t like clearing out the dens. The way they¡­ I know they¡¯re predators but¡­¡± I knew exactly what Talsim was talking about. I didn¡¯t like doing them either.¡¯ Not because of the danger, but because of the aftermath. The smell of burning fur flesh, the sounds they made while fire consumed their predatory taint, the helplessness of the predator pups. No, I knew exactly what Talsim meant. But it had to be done, for the safety of the herd. ¡°I think¡­ I think everyone thinks that way, Talsim. That¡¯s what makes us prey: our empathy. Even though we know it has to be done, we know it¡¯s not noble work. But it is necessary. I just think that most Exterminators prefer to avoid talking about it, because we know how many lives we¡¯re saving by removing the predators.¡± ¡°Not everyone. Quala seems to be very happy.¡± I gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of the other Junior Exterminator. She always seemed to take full glee at the destruction of predator dens, eyes alight with joy as fire rained down upon her predatory enemies. ¡°There is something wrong with her. It might not be predator disease but¡­ something.¡± ¡°I dunno, it just feels like everyone else knows what they¡¯re doing. You with your rules, Quala taking down predator dens, and so on. I know my dad wanted me to get into the family business, but I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m cut out for this.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel a level of despair at such words coming out of the beak of Talsim. The Krakotl had become my best friend over these last six months, funny, kind-hearted, and actually competent. The thought of him leaving the Exterminators, not thinking he was good enough¡­ ¡°Nonsense! You are brave and do the right thing when you need to. There¡¯s nobody else I¡¯d rather have protecting my back against the predators. You¡¯re already a better exterminator than Parsim.¡± ¡°A pile of rocks with a flamer draped on top would be a better Exterminator¡­¡± We both laughed at that, the tension in the room evaporating as we both commiserated over the incompetence of the Exterminator Officer in charge of our squad. ¡°See, if he can make it, you definitely can. Remember: we¡¯ll be full officers with colony expedition experience once we¡¯re done here, not juniors any more! I¡¯ll transfer to your department, we can work side by side, rise in the ranks, and keep Nishtal safe together.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah, that does sound nice.¡± ¡°Estala and Talsim, Exterminating duo extreme! The Arxur won¡¯t know what hit them!¡± ¡ª---------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 6th, 2137 How did people do this? Seriously, what did normal people do in their free time? Joseph was out doing something predatory with his cats, leaving me alone in the apartment to chill out. I was sad, comfortable on my perch, a large fluffy blanket wrapped around my body as I cradled a cup of warm mango tea in my hands. I was supposed to be relaxing and letting my body heal¡­ So why couldn¡¯t I relax? Scrolling Bleat and the endless discussion about the war and predators didn¡¯t keep me calm and there was only so much daytime TV one bird could watch. Going outside was out of the question as I¡¯d inevitably see something that needed fixing, ending with me doing work again. So I tried to relax in silence, the curtains drawn across the window creating a nice darkness to calm down in as I tried to slow my breathing. It didn¡¯t work, I wanted to be out there, doing good in the world, anything other than sitting here. It wasn¡¯t always like this, what did you do on your time off? Well there was the Krakotl reality TV show ¡°Wings of Love¡±, which was a guilty pleasure of mine. I was a fan of the Diva Scene in southern Nishtal. Occasionally I¡¯d follow speed flying, especially since the local Skalga athletes generally did very well on the galactic level due to the increased gravity here. Oh, I¡¯m seeing the problem. None of those things exist any more, Nishtal is gone. Work had been a perfect distraction from the whirlwind of painful changes over the last 6 months of my life. Nishtal was no more, every single algae bar or Diva stand I¡¯d ever visited was destroyed, every single person I knew was probably dead. While I hadn¡¯t been there for nearly three years, it was still¡­ home. I wasn¡¯t close with anyone on Nishtal any more, but there were still good people I knew¡­. had known there. Even the Extermination Fleet had contained Exterminators I considered good people, lied to by the Federation and tricked into committing a horrible crime. Heck, if I was being honest with myself, I would have been just one more name on those ships if I hadn¡¯t been stationed on Skalga when all this began. It¡¯s kinda ironic that Kalsim managed to kill far more Krakotl than humans with his actions¡­ the bastard. Then there were the other thoughts that constantly bombarded my mind. The omnivore reveal, the amount of murders I¡¯d let happen under my watch, the revelations about the PD facilities, the ecological damage I¡¯d caused on every planet I¡¯d been stationed on¡­ Nope nope nope nope. Let¡¯s stop thinking about this. Distract myself with anything, anything at all. I opened my work email, using work once again as a distracting refuge, only to see an actually important email that required my response.
Re: Dawncreek Exterminators reform and restructure. My dearest Estala. I have read your proposal for the reopening of the extermination offices of this district and the reimplementation of their funding. I will admit that your restructuring proposals were fairly radical for someone who is still an advocate of the exterminators. However, after careful consideration of the impact of the organization, I fear that I must decline the proposal. I have come to the conclusion that, for the well-being of the citizenry, you and all others wishing for its reimplementation should commence a regime of self fornication as my district shall be better as strangers to the institution of extermination. I thank you for your time, High Magister Rolem of Dawn Creek
By Inatala¡¯s talons¡­ Magistrate Rolem was an interesting case. While most Exterminator CO¡¯s and Magistrates were resistant to the changes I was trying to implement due to a fear or hatred of the ¡®predatory¡¯ humans they represented, Rolem was the complete opposite: He was so pro-human that the Venlil was trying to eradicate the Exterminators of Dawncreek, instead merging their duties with the police force. Unprofessional insults aside, I didn¡¯t blame him too much considering what had happened at Dawn Creek. I wasn¡¯t completely against the idea of copying the humans in that regard, if it wasn¡¯t for the simple issue: It wasn¡¯t working. While in the short term the district was better off without the shambolic incompetent idiots who used to ¡®protect¡¯ the area, the long term solution wasn¡¯t trusting their safety with police officers who could hardly look a human in the eyes without fainting.
Dear idiot face. Can you spehing actually read the email I sent. It¡¯s not working. I¡¯m getting the surrounding districts to cover for you before someone notices and tries to recall your seat, but I can only do that for so long you feather chewing idiotic-
I paused, taking a deep sigh before deleting that text and rewriting the email to something I could actually send.
Dear Rolem. I understand your hesitance to rebuild the Dawn Creek Exterminators, and while I¡¯m not against the idea of your plan in theory, the issue is the current police force joined their roles without expecting such ¡®predatory¡¯ work to be within their job description. As you can see in the data I sent (Please see previous email), a significant number of calls to the police force are being refused and not dealt with, especially surrounding the categories of violent crime (Or what was previously classified as Predator Disease), interacting with humans, and predator sightings. The Exterminators who joined this job did so because they wanted to protect the herd from such problems, unlike the police who originally joined to aid us all in different ways. I¡¯m currently instructing the four surrounding districts to aid in these excess calls during this transition period, but this is not a long term solution. If you would like to discuss this proposal further, please do not hesitate to email or call me. Prestige Exterminator Estala, Human Methods Advisor, Dayside City Head Office.
With the more professional email sent, I once again found myself in the dark with nothing to do. I browsed my emails idly for a few moments, scrolling Bleat through the normal barrage of hate mail I got from both pro and anti-human Venlil, before finding myself back at a familiar website, one that had changed so much of my outlook. FederationColdCases.human.fed.vp A human created site, dedicated to parsing through ¡°Predator Attacks¡± and working out which ones were actually murders, which ones I had failed my duties on. There were a lot of murders originally classified as predator attacks. That realisation had broken me. Prey murdered prey as if they were predators, meaning there were no prey or predators in the galaxy, only people. They also tended to dump every password they could find on Venlil systems, Exterminators included. There had been a back and forth between me and the predators on this site, one that I was frankly losing, especially based on the new post added to the site.
Estala¡¯s new password. ¡°BzB&G_6?wC{k4oqq,je%.uO;T`uznif6;<(8~B¡± Hi Estala! I know you¡¯re reading this as you keep resetting your password. So Estala¡¯s password creation skills have increased since we started doing this. For a quick refresher on all the things that have changed. Stopped using Inatala as a base. Stopped using Protector, Exterminator, Predator, Prey, Mango, or any dictionary word as a base. Stop using passwords containing simple numbers (1234, 1254, her birthday, etc etc) Stopped using passwords of length lower than 15 Stopped using the same password for her email as her Exterminator account. Stopped falling for Phishing attacks claiming to provide ¡°Free mangos for Exterminator logins¡±. Turned off autologin. Turned off fast checkin mode. Now, I ¡®could¡¯ just login using the head exterminator for Skalga¡¯s login (Password is STILL ¡°Protector134¡±), and use that to reset Estala¡¯s password and gain access, but that feels like cheating. Instead I found a remote code execution exploit using a faulty heartbeat command, allowing for the password to be returned. It should be noted yet again that the section of the Exterminators database containing Exterminator personal information is not susceptible to this attack, showing that the UN did a bunch of hardening there (As well as Venlil banking systems, etc etc) The attack works by finding the central node to the district you¡¯re attempting to attack, this can be done by using¡­.
I felt my brain start to leak out of my ears as the technical jargon on the screen in front of me caused my vision to swim. The humans took it as a game to continually break into my secure system, taking joy every time I failed to stop them. I had evidently hit the limit of my expertise¡­ Memo to self: Hire a human to harden the Exterminators systems. And change my password. Again. I gave a sigh as I continued to browse the site, looking for anything to distract myself with, until I found something I hadn¡¯t seen in a while. The Heartbreak killer. The first case I¡¯d been shown proving that prey killed prey, a series of predator attacks that had turned out to be something the humans called ¡°a serial killer¡±. Right at the bottom of the thread filled with theories and evidence gathering, including one annoying comment suggesting that I was the killer, was a single message left a few hours ago. ¡°What happened to this case, did we get any news?¡± We hadn¡¯t. The killer had killed three people, then hadn¡¯t struck again; no leads, no more evidence, no new possible information. A thought started to creep into my mind: I had some spare time, I had the resources and newfound knowledge about human investigative skills, and there was nothing stopping me from giving this case a solid deep dive to see what I could uncover. Technically, it wouldn¡¯t even be official Exterminator work, meaning it was fine, and I wasn¡¯t breaking my promise to my best friend! Joseph had told me to find a human hobby. Technically, human hobbies included solving cold cases¡­ Chapter 3: Purple blood and red string. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Junior Exterminator, ¡®Little Yortu¡¯ Colony Cleanup Division Date [standardized human time]: October 31st, 2128 I could see the blood dripping off of my feathers, the purple drops of thick liquid hitting the floor of the infirmary with a splatter, as I stared at the trail of gore I¡¯d left behind upon entering the room. I sat there on the perch as the sound of my heavy breathing from my slack jawed beak reverberated around in my head, as others moved around in the field hospital. The ache in my leg, from where vicious teeth had punctured my flesh, was a distant feeling. It would hurt later, but the pain was a million miles away for now, a secondary concern compared to the constant dripping from every feather on my wings. Even though I was covered in blood, I looked worse than I actually was; my injury would only take a few weeks to properly heal. After all, most of the blood wasn''t mine. Most of the blood wasn''t mine. ¡°It looks clean, it appears to have missed everything major. You''re a very lucky woman to survive with no long term damage.¡± I flinched as the words broke through to my mind, eyes darting around in fear before focusing on the Krakotl in front of me. How long had he been speaking? How long had he been inspecting my injured leg? I couldn''t tell. It felt like an eternity as I tried to focus on the doctor in front of me, the words taking agonizingly long to register in my mind, and even longer to respond back in a small quiet voice. ¡°And Talsim?¡± I knew the answer already. I knew what he was going to say, I knew what had happened. I knew whose blood covered my feathers from head to tail. I knew it wasn''t my blood. ¡°...I''m¡­ Sorry.¡± It was a feeling I knew well, the same one that had consumed me when I''d found my father murdered by predators in our own home. Numb grief, not sadness, but a crippling emptiness. A broken nest never to be reassembled. It was supposed to have been one final job. The planet was basically safe apart from one remaining spot, ripe for one final mission. But this planet had saved the worst for last. There had been too many of them. It was insane to think of that many predators living together without tearing each other apart, yet it was so. We approached their dens of evil, and as we did so the forest lit up with yellow, unblinking eyes. We never saw them coming, at least not until it was too late. Starving tainted beasts launching themselves out of the bushes towards us in bloodlust, attacking our vulnerable rear guard. How long had they been waiting for us in their desire for flesh? With a flurry of tooth and claw, they were upon us before we could even raise our flamers in response. Five? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? I wasn¡¯t sure how many there were. I''d watched as Talsim fell, teeth tearing into his belly as I lay there unable to help, my own fight for survival unfolding as I fought against my own beast; Teeth had grasped onto my leg, dragging me to the floor, the predator refusing to left go as I clawed at its face in an attempt to get free. It would have been worse if not for Ostala. The Exterminator¡¯s fanatical drive to eradicate the predators might normally have been creepy, but then it had been a blessing, a whirlwind of righteous Inatala driven death upon our foes. Those not killed by fire or firearm during their predatory bloodlust had fled, roaring in rage as they slunk back to their corrupted dens as our squad recovered from their surprise attack. Even with our ¡®victory¡¯ in driving them back, the damage had already been done, even from a distance I could see Talsim had not been as lucky as I was. ¡°But it really hurts!¡± The voice of Officer Parsim cut through my thoughts, causing my vision to snap up to look at the useless officer. Sitting amongst the other injured Krakotl at this field hospital, complaining to a doctor about whatever ailed the moron. ¡°Parsim, you''ve sprained your ankle. Shut up and leave attention to people who need it.¡± I let my thoughts wander once more from the pair, back to that predator infested forest. I''d seen the damage the evil predators had done as Talsim lay on the ground, blood bubbling from his beak, guts strewn across the floor. There was no helping him, no matter what I''d try. I''d held Talsim in my wings as his beautiful eyes became unfocused and blank, the Krakotl¡¯s charming singing voice turning from gurgled blood filled chokes, to silence. ¡°You must do something! You''re a doctor for Inatala¡¯s sake!¡± The whining caused my attention to once again return to the present, this time a new feeling erupting from my chest. Rage. Like I''d never felt before. I got up in a fury, droplets of blood trailing behind me as I marched over to the incompetent idiot. ¡°You! This is your fault! You did this!¡± My voice was filled with anger as I moved towards Palsim, the pain in my leg a distant thud compared with the pure emotion running through me. A look of shock covered the Krakotl as he glanced in my direction with confusion. ¡°Estala, you-¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± I silenced the idiotic officer with my own scream of rage. ¡°This is your fault! It was your job to protect the rear, it was your job to keep us safe! I warned you that someone was going to get killed! I warned you!¡± Parsim was a few inches taller than I was, larger, and had the advantage of age over my youth. Yet, I watched him stumble back and fall on his ass as I descended upon him with righteous fury in my whole being, feathers stained with purple blood flared out as I screamed at my commanding officer. ¡°I hurt my leg, it should have been fine. How dare you talk to me like this Estala, I am your commanding-¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°I don¡¯t give a Maltos¡¯ shit who you are!¡± I didn¡¯t let Parsim speak. He didn¡¯t deserve to speak. ¡°You are an incompetent, ass sniffling, moronic, flightless idiot! No, if you were simply incompetent that would be fine, but you¡¯re also a lazy predator diseased shirker! I told you what you needed to do, and now Talsim is dead because you didn¡¯t listen you egg breaking shit! You shouldn¡¯t be a sewage worker let alone an Exterminator!¡± Others were starting to rush to my position; various Krakotl placing themselves between myself and Parsim, various wings pulling at me, guiding me away from the sorry excuse of an Exterminator. The pitiful commander looked up at me from the floor. Fear? Guilt? Recognition of wrong doing? I wanted to hurt the idiot, I wanted him to pay for his negligence having an impact. Sadly by now half the people in the room had seen my shouting, making sure I couldn¡¯t get to them. Instead, as I was pushed back, I retorted said one final sentence. ¡°Talsim shouldn¡¯t have died. It should have been you.¡± ¡ª------------------------ Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 7th, 2137 I sat in front of the whiteboard, looking at the supplies I had gathered. A minor issue I was facing during this new plan to take on a human hobby, was I didn¡¯t really know what I was supposed to be doing. Exterminators didn¡¯t reopen cold cases, because before the humans had arrived, everything was either a predator attack, or done by someone verified to have predator disease. So all I really had to go on was the human method of solving such cases, which seemed to involve a variety of different styles, most of them impossible for me to replicate. However, in all of them there was a single common thread, pun intended. All of them involved printouts of important information, and lots of red string. I¡¯m not sure how this aided in solving murder cases, but I was willing to try anything. I stared at the rather expensive art materials, taking a moment to consider my next move. What was next? I¡¯d watched a lot of human media over the last month, in particular a very predatory genre called ¡®Crime dramas¡¯. I guessed the first thing was to go over the facts. ¡°There have so far been three confirmed murders by the so-called ¡®Heartbreak killer¡¯. First was Regven on 11th August, followed by two more deaths on October 23 and December 4th. They were all killed by the removal of the heart, which was then burned. All bodies were found in the Dawn Creek district. I swear that district is cursed.¡± I spoke into my phone, recording my thoughts, which again seemed to be a common action taken by people solving such crimes. Well¡­ That didn''t really help much. I was still in the same place I started. What came next? I tapped my talons on the floor as I tried to remember. Ah yes, the next thing to note is any possible motives. ¡°Motives¡­ I have no clue. All three were strangers to each other, in completely different herds and jobs. I guess the heart burning is very specific: many old pre-Federation religions believe the heart is the soul of a person. Fire is generally for cleansing? Killer might be a Linked Chains member as they tended to follow pre-Federation religions¡­¡± That was a long shot, and the limitation of someone being religious changed the number of potential suspects from ¡®everyone¡¯ to ¡®nearly everyone¡¯. OK, suspects. That¡¯s always the next step, to list out the potential people who could have done this. ¡°Suspects are¡­ nobody. Nobody hated the victims, they were generally well liked, sociable, and got along with the herd. They had no friends in common and no reason to be connected. This suggests that the killer targeted them not for who they were. Randomly? The killer must be generally intelligent, since they managed to specifically avoid cameras, as all victims were killed in isolated unrecorded areas.¡± That didn¡¯t help either. My whiteboard was still empty, there were no threads to link together with red string, and I was no closer to having anything at all to go on. The question really came down to what kind of person would randomly murder people for no reason at all? Well¡­ someone with Predator Disease. As much as I¡¯d recently learnt that the term didn¡¯t ¡®exist¡¯, the definition¡­ fit. A lot of people sent to the PD facilities were legitimate dangers to the people around them. Such as the people released from the PD facility. Before the humans arrived, before the overall environment of PD facilities were made public a few short months ago, the Dawn Creek PD facility had been shut down due to the facility owners running it ¡°Worse than the Arxur¡±. Part of the staff¡¯s revenge against a population who had demanded its closure had been to simply dump all of the Predator Diseased patients out onto the streets¡­ which would explain how Dawn Creek managed to gain a ¡®serial killer¡¯. I know Joseph would frown upon me suggesting guilt upon the ex-PD facility patients¡­ but it¡¯s not like I have much else to go through. The next step was to leave the untouched whiteboard and craft supplies behind, instead focusing on analysing the Exterminator¡¯s database to generate a list of potential facility members. While there was never an official list of patients released into the population, I could extrapolate the data by looking at PD assessment logs in the district, then doing some educated guesses as to which members would have still been in the facility. 51 names. I guess it¡¯s a start. I took a quick break to grab a pair of mangos to devour at the computer screen before continuing with the next step of my plan: Filtering out anyone who couldn¡¯t have accomplished the crimes. Jarval - Died in the facility 3 years ago. Age 19. Complications during treatment caused a heart attack, resulting in death. Gorlia - Died in the facility 5 years ago. Age 79. Natural causes similar to a Venlil his age. Kritten - Released to family, rehabilitated. Later found dead 3 years afterwards in her family home at the age of 23, death by self termination, hanging. Trilva - Killed in predator attack a year ago. No information. I paused for a moment as I tried to find the report for the predator attack on Trilva. Nothing. They clearly had died, as their cause of death was listed as a predator attack, but the actual report with photos and a description of the wounds was missing. Not that surprising: sometimes an Exterminator would fill out the data locally, but fail to upload the information. Quarven - Transferred to Shallow Valley Facility. Still remains there, although now under human care. Yarala - Died in facility 4 years ago. Age 33. Other patient attacked her with a shard of tile, resulting in blood loss and death. Zulifer- Killed in predator attack 9 months ago. No information. Again¡­ no report. I felt a feeling of suspicion start to fill my chest as I stared at the blank space on the database where the report should be. Zulifer had been found in a neighbouring District, and I knew that Exterminator guild. They were competent, having started implementing human based changes before I¡¯d even started advocating for such concepts. An Exterminator mistake for a second time was less likely. I started focusing on previous PD facility members who had been killed in predator attacks. I found four in quick succession, four predator attacks all missing from the official database in various surrounding districts. There was a human saying that seemed to apply here: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action. The chance that all of these Exterminators had failed to report the data correctly, without a large issue having become previously apparent, was unlikely. Unless¡­ someone was trying to hide something. If the humans had been able to get into our systems so easily, why not a Federation member with more nefarious means. I didn¡¯t know if it was related to the Heartbreak Killer yet¡­ but it was a thread to check out. A lead, something to investigate. There was only one way to find out. In each of those districts the original report would be stored in a physical location. A quick train ride would be enough to confirm or deny the origin of these deaths that had slipped past the Exterminator¡¯s systems. A little part of me suggested I wouldn¡¯t like the implication of my findings. Chapter 4: Lawyers and other predatory things. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Extermination Officer, ¡®Voyak¡¯ Colony Cleanup Division Date [standardized human time]: Feb 2nd, 2130 ¡°Sorry, but why are you here Estala?¡± I looked at Chief Exterminator Kolron with a look of confusion, the Yotul having asked the question with a level of exasperation. The Yotul chief Exterminator had pulled me aside after the day¡¯s status meeting, speaking quietly as he¡¯d asked me the question. A feeling of worry ran through me as I tried to work out what he meant. ¡°Uuhhh, I am here to provide an update on today''s actions for the squad of Junior Exterminators under my command, s-¡± I cut myself off before finishing the last word, the nerves of suddenly being asked such a strange question making me momentarily forget that Kolron did not like being called Sir. He did not seem happy with my response. ¡°No, not that! I mean, why are you here on Voyak specifically?¡± I paused, looking around the forward operating camp, seeing various Exterminators going about their business as the chief whispered to me, nobody else paying attention as he asked this more private question. I was confused. Kolron didn¡¯t play games, being a down business Exterminator focused on results and accomplishing our mission. Honestly, I wish he¡¯d have been the one in charge on ¡®Little Yortu¡¯. ¡°I am¡­ here to aid the Federation in clearing out the colony Voyak, a great task for prey everywhere and-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need the propaganda reason.¡± Kolron interrupted me, causing my voice to splutter out with confusion as he spoke. ¡°I need the actual reason you are here, because we¡¯ve worked together for [4 months] now, and I can¡¯t for the life of me work it out.¡± I stood there for a moment, speechless, uncertain as to what exactly the Exterminator in charge of this entire colony cleanup operation wanted. What other reason was there than to aid the Federation? ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± The Yotul gave a sigh, staring at me for a moment as if deciding I was telling the truth or not, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder and drawing in closer. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d think you were making fun of me. But frankly, you not realizing kinda fits with who I know you to be, because you are by far the most naive by the book Exterminator I have ever met. Look, this kind of expedition is where they dump Exterminators they either want out of their way, or punished. You wonder why nobody ever does more than one colony clear out? It¡¯s because these placements suck, especially for repeat callers.¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying every single Exterminator here is someone a guild is trying to get rid of?¡± I asked the question incredulously, glancing at the other Exterminators in the distance. Kolron gave a tail swish of affirmation at my statement, pointing out the Exterminators one by one as he responded with a more hushed whisper. ¡°Kryyer there PD¡¯d an Elder¡¯s kid back on Talsk, Plalak was caught dealing Sunbliss on Venlil Prime, Quuan probably has PD, which is weird for a Dossur, and Truoola is possibly the most incompetent Kolshian I have ever met. Which is why I¡¯m asking: why are you here Estala?¡± I paused for a moment, the information sinking in tandem with my heart. Kolron¡¯s revelation made a disturbing amount of sense. For instance, the Kolshian in question never left the base, happy to do admin and paperwork. Unfortunately with that context, I knew why I''d been sent here and what answer the Yotul wanted from me. ¡°On my last colony expedition, I ended up screaming at my commanding officer in front of everyone. I get the feeling the leadership on Nishtal don¡¯t like my adherence to the rules, the 5 months before I was sent here they kept ¡®suggesting¡¯ a relaxation of regulations. Does¡­ this mean they want me to quit the guild?¡± Kolron stared at me for a moment, before seeming to accept my explanation and giving a shrug. ¡°That makes sense with what I''ve seen from you. Don¡¯t worry, they don''t want you to quit, you''re far too competent for that. They just want you to¡­ chill out a bit, and realize how good you have it on Nishtal or wherever. Let''s be honest, you can be a little intense.¡± ¡°I just care about following the rules, I just want people to be safe!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you''re wrong, the suggestions you¡¯ve made to me have been very helpful, but most people¡­ Try to phrase your statements more as suggestions. People tend to react badly to others quoting random guidelines and telling them they¡¯re doing everything wrong.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s our job!.¡± ¡°Rule number one of working with incompetent people: don¡¯t judge their methods. Especially if you have receipts to back it up.¡± Kolron removed his arm from my shoulder, giving a dismissing tail swipe before turning to walk away. ¡°I just needed to make sure there was nothing I was missing with you.¡± I paused for a moment, a question forming on my beak as the Yotul started to leave the conversation. I considered dropping the query I had, before pressing ahead with a plume of confidence. ¡°So why are you here on Voyak, Kolron?¡± ¡°That¡¯s private and for me to know.¡± ¡°I need to know what I¡¯m working with, Kolron.¡± That caused the Yotul to give a small chuckle, turning to face me once again. ¡°Using my own words against me, how very ¡®predatory¡¯. Let¡¯s just say I ¡®allegedly¡¯ punched a Chief Exterminator in the face.¡± I could feel alarm run through my body, from my beak to my tail feathers at the idea of Kolron attacking another Exterminator. Did that mean he was predator diseased, was I in danger? ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look like that!¡± Kolron snapped at me, annoyed. ¡°I said ¡®allegedly¡¯. I don¡¯t make a habit of it regardless, and as long as you don¡¯t ¡®allegedly¡¯ call me a primitive we¡¯ll continue to get along fine.¡± That¡­ that I could understand. There were a lot of people who looked down upon the Yotul, seeing them as lesser just because their uplift had only been done recently. Not that I believed that. Any Exterminator of any species was doing the Federation¡¯s work, and deserved respect for the prey they kept safe. ¡°I understand, that won¡¯t be a problem Kolron.¡± ¡ª------------------------ Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 8th, 2137 ¡°So what are we doing here boss?¡± The van trundled along the roads of Venlil Pr¨C Skalga. The van trundled along the roads of Skalga, the self-driving vehicle moving along the winding streets as this claw¡¯s traffic drove along at a gradual pace. The van sported the classic Exterminator¡¯s logo, although the inside was far emptier than normal. The racks that were once filled with flamers and fuel lay bare, all equipment removed ever since the choice had been made to ditch fire-based weaponry. I was in the process of replacing them with UN supplied non-lethal alternatives, but the logistics of replacing the Exterminator¡¯s main method of predator control took¡­ time. ¡°It¡¯s simple. We¡¯re missing records in the main database to a worrying degree. However, every district stores the original copies of every Exterminator¡¯s report, archived away just in case.¡± Jkob, the Letian Exterminator, sat next to me in the front of the van. I¡¯d taken an interest in his career ever since I¡¯d returned to the force: Jkob had a spotless record and exceptionally high firearm aptitude scores, having been relegated to IT tasks in the head office due to his species¡­ supposed affinity for predator disease. I¡¯d never taken much stock in such statements. Although the Letian ability to glide silently through the air was still creepy. ¡°So why am I here then? Can¡¯t you look at records by yourself?¡± ¡°Firstly, there are so many names on this list that we¡¯re going to have to split up. I¡¯m going to check these 6 names in Ipsom Grove, and you¡¯re going to check those 8 names in Old Daycity. We¡¯ll meet back up and compare notes in an hour.¡± So many names was an understatement. I¡¯d found at least 22 previous PD facility patients who had been killed in ¡®predator attacks¡¯, yet had their data wiped from the Exterminator database. These had just been the ones I¡¯d located. ¡°What exactly are we looking for, boss?¡± I didn¡¯t know what I was looking for, or expecting to find. All I knew was that this felt strange, almost purposeful. Something worth investigating. ¡°Patterns, something to explain why all of these different cases aren¡¯t on the official records. Cause of death, what Exterminator logged them, anything.¡± ¡°You think an Exterminator is trying to hide something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty of explanations: Data corruption, incorrect recording procedures, or someone breaking into what I now know are very insecure systems.¡± Yet every time I think of the records with no data, I can¡¯t help but get a bad feeling, as if I was going to uncover something I really didn¡¯t want to know about. ¡°Wait boss, didn¡¯t you say that was just the first reason?¡± ¡°Well, the second reason you¡¯re here is that technically I¡¯m on medical leave, so any official Exterminator business is being done by yourself. I¡¯m just here as part of my new hobby of solving cold cases!¡± Jkob gave a frown at that, folding his wings as the Letian looked down at me with a seemingly unconvinced glare. ¡°So your ¡®hobby¡¯, is doing more work, when you should be resting? While also using work vehicle and accessing work-based records?¡± I glanced around guilty at that statement. Of course, it wasn¡¯t more work, it was a hobby, a human hobby! ¡°No, it¡¯s not work, it¡¯s for fun! I don¡¯t have a problem!¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t mind me taking this on while you go home and rest from your head injury, boss?¡± Jkob¡¯s voice sounded accusatory as he said it, as if he knew I wasn¡¯t going to do such a thing. Luckily I had an escape, as the van started to approach the Exterminator Guild¡¯s office in the Ipsom Grove district. ¡°It¡¯s just looking at records, nothing strenuous, not even going on patrol! This is my exit, can¡¯t speak now, I¡¯ll see you when we regroup.¡± I wrenched open the van door before it had fully stopped, taking flight and escaping the difficult conversation by literally flying away from it. Escaping the heavy gravity of the world, and the Letians shouted warnings against my ¡®strenuious dangerous actions¡¯, as I took to the air on this fine Skalgan day, watching as the van containing Jkob continued onwards to its second destination. It¡¯s fine. So I like helping people, sue me. Ipsom Grove was a relatively quiet district, a nice, slow part of the habitable band of Skalga filled with mostly retirees and people looking for its many calming parks. Its Exterminator¡¯s Guild was no different, filled with older Venlil Exterminators, most of which were close to retirement themselves, looking for a few more years of calm, quiet work. That¡¯s why the district had taken to the humans quite quickly: it was just a lot easier to do so. Most Venlil in this community had reached the age where they preferred to doddle around instead of complain, and protesting against the humans moving in was just too much effort compared to getting on with their routine. The fact that humans were more than willing to do chores and carry things for the elderly Venlil also went a long way towards their acceptance. The guild here had a similar view. It was far easier to just accept the help the UN was offering and go along with the changing times, than try and make a stand against Tarva. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I walked through the building, heading towards the archives held in the basement, waving my wing back at the few officers who recognised me, although¡­ something was off. Everyone looked like a Arxur raiding party had just run through the building, signs of fear and distress apparent in the many Exterminators manning desks or moving too and fro with worry as they did their jobs. I couldn''t help but grumble to myself, annoyed at the suggestion from Jkob that this new hobby of mine was a thinly veiled attempt to keep working. This was a legitimate human hobby of solving cold cases! It had books and documentaries and everything! The fact it was similar to my job was entirely coincidental. The elevator doors opened as it reached the basement where the archives were held, to show sterile halls lit with simple dim lighting. This level was quieter than the upper levels, my talons echoing along the corridors as I walked. In fact, the only other person down here with me was a¡­ Oh Inatala! I pressed myself against the wall, hiding around the corner as my heart started beating furiously as I''d glanced towards the¡­ thing stalking the halls. Slowly, I peeked my head back around the corner to double-check what I''d seen, before hastily ducking back into cover again. What in the hell is he doing here? The thing prowling the corridors wasn''t a prey or a predator. He was a monster, an eldritch beast sent from Maltos himself to devour the souls of unwary Exterminators. A force of nature taking the form of a Venlil Lawyer, the infamous Venric. Over the last year, the ¡®Lawven¡¯, as the humans called him, had taken the habit of sueing the tail feathers off of Exterminator guilds, taking cases of humans and prey alike against many Exterminator guilds. He won more often than not. I had a mixed view of Venric. On one wing, his threats of litigation made various districts more open to my suggestions of reform. On the other wing, it was hard to reform a guild without any money. I wanted to get rid of my paid time off but not like this!! With absolute terror, I could hear the sound of claws tapping along the floor, getting louder with the sound of approaching doom. Oh Inatala, why is he here, is he here for me!? Nobody knows you''re here. You don¡¯t know that! Maybe he was lying in ambush like a shadestalker! Terror overran my mind, a feeling I hadn''t felt since my years as a junior Exterminator on Nishtal, panic setting in as I looked for a method of escape. The doors were too far away to get to in time. Wait! I have a firearm, I can fight! No you idiot, you can''t shoot a random lawyer, that''s illegal. He¡¯s not a random lawyer, he¡¯s the embodiment of chaos and destruction! Really? I needed some way to escape the terror approaching me, eyes darting from side to side, until I spotted a possible escape: a giant trash can. I dove into it, doing my best Sivkit impression as I ignored the smell, placing the lid back on top as I was thrown into darkness in my hiding place. This is silly, why would he even be looking for you? I don¡¯t know!? What about the RIOT!? I SHOT A LOT OF HUMANS WITH BEANBAG ROUNDS! WHAT IF I HURT ONE? You did nothing wrong. I DON''T KNOW THAT, I DON''T KNOW EVERY SINGLE VENLIL LAW! I could hear the claw taps of doom echoing down the hall, getting closer and closer as I tried to think silent thoughts. Wait, didn''t you dive head first into a human riot? THIS GUY IS WORSE! You''ve also fought the Arxur¡­ NOT EVEN AN ARXUR COMPARES WITH EVIL CRUEL PERSISTENCE OF THAT LAWYER! AN ARXUR DOESN¡¯T LEAVE YOU ALIVE TO SUFFER!!! Silence, the claw taps had stopped somewhere in the hall. I couldn''t hear the accursed Venlil from my position in the dark. OH INATALA I''M GOING TO DIIIIIEEEE! That is not going to happen¡­ I''M GOING TO GET SUED TO POVERTY AND DESTITUTION. I WON''T BE ABLE TO AFFORD MANGOS ANY MORE!!!! My world became a flooding of light as the trash can lid was wrenched off the top of my hiding place, the evil monstrous Venlil looking down at his prey below, my breath stuck in my lungs. ESTALA.EXE HAS STOPPED WORKING. REBOOTING. ¡°Why hello!¡± The beast¡¯s voice dripped with venomous positivity. ¡°An impressive little domain you¡¯ve claimed for yourself. Have you moved up in the world since I last saw you?¡± ¡°I, but¡­ I- with the¡­. It¡¯s not- I¡­¡± My words couldn¡¯t form as I stared up at the Venlil, adrenaline and fear clouding my every through and making conscious thoughts hard to form. I AM IN SO MUCH TROUBLE. HE¡¯S GOING TO SUE MEEEEEE! The beast cleared his throat. ¡°Would you please exit this domain of yours before we speak, miss Estela?¡± Wait, Estela- that¡¯s not my name. Does this guy not even know my name? The unexpected sound of Venric calling me by the wrong name knocked my brain back into gear, words and thoughts finally forming correctly again as I leapt out of the trash can, scattering a few items amongst the floor. ¡°I was¡­ just doing Exterminator business! I needed a very important piece of evidence!¡± I looked around before picking up a crumpled Sprunk can triumphantly, holding it out as if to make my point. ¡°I¡¯ve not been doing anything illegal or lawsuit worthy! And I only shot all those people in self-defence!.¡± The eyebrow of the lawyer raised in full scepticism. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s only been how long since we met up about those cattle children, and you¡¯re admitting that you¡¯ve already shot multiple people?¡± THAT¡¯S NOT WHAT I MEANT, COME ON BRAIN, STOP MESSING THIS UP! ¡°They¡¯re still good and alive, it was official UN beanbag rounds in official UN actions and UN official¡­ officalness! It was Exterminator business containing a human disturbance! It-¡° The sound of a throat clearing cut off my rambling. Standing behind Venric was that- that other Venlil who he had taken under his legal wings. ¡°I know I¡¯m not your lawyer right now,¡± she whistled, ¡°but I think I know enough to advise you to stop talking.¡± YES! SILENCE! THAT WAS SOMETHING I SAW ON THE HUMAN COP DRAMAS. PEOPLE CALLED MIRANDA ARE SILENT! I just gave a small nod, the human gesture being the only thing I trusted myself to do as I glanced between the two worst people to be trapped in a room with as an Exterminator, the Sprunk can still grasped tightly within my hand as if it was a safety rail. ¡°Good advice there Serl,¡± Venric whistled. ¡°But Luckily for her, we aren¡¯t here because of her¡­¡± he trailed off, his eyes now squinting in uncertainty. ¡°Unless you¡¯re here seeking us¡­?¡± That was a phrase that nearly caused a laugh to break through the absolute terror. The idea I¡¯d go tracking down the two scariest anti-Exterminator Lawyers on all of Skalga¡­ I¡¯d have to be in serious trouble to do something like that. ¡°No, of course not! I¡¯m here to¡­¡± I paused, my brain finally starting to work in this conversation. This was an issue with Exterminator record keeping and processes, telling Venric of all people about this was not a good idea. I decided to take the other lawyer''s advice and give as little information as possible ¡°... For an internal investigation.¡± Venric hummed, and even Serl¡¯s eyes began to squint as she spoke. ¡°Would that investigation involve the local exterminators assisting the local zoning council in their discriminatory practices?¡± Wait, what? They¡¯re doing what now? I felt the shift of gears in my brain as fear gave away to¡­ annoyance. Of course these two wouldn¡¯t be here for me, we were in a quiet, low trouble district, nowhere close to where I normally frequent. My demeanour changed as the sound of work to be done became apparent. This guild was generally pro-human, but generally didn¡¯t mean always. ¡°No¡­ Wait, did you say discriminatory? Who? This district isn¡¯t known for that, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Venric huffed in slight annoyance, but Serl¡¯s gaze shifted to one of¡­ Sympathy as she spoke. ¡°A human and a Venlil partnered up to purchase some land to convert into an orchard on the outskirts of the city. The local council has been leveraging some borderline-illegal fines and pressuring the exterminators to disrupt their business with fraudulent calls about predatory incursions.¡± That¡­ actually didn¡¯t surprise me. It wasn¡¯t uncommon knowledge that more unscrupulous people used the Exterminators to harass others out of business. Legally, we had to respond to any and all possible predator sightings, and while false calls were illegal, proving malicious intent after the fact was another matter entirely. ¡°We got called to essentially legally intimidate the council to back off,¡± Venric stated, ¡°Once those crotchety board members know just how badly a lawsuit would go for them, hopefully our clients can start growing their mangoes in peace.¡± Well it was good that- did he say MANGOES!? ¡°Someone is finally growing mangos on Skalga?! Why would they try to stop that! How dare they! Are they cheaper than the imported ones?¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t growing yet,¡± Venric answered to my despair, leaning back with his eyes wide. ¡°We¡¯re mainly hoping that the council doesn¡¯t draw everything out with an actual lawsuit so they can start planting their trees. It¡¯s up to the council to do nothing.¡± MAYBE I COULD ARREST THE COUNCIL FOR PREDATOR DISEASE. That¡¯s not how that works¡­ that would be corruption and illegal¡­. BUT MANGOS! No¡­ GIVE IN TO THE DARK SIDE, ESTALA, THERE ARE MANGOES HERE. ¡°Well, council stuff I can¡¯t do too much about, but I can talk with the guild here, let them know that predator sightings in the orchard are going to be false calls. If there¡¯s anything I can do to help get the mangos growing faster¡­.¡± All thoughts of fear and terror were now gone, replaced only with a singular goal ¡®Make sure that mango farm goes ahead¡¯. Surely home-grown fruits would be cheaper than the exuberant prices I have to pay for my current supply! Venric¡¯s tail wagged in an all too predatory fashion. ¡°We shall have to keep that in mind! However, I am not one to accept charity, so, if you need any assistance in your¡­ personal investigation, I can surely lend my support.¡± Oh right¡­ my investigation. With the people who had been killed by a predator. The dead people. The thing that was more important than cheaper mangos. ¡°This is not a Leaf from Two Trees,¡± Serl stated with her ears flat, ¡°this is reciprocating kindness, no more.¡± Indeed,¡± Venric agreed, holding out his paw in a rather human manner. I reciprocated the gesture, a ¡®predatory¡¯ handshake with the most ¡®predatory¡¯ lawyer on Skalga. ¡°Thank you Estela,¡± he said with an approving flick of his ears. ¡°It was good meeting you, but we must be off! I believe our clients are waiting on us. Have a Good Paw!¡± I watched as the pair left, giving a sigh of relief as I sat myself upon the floor, letting the final drops of adrenaline fade from my system, before realizing with annoyance that Venric once again said my name wrong. With a bit of embarrassment, I looked around at the mess I had made: trash scattered everywhere, and in my haste to hide I had stepped in¡­ something I didn¡¯t want to think too hard about. In retrospect, my actions felt a little bit silly. Venric¡¯s presence explained why everybody at reception looked so agitated and terrified. I felt annoyance as I made my way to the archives room, all fear and worry gone now I knew the true reason for the ¡°Lawven¡¯s¡± visit. The brutish Lawyer probably walked in and started dropping threats of lawsuits, when a simple discussion or even email would have been enough. It wasn¡¯t like Exterminators liked attending false calls. A simple heads up and warning would have been far more effective; anyone attending such a call would know that they just had to turn up, mark that they didn¡¯t see any predators, and then leave. I wonder if the farm would give an Exterminator discount if we brought in bulk¡­ Venric had talked about discriminatory actions, but frankly, that was his anti-Exterminator bias showing, everything looking like a nail. If I knew this district, the council probably had far less of an issue with the ¡®human¡¯ part of the equation, and more of a problem with the ¡®farm¡¯ part. Allowing flesh eating predators who kept to themselves and were helpful was one thing, allowing a noisy mango farm that would break the cosy ¡®aesthetic¡¯ of their town or reduce property values¡­ was an entirely different matter. Still, after I was finished here, I¡¯d drop a polite email to the council reminding them that filing false predator sightings during this¡­ difficult time for the Exterminators, stretching our resources, was a crime. Nothing would stop me from getting access to a cheap supply of mangoes. Nothing! I finally made my way to the archives, a simple room filled with cabinet after cabinet of data storage drives. Rows upon rows of every single thing this district¡¯s Exterminators had entered on their data pads. Millions of patrols reported, predatory sightings investigated, every single thing an Exterminator did on their job would be logged here and stored, just in case we ever needed the original location the information was entered into. I made my way to the day¡¯s reports for the first name on my list. Taylek. Killed in a predator attack [17 months and 3 days] ago. Finding the date in question was simple, but finding the exact report took a little longer, checking data drive after data drive, going through an entire district¡¯s worth of work over the period of a day. Finally! There it was, the original report filed, containing the photos and initial investigation of the predator attack. It would just be a simple case of opening the file and¡­ Shit. A single blow causing death, heart removed. Exactly like the other three victims of the Heartbreak Killer. In addition, there was no reason why this record wasn¡¯t on the system. I quickly scrambled to find the next data entry I needed, filtering through yet another day¡¯s records. Ustol, killed in a predator attack, [11 months and 27 days] ago. My heart felt with a mixture of worry and anxiety as I saw the same cause of death for this Venlil as well. I checked every other name on my list. 6 names in total, 6 reports found, all of the missing reports I checked had the same cause of death: Predator attack, single blow, heart removed. A sneaking suspicion started to creep into my mind. They were all predator diseased, that was the only thing linking these people together, what if¡­ what if that was the connection, that someone thought the original three victims were predator diseased. That¡¯s what made the three different enough to be killed more in the open. They all happened after the humans arrived. I entered their names into various databases, looking for signs of human support, for signs of anything that suggested they would be considered Predator Diseased by an anti-human zealot last year. One of them was in the exchange program. One of them volunteered to aid the humans after the bombing of Earth¡­ A clear pattern was emerging as I looked at the six identical deaths and the three I already knew about. No, not deaths, murders¡­ Someone had been cleansing people suspected of predator disease: Ex-patients and those affiliated with humans, deaths going back years. I¡¯d have to check my theory against what Jkob had found, but the pieces of this puzzle were starting to fit in place. Just how many people had this person killed? Chapter 5: Looking for Answers Memory transcription subject: Estala, Extermination Officer, ¡®Voyak¡¯ Colony Cleanup Division Date [standardized human time]: June 2nd, 2130 Fear. Absolute fear. I could taste it in my beak, the overwhelming sense of near paralysing terror pounding through my chest with every heartbeat, every breath shallow as I looked down at the console. I could see the little markings on the screen showing where the ships had landed, each little blob of red placed on the map of the surrounding colony representing destruction and evil. I¡¯m going to die. Oh Inatala, I¡¯m going to die here. Why are they here of all places? How did they even know there were people here? What could I even do? None of those questions mattered in reality, as all that mattered was one terrifying fact: The Arxur were here. Mindless beasts that lacked any true sapience, whose only desires were to destroy and consume. An unstoppable force of predatorial evil right here on our remote doorstep. I could hardly breathe as alarm sounds rattled in the background, signalling the near ten thousand colony members to rush to any nearby bunkers. My instincts wanted to join them. I''d never been part of an Arxur raid before, that kind of thing didn''t happen on the militarily strong Nishtal, but I had gone through countless drills before. Get to a bunker, get to safety, and wait for the Exterminators or the Federation army to save you. Except I was an Exterminator now. I''m not ready for this, I''m not ready for this. ¡°Where is Commanding Officer Kolron!?¡± The voice of my follow Exterminator cried out, the Venlil¡¯s words echoing around a sea of frightened faces, each of us as terrified as the other, none of us ready for what was about to happen, the flashing of the red warning lights reflecting off each of our faces in turn. This was both our centre of command and armoury, the walls lined with various weapons and console screens. ¡°He¡­ he was patrolling the Northern outpost when they landed.¡± The next set of words remained unsaid, but each of us knew what that meant. He was dead, and anyone who was with him was dead as well. The predators had landed there first, the greys looking to attack the relatively isolated northern outpost, before moving onto their main cruel meal. Nobody spoke as we all glanced at each other, only occasionally looking down at the screen as those heartless blobs of red drew closer and closer. ¡°Who¡¯s in charge?¡± Another question, more silence. All of the Exterminators in this room were team leaders, with at least one colony creation under their belt. But this was something else. Instead of the sound of Kolron¡¯s instructions, the room filled with terror. Nobody knew what to do. A few started making half-hearted moves to prepare, out of instinct. Davlin fumbled in the corner, the Goijd fighting with his flame resistant suit to start gearing up for the upcoming battle, his claws trembling as he tried to get his spines to flatten. Two Tilfish were pulling out anti-air weaponry from storage, not that it would do any good now that the Arxur had already landed. A Venlil sat rummaging through his supplies, pouring out a pawful of anti-fear drugs. Too many. Running on automatic movements, I grabbed his paw, causing some of the bitter white capsules to tumble to the ground. ¡°You¡¯re going to overdose if you take that many. One every hour, but more than that and you risk a heart attack.¡± My voice sounded out, explaining the rules as it had done so many times before over my 4 years as an Exterminator, I pointed at the two Tilfish. ¡°That isn¡¯t going to help. They¡¯re already on the ground, we can¡¯t stop them from landing. And Davlin, you shouldn¡¯t be on flamer duty. You¡¯re one of the best shots here, stay agile, stay in the distance.¡± Silence. It took a few moments after the flurry of words from my beak to notice it, too caught up in my own absolute terror to realize that the room had stopped moving. Suddenly, all eyes were pointed at me with a desperate pleading. As if I could provide the answers. The answers to what, ¡°How to beat the Arxur¡±? That¡¯s not in the rules! That¡¯s not my job! I¡¯m barely an adult, I was only made a full officer just over a year ago! I looked back at them all with my own worried gaze and expression. What did they expect me to do? I wasn¡¯t a tactical genius like Kalsim, I didn¡¯t have the aggressive bravery of Sovlin. I was just¡­ Estala. I just wanted to help people, I didn¡¯t know what I was supposed to do! If not you, then who? Nobody else is stepping up. I took a moment to glance back down at the console, the map showing the layout of the little town of 10 thousand people we had to protect, wracking my brain for anything I might know to help.For a moment, the sounds of the room seemed to muffle themselves. Rule 88.P-05: The predator is a lowly beast, crawling in their own filth and blood, seeking to strike and destroy those who reign from above. A good prey remains high, morally and physically out of reach, never to dive into their sanguine depths of depravity. Rule 13-A.01: A prey is part of the herd, and the herd always helps. A prey does not look to solve problems on their own, for that is the action of one of predatory taint. A solution is always found together, waiting in the strength of the herd. That¡¯s why the initial city had been chosen in this location. It sat on a hill, making it defensible against predators. ¡°There are three entryways into the outer portions of the city. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll meet them initially. We don¡¯t have to beat the Arxur, we just have to delay them for a few hours. The Federation is on their way, the emergency beacon has been triggered.¡± I could see the others in the room start to group around me, all staring intently where I was pointing. Rule 41.E-41: Predators desire the taste of flesh. They have no regard for anything else. A good Exterminator will use this, as distance is the friend of prey: To run and flee as a herd from danger into the safety of Federation protection. An Exterminator is expected to always maintain their skills with all available weaponry, allowing them to take advantage of range from the predators cruel claws and teeth. ¡°Anyone who scores lower than a 50 in the firearm test should be on flamer duty, setup initially Here, here and here. Anyone 50 and higher needs to remain agile and moving between these points, use the rifles only, keep your range, stay in cover.¡± Rule 93.A-4: A predator only knows two states of mind: a desire for destruction, and fear. A predator will single-mindedly attempt to devour and destroy all around it, even at its own terrible destruction. The fear of prey is irresistible to a predator, and it will chase it no matter the cost. The only thing a predator fears is fire. Fire cleanses, fire eradicates the taint, and fire is the only thing that will burn away a flesh eating monster¡¯s taint. ¡°Davlin, Pratala, and Skeri. I need your teams to set up flamer fuel cleanses here, here, and here. Saturate the entire area as if it¡¯s a large predator den. Once the greys finally arrive for their first attack, flamer teams retreat back to here, and you set the cleanses off as the Arxur chase. That will buy us some time as the fires burn out and isolate their first wave.¡± I stopped talking, staring at the sea of faces, several federation species, all as scared and terrified as I was. Each Exterminator listening as if I somehow had an actual solution for this horror, as If I wasn¡¯t just as clueless as them, as if I wasn¡¯t just a random terrified Krakotl who had a tendency to remember rules. I have to fake it, to pretend that everything is going to be OK, to pretend that I know what I¡¯m doing when I clearly don¡¯t. Because my job is to protect people. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°After that, we need to use the Arxur¡¯s bloodlust against them. They¡¯ll chase any prey they see, so we can drive them back here afterwards¡­¡± ¡ª---------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 9th, 2137 The building was surprisingly vibrant, the front yard filled with beautiful plants and giant bushes, the once grey and dishevelled walls now painted bright and cheerful colours. I¡¯d only been here once before, after the facility had been shut down, but anyone in the area would have been astounded at the makeover, as the once chipped and cracked walls now almost seemed to hum with life. The old Dawn Creek Exterminators Guild was famous for many incidents. But none had more of an impact than pushing the claim of Predator disease upon a giant Venlil named Tarlim, going through the entire process without a single proper empathy test. During this investigation, the conditions of this former Predator Disease Facility had come out as a horrific place allegedly ¡®worse than the Arxur¡¯. It was once assumed that this facility was an exception, and while it was one of the worst¡­ well, the recent revelations about the role of predator disease as a method of Federation control had demonstrated that this location wasn¡¯t an extreme outlier, as I had naively believed. I don¡¯t like to think about that. While it wasn¡¯t the focus of my role, I have put people through empathy tests which returned a negative result. I really don¡¯t like to think about what happened to them afterward. If anything, I almost owed my current life to the entire travesty. After the negative public perception of the Exterminators following the Tarlim trial, I had been brought in from Nishtal as a decorated well known Prestige Exterminator in order to train the idiots who thought ignoring all the rules was a good idea. If I wasn¡¯t on Skalga when the humans arrived¡­ I would have been on the Extermination Fleet. I also don¡¯t like thinking about that, what could have been, what could have happened. Evil requires choice. Joseph said that so many months ago. Would he still say that if you were on that fleet? ¡°So what are we doing here boss? I don¡¯t think the people here are fond of us.¡± Jkob walked by my side as we slowly made our way to the building. The Letian was entirely correct, of course. The population here was mostly ex-PD patients, acting as live-in staff, and human refugees. Some almost seemed to clear a path for the two of us, while others froze in place, glaring viciously at us. I also didn¡¯t like that, I didn¡¯t like that the guild had failed people so¡­ thoroughly here that this was the reaction. Is this how humans feel? Everyone fleeing in terror just from your presence? The once Predator Disease Facility had been converted to refugee housing for the humans during the Battle for Earth, with a lot of the ex-patients moving back in when the ¡®empathyless predators¡¯ provided them a place to stay. Ironic on just about every level. A lot of the humans had returned home since then, now that Earth was no longer under threat of being destroyed. But those who remained were quickly joined, as ex-Predator Disease Facility patients with nowhere to go gravitated towards the centre, towards somewhere they could be themselves. Once again the humans are having to pick up where we¡¯re failing. At times, it feels like humanity is everything we should have been. ¡°Someone has been killing ex-Predator Disease patients, and wiping their deaths from Exterminator records,¡± I explained. ¡°We need information, leads, anything. I know a lot of these people formed a herd after the Dawn Creek Facility was shut down. We need to know if anyone saw anything.¡± After sending a¡­ forceful email to the council of Ipsom Grove, Jkob and I had compared notes: All of the cases we¡¯d investigated had the same cause of death, the same missing records from the main database. What worried me was just how many we hadn¡¯t found, since my initial list would not have been comprehensive. The influence of the humans was obvious, as the sliding glass doors automatically opened as we approached, leading us into the reception: A soft area of cushions and various styles of seating, decorated in calming pastel colours as staff and residents went about their day. All eyes in the room, both human and non-human, snapped to the pair of us as we entered. I provided my best attempt at a warm friendly greeting to the receptionist sitting behind the desk, giving a wave of my wing as the Venlil watched us from their seat, their tail flicking around with distrust. ¡°Hi. This is Jkob, and I¡¯m Estala, a Prestige Exterminator. If possible we¡¯d like to-¡± There was movement, and I was outside, the ever shining sun and the bright well maintained garden around me. Wait, outside? Why was I outside? I could have sworn I¡¯d walked through those glass doors, doors which were now in process of being boarded up at a pace that was like a whirlwind, two angry looking larger than average humans glaring at us as they blocked our entrance. Only the vague recollection of powerful human hands grasping onto my shoulders provided any clue to what had happened, the sheer speed of which the humans had tossed us out of the building leaving me shell shocked. Jkob stood next to me, patting their arms across their body while I took stock of all of my ruffled feathers. ¡°Are my limbs still there? They¡¯re still there,¡± Jkob panted, ¡°By the Protector, how did- what just happened?¡± Annoyance flared up within my chest as I moved back towards the now barred entryway, banging my wing against the glass in frustration to get their attention. ¡°Hey! I just want to talk! What was that about?!¡± ¡°Do you have a warrant!?¡± The voice of a Venlil bleated. ¡°You can¡¯t come in without a warrant!¡± ¡°I just want to ask some questions!¡± I shouted back indignantly ¡±And that¡¯s technically an assault on an Extermination Officer!¡± ¡°Brahk you! And the answer is no, you can NOT burn us all alive OR blow up the building! You did that enough with your own office!¡± Further frustration and indigent rage rose up again as they implied I had anything to do with the idiots who used to be part of the Dawn Creek Exterminators. While I could understand their apprehension towards anyone from the guild, I also had standards unlike those idiots. Professional standards! ¡°We could get a warrant.¡± Jkob stated as I turned to face him again. ¡°We have more than enough evidence.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t, that would leave a trail, we can¡¯t leave a trail in this investigation.¡± I flared my feathers in worry as I saw the confusion mount on the Letian¡¯s body language. ¡°Whoever is doing this, they have access to the Exterminator systems. If they see we¡¯re investigating this¡­ they might run. They¡¯ll have a head start, and we might never catch them.¡± ¡°Do you think it was an Exterminator doing this then, boss?¡± ¡°Possibly. Or someone who has access through other means.¡± I turned back to face the human refugee centre, the humans on the other side of the glass door still glaring at us as I approached again. I needed another tactic to gain passage to the information inside. I took a deep breath to cool the anger and frustration I was feeling, trying to make my voice as soft and non-threatening as possible. ¡°I just need to¡­ Glaras, Pharvil, Tarna. They were patients here.¡± I shouted the names through the door, hoping that those inside would listen. ¡°Someone murdered them. I know it¡¯s not an ex-patient doing it. I can¡¯t force you to talk, but I need to know if any of your residents saw anything. Anything at all, anything to go off.¡± I paused for a moment, hoping that was enough. I really didn¡¯t have any other leads to go on, and the idea of someone who had killed so many people getting away with these murders was not something I could accept. ¡°Tarna?¡± I heard someone call. A hint of movement seemed to sway from behind the two humans. ¡°You found out what happened to them? They¡­ they really did get caught?¡± I felt a lump in my throat. Informing people of the death of a herd member was not in my plans today, not since the bodies had been found months ago. But that didn¡¯t account for the wiping of records and the circumstances of the people here. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, [9 months] ago, their body was found and¡­¡± I took a moment to gather myself. ¡°Someone killed them. We failed to investigate it and whoever did it is still out there I¡¯m sorry for that.¡± ¡°Did- did you find anything about Relshin?¡± A second voice asked, ¡°Or maybe Telins and Yilana? They were together.¡± ¡°You know what happened to them,¡± someone else stated, ¡°You saw their bodies.¡± ¡°I just wanted to know if they found what the thing did to Vanna!¡± I only knew one of those names from my list. I had already guessed that my current victim list was incomplete but hearing it confirmed¡­ The Guild completely failed here. We should have noticed, someone should have noticed something. Even if we thought it was a predator attack, someone should have noticed the increase in deaths. Why did nobody notice? Deep down I knew why. They were just Predator Diseased Venlil, assumed to have done it to themselves because of their ¡°predatory taint¡±. ¡°I can only confirm Relshin. Same cause of death as the others. I can check for the other names, but¡­ we¡¯re flying blind here. We¡¯re not even sure how many people were killed. We¡­ we need any information you have, rumours: suspects, sightings, anything to help us catch them.¡± There was silence. Did I get through to them? Did they trust me enough to talk? A thousand worries and questions whirled through my head as I waited for any kind of response. But then, I felt Jkob¡¯s paw on my shoulder. I turned my head, and Jkob gave me a sympathetic look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Estala. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re gonna talk to us.¡± I felt my shoulders slump, the dejection and gravity of the problem fully taking hold. Just how badly we had failed these people. Even with the Federation¡¯s twisted teachings, we should have done better. I should have done better, I should have seen that this travesty was happening. The Exterminators should be a beacon of safety to all in the Federation, but these members of the herd had been not just abandoned, but deemed monsters themselves. I didn¡¯t know the next step to take in the investigation. I had no more leads, just a knowledge of the sheer amount of carnage this single killer had wrought upon Skalga. I should have known this was happening, I should have paid more attention, I should- The sound of a bolt being unlocked snapped me out of my thoughts, looking up to see the barricades that had been blocking the door getting moved away by the two still angry looking humans. The receptionist stepped forwards, tail movements twitching in uncertainty as they opened the door. ¡°You said¡­ Catch,¡± they said as they cautiously approached us. ¡°Do you mean¡­ stop them? That you¡¯re¡­ you aren¡¯t going to help them?¡± ¡°Someone has been hurting the herd, hurting us all, hurting you.¡± I said the words with a conviction, anger building up once again, not at the Venlil in front of me, but at this evil that had been left to freely wander Skalga. ¡°I will find whoever did this, no matter who or what they are, and bring them to justice. No matter what it takes. We just need your help to do so.¡± Chapter 6: A childs story Memory transcription subject: Estala, Extermination Officer, ¡®Voyak¡¯ Colony Cleanup Division Date [standardized human time]: ??????? I fled. I could hear them behind me, growling and shouting, teeth gnashing in the dark as I flapped my wings as hard as I could. The sound of gunfire thudded into the brickwork of the surrounding walls, bullets crackling as the attackers attempted to nail down my retreat while I attempted to put some space between myself and Arxur. I could hardly breathe, panting and gasping for air as strained wing muscles worked with the pure instinct of terror to drive me onwards. I knew I couldn¡¯t escape them even if I wanted to, as I flew low between the twisting streets of the fledgling colony, making sure to keep as much cover between myself and the evil predators chasing me down. The small trickle of blood I was leaving behind would allow the greys to track me down to the ends of the world, in their demented desire to kill and devour. The little droplets of purple blood from the small but purposeful cut on the inside of my left leg led the Arxur onwards along my trail. Entirely according to plan. We needed more of a delay. Even after the initial fires had driven back the first Arxur wave, we needed more time, we needed hours when all we had were minutes. Just letting the cruel Arxur abuse their overall range advantage would cause our downfall, but there was only one way to lure a predator: Via Its bloodlust. We needed someone to draw the Arxur into a close range engagement where the Exterminator teams could use the element of surprise and our flamers. It had been my idea, so I had volunteered. I wouldn¡¯t have suggested any plans that I wouldn¡¯t have been willing to do myself. I was greatly regretting that decision right now. I slammed into someone, both of us tumbling to the ground as I hit the Arxur with a considerable amount of speed, as the predator had walked into my path unknowing of my position. Confusion turned to panic, turning to absolute fear as I saw the grey scaled beast, its eyes filled with hate and destruction, teeth glinting in the dark as its single focus mind turned to only thoughts of devouring me alive. We both reacted on instinct, the predator¡¯s claws reaching out to tear me apart. My own instincts kicked in. I didn¡¯t have my flamer with me, but I did have a small firearm strapped to my side. Hundreds of hours of practice made drawing it in a panic almost second nature, although the many, many rounds sent down the Exterminator guild¡¯s firing range didn¡¯t mean much at this close distance, as I pulled the trigger as fast as I could pull it. The Arxur might have been driven on bloodlust, but even a predator''s eternal evil is no match for several centre mass shots, its reaching swipe of a clawed hand turning into a tumble as the grey collapsed to the ground. I stood there shaking for a moment, looking down at the now dead Arxur lying in a puddle of blood, the entire exchange taking a mere ten seconds. There was no time to waste, the hunting party was still close behind, so I took to the air again. I was close. I could see the area I¡¯d told the team to wait for my arrival, A mere few meters separated me from safety and the aid of the rest of the Exterminators, I just needed to get a little further, to just stretch my burning aching wings a few more flaps. I turned the last corner at as much speed as I could muster. Blood, blood was everywhere. The Exterminators lay dead, floating in the pool of swirling purple blood that filled the small clearing I¡¯d told them to wait at, the liquid coming up to my waist as I stood in the gore. Before me stood an entire raid¡¯s worth of Arxur, cackling and feasting at the destruction they had caused, each of them staring at me, laughing as I stood there. I had no more energy left to fly, no more fight left in my body. How had they managed to get here before me, how did this happen? It didn¡¯t matter, just that it had happened. I had failed. There was no escaping a predator, their evil and destruction reigned supreme throughout the galaxy. I could see the murderous beasts approaching, ripples and bubbles swirling through the bloody lake that stretched as far as the eye could see. The colony was gone, replaced with dark shadows blocking my view, holding thousands of glinting predatory eyes staring hungrily at my position. Something bumped into me, A Krakotl¡¯s body disrupted by the churning of the blood the Arxur¡¯s approach was having, face up and staring blankly towards the sky. A Krakotl I recognized, his throat still cut and guts still splayed out since the last time I¡¯d seen him. Dad? Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, PR Division. Date [standardized human time]: January 13th, 2131 I awoke with a startle, falling off my perch with a strangled cry, heart thudding in my chest as sleep-based confusion gave away to understanding and realizing where I was. I wasn¡¯t on Voyak, I wasn¡¯t on a planet with the Arxur attacking. I was fine, I was back on Nishtal. I took deep calming breaths, pushing the nightmare away as the early morning sun streamed in through the window, slowly getting up off of the floor and hopping back onto my perch, repeating the same words in my head over and over until I found the terror dissipating. I am fine, I am safe, I am fine, I am safe. As shock led to a general feeling of grogginess and my thoughts calmed to their normal tempo, I decided to get a start on the day¡¯s work: Helping people in my job as an Exterminator always helped keep my mind off terrible things, whether it was my fathers'' death at the hands of a predator, the way Talsim had died in my wings, or now, what had happened on Voyak. I looked at my pad and resigned myself to not falling asleep any time soon, checking the day¡¯s messages and meetings. Another busy day. They were calling me the hero of Voyak, ¡®What it meant to be part of the Federation, to stand up and help the herd in times of need¡¯. It didn¡¯t feel very heroic. My defence of Voyak had been successful, barely, able to hold off the Arxur raiding parties until the Federation fleets had arrived. A mess of decisions made through fear and threats of being killed by predators, on the fly half-baked ideas to hold the Arxur back while the evil beasts tried to kill and slaughter their way through the colony. Somehow my impromptu leadership had worked, and we had survived what should have been a death sentence. The colonists remained safe in their bunkers and most of the Exterminators made it out alive. Barely. There were a mass of needless and mundane tasks scheduled for the next few working days. A PSA about detecting predator disease that they wanted me to be the face of, a small news channel wanted me to talk with them in a only half veiled attempt to recruit more people to the Exterminators, a meeting with members of a junior Exterminator¡¯s training centre, and so on. News of what I¡¯d done had spread across Nishtal, a small tiny blip of hope against a backdrop of the general despair of our war against the despicable predatory Arxur. The Nishtal Exterminator¡¯s guild was taking full advantage of this PR win. I looked across to where my Exterminator uniform was still hung up, awaiting the next day¡¯s work. Two new badges could be seen, glinting in the light. The first was the official signifier of my completion of the Voyak colony cleanup, placed next to my original Little Yortu badge. The second was, larger, more important, signifying the title I¡¯d been given: Prestige Exterminator. It wasn¡¯t a rank, so much as a signifier of being an Exterminator of the highest order. You became eligible for the title by one of two ways: You could go through at least ten years of service, and then being given the title via a jury of your peers. Or instead, by going ¡®above and beyond in the line of duty¡¯. What I did didn¡¯t feel that special. People still died, and I was just making stuff up on the fly based on whatever Federation rules seemed to fit. I looked back down at my upcoming meetings, a feeling of despair falling over me. I wanted to help people, how was recording voice lines for a video game or talking with yet another media presence helping people? That was the problem, wasn¡¯t it. That was why the nightmares were coming back. Work, the knowledge that what I was doing stopped people losing loved ones to predators, was helping people¡­ that seemed to drive away the terrors of my unconscious mind. This wasn¡¯t work. Being a good little song bird singing for PR department trying to ignore the complete incompetence and lack of¡­ ¡®fight¡¯ against the predators being displayed in the Exterminators Guild. I spent a few more moments staring at my upcoming meeting list, before making a choice in an instant, wing tips moving quickly as I started to cancel every upcoming meeting. I had some ¡¯actual¡¯ work to do. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 9th, 2137 I sat in the cafeteria, looking across at the Venlil that sat opposite to me. A strange, thin looking person, staring across at me from the table. Only the two of us were in that room as Glena practically vibrated as she sat there, glancing my way and around as if constantly looking for incoming predators. Although with the way she stared at me, I get the sad feeling she would be more comfortable if an Arxur had broken in through the door. ¡°I didn''t do anything, I wasn''t the one who did it.¡± I sat alone on the uncomfortable plastic seat, feeling a small amount of annoyance course through me as he once again proclaimed his innocence. Jkob was off doing his set of interviews in another room, not only covering more ground and reducing our time here, but feeling the residents would be more open if they didn''t feel outnumbered by two Exterminators. ¡°I know, like you said the last six times. You''re not in trouble, I know you didn''t do anything. Just start from the top: what did you see?¡± I held my wings up in a calming gesture, causing Glena to flinch as I did so, trying to be as understanding as possible. I knew how much bravery it was taking just to speak with me after the crimes the Dawn Creek Exterminators guild had inflicted upon them. ¡°I never saw them, wasn''t close, I didn''t get tainted, I''m not Predator Diseased. But I know who did it. We called him ¡®The Stalker¡¯.¡± ¡°We?¡± I asked, looking for clarification. ¡°The other patients. After the facility let us go because we were cured, we formed a herd of our own, like people without predator disease do. ¡° I resisted giving a sigh, Glena wasn''t the one on trial here, but constantly being reminded of the ¡®normal nature¡¯ of the Venlil in front of me was grating on my nerves. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I know you''re normal and a good herd member, but I need you to focus here. What do you know about the Stalker?¡± The Stalker. This was the name I¡¯d heard whispered while I was here, their name for the Heartbreak Killer. ¡°Well¡­ I never saw it, but I¡¯ve heard a few others talk about it. A beast that hunts down members of the herd.¡± ¡°Do you have any more specific information? See anything, know any of this ¡®Stalkers¡¯ victims?¡± ¡±I did¡­ I don¡¯t know a lot though, because again I never got close to them, I¡¯m not predator disease, I¡¯m not tainted.¡± I paused for a moment. Glena clearly had more information, she wouldn¡¯t have risked coming to talk with me if she didn¡¯t, but she was clearly terrified of being branded predator diseased again. Honestly, this had not been one of the problems I thought I¡¯d have. An idea slowly started to form in my brain, the ability to use my position in the guild to my advantage. ¡°Again, you¡¯re not the one under suspicion here, you seem perfectly free from Predator Disease.¡± I could see the Venlil¡¯s body language change, his tail giving a more positive flick at my affirmation, causing me to push ahead. ¡°I could write you an official document stating that in my opinion, as a Prestige Exterminator, that there is no sign or possibility of Predator Disease on you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d¡­ you¡¯d do that? Really?¡± ¡°Of course. Again, you have nothing to worry about, you¡¯re not in trouble. But I just need information. Please, anything.¡± I felt a small amount of guilt at saying that. Sure, I would write that document, but it wouldn¡¯t actually¡­ do anything. Out of all of the changes humans had brought, the rejection of Predator Disease had been the one to near instantly stick across the entire guild. Most Exterminators felt¡­ betrayed by what the facilities had done. We brought people there to get better, but had instead left them in horrific conditions. There was zero chance these people would ever be put back in a facility. But if giving this Venlil a useless document would cause him to talk, then that¡¯s what I would do. ¡°Well¡­ I did see it. Once. Kind of. I was with Valen, and we heard something following us in the tunnels, in the dark. A predator, but not like any other predator. We ran, and I fell over as Valen continued. I hid in the dark, in the tunnels away from that¡­ thing, as it passed me by.¡± Finally! Now we were getting somewhere. ¡°Did you see anything? Hear anything?¡± ¡°No, I stayed hidden, but I heard it move past my hiding spot. I know it got Valen, then I never saw them again. I¡­ I heard it dragging something as it moved, like something big was being pulled along the ground, I think.¡± Not a lot of information, but it¡¯s a start. Just having a confirmation of another victim, with the date and time will be useful on its own, to see if I can find any patterns in this killer¡¯s schedule. ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s useful, thank you, Glena! What was the time or date? Did you hear what species they were from their footsteps, any voice or mumbling, or any other detail? Even the smallest thing could be what helps me work this out.¡± ¡ª------------------- I sat alone in the cafeteria once more, awaiting the next Venlil to finally gather the courage to come talk with me. All of them were the same, all of them talking and acting as if I was going to go crazy and start killing them at any moment. A few had even decided to conduct their ¡®interview¡¯ on the other side of the room while I loudly asked my questions across from them. I wondered if Jkob was having better luck. It honestly¡­ hurt. I joined the Exterminators to help people, to protect people. Everything I¡¯d done, my near religious studying of the Exterminator rules, hours spent training, every Arxur raid and predator call out. I just wanted to help people, but here they looked at me as if I was a danger. The information I¡¯d gathered all followed a similar pattern. Someone had been hunting these people. A singular person, using a sword. Targeting them in the tunnels where these people lived. But nobody could give me a solid description, anything to work off of. A few seemed to believe they were an Exterminator, but that wasn¡¯t confirmed by- OW! MOTHER FUCKER! SPEH SPEH SPEH! WHAT THE MALTOS! My train of thought was interrupted as my tail exploded into pain, causing me to practically fall off of the chair as I spun around to see what was grabbing my feathers, wing instinctively going to my gun from the sudden hidden attack. I stopped, calming down as I saw what had assaulted me: A little Venlil pup, bleating happily as they reached up once more to try and grab at my feathers, which I swiftly moved out of reach of their grabby little paws. They couldn¡¯t be more than a year old, still crawling around and not yet verbalizing words. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what a literal pup was doing here: As far as I was aware, the only Venlil here were ex-patients, and someone this young would have never been tested. Well, unless¡­. No! I¡¯m not even going to entertain that thought. ¡°Well how did you get here, you sneaky little fledgling. Awww, you like my feathers do you?¡± I spread out my tail feathers, ruffling them out of reach as the cute little pup looked up at the dazzling display of bright blue feathers with a little happy gurgle. I always liked kids, so innocent, untouched by the horror of the universe. I felt my mood brighten immensely as I enjoyed interacting with someone here who didn¡¯t hate me. ¡°Pola!¡± I heard a bleat, ¡°Pola, there you are!¡± I looked up to see a light grey Venlil running up to me. He looked to be on the smaller side, a child. Maybe 10 years old. He reached down and picked up the pup, signalling apology with his ears. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my sister is still learning you shouldn¡¯t grab the tails of non-family.¡± He turned an eye to the pup in his arms. ¡°I know you love to wander, but you must be careful!¡± The baby beeped, pointing and reaching for my feathers, eyes still sparkling wide. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine, she means no harm!¡± I assured the child, still feeling in a far more jubilant mood. ¡°I¡¯m more surprised to see someone that young here, not many families brave enough to move in with the humans.¡± For that matter, even her brother was rather young. I really hope he wasn¡¯t a¡­ ¡°We had to,¡± the boy stated. ¡°We would have been sent to another facility if we hadn¡¯t. They would have split me and my parents apart. Make us hurt again. This place is a lot better with the humans, they actually help.¡± Oh¡­ of course he was. I shouldn¡¯t have got my hopes up. I felt another pang of guilt for the uniform I wore, my mood dissipating in an instant as I looked across at this literal child who had been through the system. Sure, I hadn¡¯t been the one to send him here specifically, but every moment I stood in this building seemed to conspire to remind me of the part I have in this. ¡°Yeah, humans are great at that. They¡¯ll help anyone and anything, no matter what.¡± ¡°They do,¡± the boy agreed. He looked straight at me before his ears raised. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m supposed to greet people with my name! I¡¯m sorry, hello, my name is Jervel. You¡¯re new here, right? I heard people talking about a Krakotl coming in here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here for long, just here for a¡­ thing.¡± I paused, deciding that bringing up a mass murdering predator diseased killer in front of a child was a bad idea. ¡°Glad to meet you Jervel, I¡¯m Prestige Exterminator Estala.¡± As soon as the words had left my beak, I instantly realized that was the wrong thing to say. It was automatic, almost as instinctual as breathing, the way I introduced myself. The entire core of my person was being an Exterminator. I wasn¡¯t Estala, I was Prestige Exterminator Estala. I helped people, I stood against the Arxur on Voyak and Skalga, I stopped Shadestalkers and protected the herd. Introducing myself in any other way would be wrong, counter to my existence. Apart from this situation, in which I should have started thinking before I spoke. Jervel¡¯s eyes widened, his ears falling back in fear. ¡°S-Sulven! Merva!! The-the exterminator! The-they saw Pola! It saw Pola!!!¡± I started to panic, reaching out for a moment before pulling back, my feathers ruffling out with worry and concern. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m here to help. It¡¯s fine!¡± The child looked terrified, my mind racing for some way to fix this. My mind blanking for a moment until I reached into my satchel in desperation, pulling out the orange looking fruit, the only object that I could think of to calm someone down. ¡°Look, do you want a mango? It¡¯s fine, I have food, look!¡± It didn¡¯t work. The boy recoiled as if I had offered him something horrid, losing his footing and falling on his rear. He clutched the pup, as if desperate to keep her out of my reach. A dark grey Venlil burst forward from the entrance to the cafeteria, followed quickly by an off-white woman. They threw themselves between me and the children, huffing in anger. Or, the man was. The woman was huffing, but her ears and tail were still. Not signalling anything beyond the hard stare she was giving me with both her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s fine! Everything is fine! Nothing¡¯s happening!¡± I took a startled step back, holding up both wings, the only ¡®weapon¡¯ a solitary mango held in my left hand. ¡°We¡¯re just talking, nobody did anything wrong, everything is fine!¡± Maybe if I keep saying everything is fine, this will be magically manifested into reality? The man bared his teeth at me. ¡°You are not taking her,¡± he hissed, ¡°you are not taking my daughter, I won¡¯t let you kill her! I won¡¯t!¡± ¡­ WHAT? ¡°What?¡± My brain attempted to add more words to that question, every thought coming up blank. Who is trying to kill a pup? What did I do to make them think I¡¯d do that? Who would even do that! ¡°Why would- What is- I wouldn¡¯t. Why is this and-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie,¡± the woman stated, her voice icily steady. ¡°You¡¯re an exterminator. You found a child whose parents are tainted. We escaped your sterilization.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you touch her,¡± the man, the father growled, ¡°she isn¡¯t a mistake to ¡°fix¡± or anything.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how it works any more! Or even before, sterilization should only be used in the most dangerous Predator disease cases, as described in section 8A-03.¡± I shouted out, very, very confused. ¡°By Inatala, who would just kill a child, even before the humans. That¡¯s not regulation!¡± Also, the moral reasons Estala! Regulations are not what matters right now Estala! Focus please, stop falling back to rules when you¡¯re stressed! What in the Maltos cursed situation have I walked into? ¡°You say that like it mattered,¡± the mother stated. Her eyes squinted at me, one of the first times she showed any emotion. It felt like she was staring through me now. ¡°Why do you say it like regulation mattered in these places?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± I hung my head, looking down at the ground. She was right. She was entirely right. This entire district, this facility, every facility like it. Heck, my entire career in the Exterminator guild had been one battle after another to get people to simply follow the rules. A system designed to be broken for the Federation¡¯s twisted ideals. ¡°They mattered to me.¡± I said it softly, still staring at the ground in shame. ¡°They made sure I helped people, kept the herd safe. I¡¯m not here to hurt anyone, or any of that Feddie crap. I¡¯m just here to catch the Stalker, nothing more, nothing less.¡± Both their ears perked in surprise at my mention of that name. ¡°Catch?¡± The father asked, ¡°are you saying they weren¡¯t sent on the orders of someone like you?¡± ¡°No, of course not! Why is everyone surprised at that!¡± I could feel a small amount of exasperation enter my voice. Probably not the best tone, but I didn¡¯t understand why so many people here believed this killer was sent on orders of the Exterminators. ¡°Whoever did this hid it from our official records. A Predator Diseased guy randomly killing people is not official policy. They probably aren¡¯t even an exterminator.¡± Well, ¡®probably¡¯ is a strong word. Whoever did this has access to our systems, and targeting Predator Diseased individuals was a large coincidence¡­ ¡°They were one.¡± The parent''s attention was no longer on me. They were staring at the boy now, the father¡¯s tail signalling cautious worry. ¡°They were an exterminator,¡± the boy said again. ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I know what I saw. They were an exterminator.¡± ¡°Wait, you saw the Stalker, the Heartbreak Killer?¡± I stared at the child for a moment, a different kind of excitement beating through my heart. ¡°What did you see?¡± I pulled out my datapad to take notes and instinctively took a step forwards, much to the father¡¯s dislike. He reached out a hand and pushed me back. His arm seemed to be trembling with the effort, but it felt like it was the effort of holding himself back more than anything. ¡°They had your uniform,¡± The boy whimpered. ¡°The black version. They appeared out of nothing. Cut Daotl¡¯s throat. It was so fast. They-they climbed on them. Stuck a-a sword in their chest. They pulled out the he-heart. It was still moving. It- it lit it on fire. Burned it while holding it. It didn¡¯t see me. Th- the mask was- it was like his eyes were fire in a moving shadow. It was an Exterminator. It was an Exterminator. It was an exterminator.¡± The parents knelt down and wrapped their arms around the boy, embracing him in a dual hug. They were whispering to him, too soft for me to hear. But his signs of fear began to lessen before my eyes. My worst fears of who this person was had been confirmed. Sure technically someone could have hacked into the Exterminator system with knowledge of our record keeping software, stolen a uniform and weapons. But with the choice of target¡­ too many coincidences. The Stalker, the Heartbreak Killer, had to be an Exterminator, or the very least had been one. I felt a small twinge of guilt at the next question I was about to ask, but it was too important not to ask. I slowly knelt down to be closer to his eyeline, my own body language filled with despair as I spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to see that. I really am. With your parent¡¯s help, do you think you can be brave for me, just for a little bit? We need to go through some details: Time, date, description. Was he a Venlil, tall, short, what did they sound like? I need your help to catch him.¡± The boy swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t- I don¡¯t know. They were a Venlil, but¡­ They-they didn¡¯t sound like anything. They didn¡¯t say anything. They were- they were so quiet. They¡­¡± his expression solidified. ¡°I saw them cut off a finger. He took a claw. Put it into a pouch with his sword. Then¡­ then he just walked off. Disappeared back into the tunnels. Because of their black suit.¡± Venlil. A black suit. Also¡­ took a trophy. That was information I could use. ¡°Thank you. This is very important, and you¡¯re a very brave little man for telling me about that. I promise you I¡¯ll find him.¡± I glanced up from my position, at the multitude of faces staring back at me. Our shouting had seemingly attracted the rest of the residents to come running, although they still remained a cautious distance away from me. Each of them had the same expression, in their ears and tails. Disbelief, distrust, not believing I would do anything of note. All apart from the two parents of this strange little family stood in front of me, their tails swishing in the pattern of another emotion. Hope. Chapter 7: Past mistakes Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, PR Division. Date [standardized human time]: January 14th, 2131 I walked into Ghelsim''s office with purpose, not caring to knock or even announce my presence, instead simply moving towards where he was seated with an air of confidence. It had been three years since the first time I''d entered this room, starstruck and anxious about what such a legend of the guild would want with a simple Junior Exterminator like myself. Three years was a long time. Back then I¡¯d only known him as a hero to the guild, known him from his accolades and stories about his helping people. Stories that upon looking into, were nothing more than exaggerations or the work of other Exterminators. I now knew what Ghelsim was: A blundering incompetent Krakotl who had somehow managed to stumble their way into the head of the Nishtal guild. They were nothing compared with what I''d faced since then. I''d gone head-to-head with the Arxur, he was just a bird, barely having the merit to be called a man. ¡°Estala! What are you doing here? When I saw that you cancelled today''s media presence, I was worried you¡¯d fallen ill.¡± I ignored his statement, instead dropping a data pad in front of him, speaking plainly and simply, stating what was about to happen. ¡°The Ayyakia colony clean up. I''m going to be leading this for the next year, so unfortunately I''ll be a little too busy to talk about useless things to yet another clueless reporter. You''ll have to find someone else to do it.¡± I didn''t ask or request the position, asking didn¡¯t get you things. I''d already set everything in motion long before entering the office, not giving the very flustered guild leader in front of me any chance to argue. I could see it was working, Ghelsim''s feathers ruffling in confusion as he looked through the mass of data I''d just literally dumped on their lap. ¡°Now hold up Estala, you can''t just decide to do this! There''s a process to go through! The Federation needs you here!¡± Ironic. This was the first time someone else had mentioned the rules around me in a long, long time. ¡°I felt like my talents were being wasted here, sir. While some others feel that staying behind a camera is where their skills lead them to be the most useful, I feel that staying in this position with my combat and colony experience is a waste of resources. When I contacted them, Captain Golvil and Captain Carala seemed to agree. Having the ¡®Hero of Voyak¡¯ languishing behind a desk is an interesting use of Nishtal guild personnel.¡± I couldn''t help but feel a little smug upon name-dropping the prominent members of the Nishtal guild and military, members just as storied and celebrated as Ghelsim was. A simple call and a little bit of an explanation was all it took. That was the problem with the Nishtal Exterminators guild, wasn''t it? The left wing didn''t know what the right wing was doing. I could see the Krakotl desperately trying to work out how to keep me under his wing and out of trouble, racking his brain trying to work out what excuse to give. Technically, he was my boss. Technically, he could order me back into my current position. Of course, then he''d have to explain to the others why he thought the ¡®Hero of Voyak¡¯ wasn''t able to assist the Federation in such a way. PR work was the realm of those who wished to retire, who could no longer aid the Federation in a more physical capacity. ¡°The Ayyakia colony clean up already has a leader I''m afraid. Tala, the son of Councillor Rasim. I can''t just give away his daughter''s first leadership position. Politics, you see. We can look at getting you a spot on another expedition, but I¡¯m afraid another one¡¯s not coming up any time soon.¡± I could see Ghelsim starting to calm down, the idea he''d chosen upon seeming like a sure-fire strategy. It was true that many of these kinds of appointments were political, with children or family members of important government officials getting their Exterminator careers pushed forwards. What Ghelsim didn''t know however, was I already knew about this. I also knew that Councillor Rasim was a loving father who was very worried about his only daughter''s chosen career. ¡°No worries, I already cleared it up with him. After the Arxur raid on Voyak, the councillor agreed that having a co-lead with experience against such an attack would be the best option for the safety of all. What better person to teach his precious daughter than the ¡®Hero of Voyak?¡¯¡± Not that I''m planning on letting some inexperienced politician¡¯s kid make the calls. She''ll get that precious mark on her career, and I''ll get to actually help people and the Federation as a whole. I could see that Ghelsim was beaten, and I could see him work that out. A lifetime of following the rules and knowing how to research them gave me the exact answers I needed to get this done. I knew who to contact and what processes to fill out to make this happen, with no chance for Ghelsim to interfere and keep me out of trouble. I knew he didn¡¯t like me, my original posting to Voyak made that obvious enough, so I enjoyed watching him splutter and try to formulate a response. ¡°But, you can''t... I¡­ Why? You''ve done your time, nobody does more than two colony expeditions. You nearly died on the last one, you told me that yourself. Why not stay safe here and help inspire the next generation of Exterminators? You don''t need to prove anything, Estala.¡± ¡°Permission to speak candidly sir?¡± ¡°... Granted?¡± I took a moment to steel myself for a moment, taking a deep breath as I knew my next words were going to insult the person who was my boss. ¡°The entire guild is incompetent and sloppy, sir.¡± I could see he wanted to respond immediately to that, but I held up a wing to stop him from interrupting me as I continued. ¡°We have a very simple set of instructions to follow for aiding the Federation that nobody seems to be able to actually follow. Only 21% of the Nishtal Guild is at the minimum firearm''s proficiency, the complete lack of following proper Predator Disease procedures is going to end in a humiliating public lawsuit one of these days, and our colony process is a mess of unnecessary pain and death due to sheer laziness. Why, if I didn''t know better, I would have thought nobody actually wanted to properly defend against the evil predators. ¡± ¡°What makes you say such a thing? The Nishtal Exterminators are the crown jewel of the Federation''s fight against the predatory evil!¡± That was technically true, but less about the high standards of the Nishtal Exterminators, and more about the low standards of everyone else. I shook my head slowly, my voice taking on a less combative, sadder tone. ¡°I don''t believe that. Have you ever noticed that the Farsul and Kolshians never get raided, even their outermost colonies, that they can spread to other planets far faster and easier than any other Federation species? It''s because they¡¯re the initial creators of the Federation, even before the Krakotl. Clearly, they are actually following the standards they set, because the Federation set those standards to protect people. Standards we are currently failing to reach. I believe I can do better and show people how to do better. I believe we can all do better, and the only way to prove this is to do it myself. For better or for worse, I will place my nest upon my chosen cliff face and find out once and for all whether these rules and regulations work.¡± And really, I knew in my heart what the answer to that was. The Kolshians and the Farsul knew what they were doing. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 9th, 2137 I gave an inward groan of despair as I looked at the results. Jkob and I had started to collate our findings in the van, and the problem was far worse than we thought it was. Independently, we''d only found a small proportion of the overall deaths, and even the mass of new killings we''d been told about would only be part of the whole picture. ¡°That bad, boss?¡± ¡°I didn''t say anything.¡± ¡°You didn''t need to, boss.¡± I gave a sigh, looking down at the list of names and times we''d collated from our interviews. So many names. So many people told of the probable demise of members of this herd. So many people who had just wanted information on missing people. Sure, some of them were positive stories. ¡®Yannal moved back in with his parents, no reported issues¡¯ ¡®Kaavan was picked up by another facility, but is currently in human care.¡¯ ¡®Tarsal moved off world and is living happily in a Venlil colony.¡¯ But most¡­ most were just confirmations of the Heartbreak Killer¡¯s MO of wiping the records after their deaths. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°How did we miss this, Jkob? How did we miss something like this happening right under our beaks?¡± ¡°The guy was wiping the records.¡± ¡°Even then! They should have felt comfortable enough to ask for help. We''re the Inatala damned Exterminators! We are who they should go to. But instead, the way they looked at us. When given the choice between a predator diseased mass murdering killer and the Exterminators, they chose ¡®The Stalker¡¯! They almost all thought that thing was fully backed by us!¡± I leaned back into my seat, closing my eyes to the absolute hopelessness I was feeling. Was this entire thing just a hopeless flight against a never ending storm? I wanted to believe that the Exterminators could be better, that I could be better, but could an organization that let this happen even be redeemed? Do I even deserve redemption? ¡°I mean, at least now we know how the humans feel, right boss?¡± The Letian gave a small chuckle, attempting to inject some levity into the situation. ¡°Fear and flinching no matter how you act¡­ Although the humans who came to talk to me were nice. Friendly, curious and helpful. Said I looked like a blanket. Haven¡¯t really interacted that much with the pred- humans before.¡± ¡°Yeah, they didn''t come to visit me¡­ I guess humans haven''t had good experiences with Krakotl. Or Exterminators. Or Krakotl Exterminators.¡± I gave another forlorn sigh, slumping over once in the seat once more. ¡°I just wanted to help people. That''s why I joined, I just wanted to keep people safe. But instead I was chasing ¡®predator deception in humans¡¯ while a literal mass murderer was on the loose.¡± Jkob put a small paw on my shoulder, trying to comfort me as I marinated in the misery of¡­ Everything. ¡°It''ll be fine boss, you''re trying now, aren''t you? Let''s get back to the office, then we can go through this data.¡± I gave a small shrug, glad of at least one person''s backing. ¡°Yeah. Just give me a moment, I''ve just gotta leave something behind that someone requested. Keep the van running, I''ll only need a moment.¡± Quickly I exited the van, heading back into the ex-facility with a more welcoming response: In that I wasn''t immediately being tossed out. I held up a data pad in response to the questioning tail flicks of the receptionist on my return. While the document itself would be useless in the modern day post-human reality, I wasn''t one to lie. Stored on the pad were 33 documents relating to my ¡®professional opinion¡¯ on ex-facility members. Maybe it would give some of them a little peace of mind, a shield against an action that should never happen again. ¡°I have the documents some of the residents here wanted, and if anyone else wants the same I can provide them with-¡± ¡°YOU! IT''S YOU! I REMEMBER THAT VOICE!¡° My explanation to the receptionist was interrupted by the sound of a Venlil shouting behind me, confusion flowing through my mind as I span around to confront the voice. A deep black Venlil stared at me, tail swishing in fury and ears flat against his head, rapidly approaching my position and leaving behind a concerned looking human. He didn''t look good, thin, patchy wool, with obvious scars and signs of months old abuse visible upon his body. I didn''t recognize him. ¡°I''m sorry? Can I help you, I don''t-¡± ¡°YOU! DON''T LIE. I REMEMBER YOU! I REMEMBER YOUR VOICE! YOU ARE THE KRAKOTL, THE ONE WHO SENT ME HERE. IT WAS YOU!¡± I didn''t know this Venlil, I- I remember him. His name was Tradiv. He was the first Venlil I''d diagnosed with predator disease. No, even worse than that, I used him as an example on how to correctly go through the process. Two empathy tests, two weeks apart, both had come back with type C1 Predator Disease: a reduced empathy and reduced predator fear response. He looked nothing like how I remembered him, a heavier set Venlil whose every movement and word was slow and lethargic. That''s why his brother had contacted the Exterminators, worried about him and his possible Predator Disease. It was such a by-the-book case that I''d used it as an example for other Exterminators to follow, to avoid another Tarlim case. ¡°Tradiv. That¡¯s your name right? What happened?¡± What happened? What happened?? You sent him to the facility! Why would you ask that you idiot, you know what happened!! ¡°You happened, you speh!¡± Tradiv screamed at me. ¡°You said I was ill, it was you, then I got placed into that living nightmare! The humans, they say I just needed help, just medication, not not¡­¡± The Venlil¡¯s rage spluttered out as the human they had left behind finally caught back up to him, placing himself between the two of us. ¡°Tradiv, calm down. Remember how we said you might start feeling stuff again as the continued to help you? This Exterminator isn''t worth it.¡± He said that word with such malice, glaring at me angrily as he said the word with such spite while words lodged themselves in my throat. But it was the other one that caught my attention. The word failed to translate, my translator half attempting to provide an explanation as ¡®anti-sadness medication¡¯ before giving up half-way. ¡°No. This- this- this predator diseased monster took my life from me! Get out of my way! I was better before she sent me there, I would have been fine! Why would you do this to me! The humans said all I had was depression, that all I needed was help!¡± All he needed was help. I could put the context clues together based on the shattered pieces of information my translator gave me. Depression: A feeling of sadness, numbness. Was that what had caused the Predator Disease? The humans had told him that mere medication was enough to cure them. Honestly, it didn¡¯t even matter. No matter what he had, he didn¡¯t deserve what he got in the facility. Where I put him. ¡°I said why! Why you speh headed motherfucker!¡± I couldn''t breathe, heart thudding in my chest as I tried to think of any words to say, none coming to mind as I stared at the shell of the Venlil I''d created, his tail shaking with rage, eyes burning with hate, as I remained silent. What could I say, what words could I even begin to let fall from my beak to explain what had happened to him. I could see every scar, every broken piece of the Venlil I''d created. The human was attempting to get in between the two of us, trying to calm down the victim I''d created. I created this. This is my fault. I did this, he wasn''t that bad when I originally saw him. He had a mild case of predator disease that just needed a little bit of treatment, now he looks like a Sunbliss addict. ¡°I SAID WHY! ANSWER ME!¡± In a moment of blinding rage, Tradiv gave a final scream before breaking free of the human''s grasp, charging at me with a final, bestial roar. I couldn''t move, I couldn''t react, my mind still paralysed by seeing the results of my handiwork. The impact of the Venlil headbutting me to the ground felt as if it was being done to someone else. I felt the blows rain down upon my person as Tradiv paws tried to find purchase upon my head, the ex-facility patient no longer saying any words, simply screaming with raw emotion as they assaulted me. I could have fought back, the Venlil was out of shape and fragile, compared with a trained Exterminator armed with a taser and firearm. With how his blows felt, I might have been able to bring him down with a simple takedown. But I didn''t, instead simply protecting my head with my wings to the best of my ability as blows continued to come. Tradiv¡¯s attack was sloppy and uncoordinated, anger leaving him inaccurate as most of his attacks barely grazed my wings. A slow blow finally landed as his paw crashed into my head, the already healing injury causing a wave of pain and disorientation to fill my vision. I deserve this. I did this to him. I didn''t mean to, but I did this to him. As fast as it had started, it was over, the weight of the Venlil above me disappearing in an instant as someone finally dragged them off me. I lay there for a moment, a blur of sound and shouting as a commotion was happening around me. Slowly I leaned forwards, as purple blood dropped from my beak and the side of my head, finally seeing who my undeserved saviour had been: Jkob was pinning Tradiv to the floor, wrapping a pair of handcuffs around their paws. ¡°The rest of you get back, right now! I don''t know what ideas you think the humans brought here, but assault is still illegal, especially on an Extermination officer! Boss, are you ok?¡± Physically I was fine. I could feel my previous injury from the human riot starting to bleed again, a few feathers having been ripped out, but overall I was probably fine. At least with the adrenaline I felt OK. The situation had attracted a lot of the residents to come watch this second commotion of the day, the various humans and Venlil looking agitated as Jkob continued to arrest one of their own. I''m not the victim here, I was the one who did this, I was the one who caused this. I deserve this. Slowly I returned my focus to the situation. Tradiv had been hoisted to his feet, the restraints around his paws behind his back providing a level of compliance, while the human the Venlil had been with was trying to explain something about medication and side effects. ¡°Yeah, I''m fine. I''m not hurt.¡± I slowly managed to mumble out, holding a wing to my head in an attempt to stop the trickle of blood and watching Jkob handle the situation, too dazed both physically and mentally to add anything to the situation. ¡°You don''t look fine, boss. We need to get you to a hospital. What happened, what got into this psycho?¡± I did. I made that Venlil. I thought I was helping but I made that Venlil, turned him into this broken shell. Why did I never follow up on the facilities, why didn''t I check? ¡°I''m fine,¡± I mumbled, brain still rocked from the blow I''d taken. ¡°Let''s just leave him and go, we''ve done enough damage here.¡± ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not leaving him, not after assaulting you like that!¡± The Venlil in question had finally gone silent, a more fearful look replacing the previous rage, the consequences of his attack seeming to finally override his aggression. The others in the room were staying back with a mixture of their own levels of fear and apprehension, none of them wanting to get involved, enough of the word having spread making it obvious I hadn''t been the one to start this. Except that I had started this. ¡°Just let him go and let''s leave. We''ll make things worse by bringing him in. He didn''t do anything wrong.¡° ¡°What do you mean, boss!? He was literally trying to beat you to-¡± ¡°Look, I''ll explain later- just do it!¡± I interrupted, causing a look of worry and confusion to flow from the Letian''s body language. ¡°...you sound concussed, you''re not in a state to be-¡± ¡°I started it, OK!? I''ll explain later but we should just leave. It was my fault, I''m the one to blame, it was me¡­¡± I could see that Jkob didn''t understand, but he followed the order as I barely managed to cut myself off, letting the confused Tradiv go as he scampered back into the crowd of scared and angry people, each of their eyes glaring at me with the hatred of every star in the galaxy. I could feel the blood dripping down my beak and the side of my head, as their judgement and anger weighed down and threatened to squish me into a pulp. They knew exactly what I¡¯d done, they knew exactly the harm and evil I¡¯d enacted on that poor Venlil. I¡¯d just wanted to help, but I¡¯d done the exact opposite. I am a monster. Chapter 8: A interesting discussion Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Zadalla Colony Clean-Up Leader Date [standardized human time]: February 2nd, 2134 I tossed the datapad onto the desk, not even bothering to introduce myself as I strode into the office. Ghelsim had long since lost his aura of respect and reverence, my many years as part of the organization allowing me to see behind the curtain of his falsehoods. I used to believe all the claims of greatness that the man had done in his career, but now I believed them all to be propaganda and exaggerations. The Exterminator looked shocked as I entered, giving a startled jump as the electronic device hit the desk. ¡°This is the combined report of the Zadalla and Ayyakia clean up: findings, results, and my recommendations for changes to training and guidelines with regard to future colony clean-up efforts.¡± Two new badges adorned my uniform, shining in the office light as I stood there in front of Ghelsim, each representing a new colony I¡¯d successfully helped clean up; Zadalla and Ayyakia, both joining the two I¡¯d aided with previously and my Prestige Exterminator rank. I watched as the leader of the Nishtal guild picked up the device I¡¯d tossed on his desk and started skimming through the information I¡¯d gathered. Frankly, I was surprised he was even here to begin with: I¡¯d landed back on the planet rather late in the day, so seeing Ghelsim still here was a surprise. ¡°I¡¯m guessing by your reaction your attempts were successful, Estala?¡± The Krakotl sounded tired as he spoke, his voice almost distracted as he gave what I¡¯d spent the best part of three years creating a glance, no sign of his normal pleas for me to ignore the rules and do what was ¡®easy¡¯ compared with what was ¡®right¡¯. I felt a small tingle of suspicion that something was wrong, that I pushed to the back of my mind. ¡°You can say that. Using the official guidelines and documents as a base, I was able to reduce risk while protecting the herd during both campaigns. While there was some initial pushback at such¡­ ¡®harsh¡¯ leadership, the results speak for themselves. The average casualty rate of a colony clean up is roughly 9%. Over both Zadalla and Ayyakia, we suffered 6.¡± I watched as a tired Ghelsim gave a small head tilt of appreciation at my words, giving a small chirp of acceptance as they finally seemed to give me a little bit of attention. ¡°That¡¯s not bad. A 50% reduction.¡± ¡°No you misunderstand me, sir. Six casualties in total.¡± I said it with a small measure of arrogance, enjoying the shock on the Krakotl¡¯s features as I spoke. ¡°Three officers were lost due to a failure in communication on Zadalla, causing the threat level of a predator den to be underestimated. One Sivkit officer because of the toxicity of previously unknown plant life. One Krakotl on Ayyakia due to flying in strong winds, and a Takkan suffering a heart attack. Unrelated, was a previously unknown medical condition.¡± Even with the mistake on Zadalla, it had been a success, a surprisingly easy one of that. Who would have thought that actually following the rules would provide positive results. Ghelsim seemed to take a deeper look at my report, clear surprise in his eye as he did so. ¡°How did you manage that?¡± ¡°I condensed the overly wordy and propaganda filled rules into a series of easy to understand rule sets and procedures. After a small amount of training and sending anyone home who was unwilling to get with the new program, the two colony clean-up efforts¡­ were simple. If I¡¯m speaking freely here: While predators are evil monstrosities sent by Maltos, they are still animals, lacking the capability for rational thought. They can be easily beaten and believing otherwise is counter to that goal.¡± I waited for Ghelsim¡¯s response. I was going to push this regardless, but I was expecting a standard cowardly reply to push for the status quo, anything to avoid doing any additional effort. Just keep gliding on by like the guild had done for years. ¡°This is good work. Good job.¡± That¡­ that was not the reply I expected. Said in a slow resigned voice, Ghelsim looked like he was exhausted. Something was off. Confused, I pushed ahead. ¡°That it? No push back to tell me to ignore the rules and pick the easy way?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but let the sarcasm and annoyance enter my voice, to which the Krakotl just gave a tired sigh. ¡°Estala, I¡¯ve worn this uniform for 37 years. I¡¯ve seen people like you before, and the simple fact of the matter is it never ends well. You believe that you¡¯ve found a new revolutionary method or tactic, like so many before you, but things don¡¯t change as easily as you¡¯d like to believe. Anyone who¡¯s witnessed a stampede can attest that the larger the herd, the harder it is to change its direction, and there is no herd in the galaxy larger than the Federation. If you obsess over it too hard, that¡¯s how predator disease starts, and then you¡¯ll be just another Exterminator delusional enough to try and pass ideas along through correctional facility staff.¡± I watched Ghelsim¡¯s tired expression, his age more apparent now than it had ever been. I¡¯d heard about his feats as an Exterminator, earlier in his career. After meeting him I¡¯d assumed they were exaggerations, but now, here alone with a matter of clarity, I started to believe that maybe they weren¡¯t. But why? What happened to cause him to give up, and accept our current status so easily? ¡°I have to try. This could save lives, protect the herd. You can see the results yourself!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying don¡¯t. I¡¯m just saying be careful and don¡¯t expect too much. You¡¯re a good Exterminator and the Nishtal guild would rather not lose you. Maybe with a few more people like you, we wouldn¡¯t have the current Venlil Prime crisis.¡± I gave a confused trill in response. I¡¯d only just got back within communications range of Nishtal earlier that day, but now there was a crisis? I didn¡¯t know much about the Venlil, just that they were one of the weaker races of the Federation, meaning their Exterminators were overall subpar when compared with the more aggressive Krakotl or Gojid defenders of the herd. ¡°Crisis?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask, my current project pushed aside in my mind as this new problem made itself apparent. ¡°The Venlil Prime Exterminator force messed up, followed by the local PD facilities messing up. Severely. They sent someone to a facility without a single proper check, and it turns out the facilities there are¡­ something else.¡± Ghelsim handed me the pad he¡¯d been reading, as I quickly began to skim the information: Venlil called Tarlim, listed height was¡­. No that couldn¡¯t be correct, photo shows him¡­ by Inatala that is one big Venlil! Facility treatment was¡­ oh boy, that¡¯s not to the rules, that¡¯s not to the rules at all! The document was also missing the empathy test that was presumably done. Unless¡­ ¡°Wait, did they diagnose someone without an empathy test?¡± I asked the question incredulously, not wanting to hear the answer. I knew a lot of Exterminators tended to skip the second required test, or incorrectly apply the wrong parameters to subjects, but to completely skip one?! ¡°Yeah, claimed that they couldn¡¯t find a headset that fit, not that that¡¯s an excuse. The guild got sued, hard, and they fought back instead of admitting their mistake. The facility was closed, but even still there¡¯s been a major spike in anti-Exterminator attitudes on Venlil Prime. We all know the danger that can cause.¡± ¡°You push away the Exterminators and you invite Predator Disease. It starts with distrust of Exterminators and ends with the entire community being tainted.¡± I didn¡¯t even need a rule to remember that, everyone knew this was a fact. ¡°How did they mess up this badly? Did they actively go out their way to break every rule and regulation? How are we even supposed to help them?¡± Ghelsim gave another sigh, slumping over in despair. ¡°That¡¯s the problem. Realistically we need to send someone over, someone with some reputation, to train up the Venlil and reinstate public trust. However, nobody really wants to go to Venlil Prime. The place kind of sucks: No Day/Night cycle, heavy gravity, and their most common alcohol is basically warp fuel.¡± That did sound like a less than ideal assignment, although¡­ an idea started to form. This was the kind of thing I fully supported, showing people how to be better, more compliant Exterminators. If I set my nest right, I could use this to get an advantage. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. You know I¡¯m a stickler for the rules, and having the hero of Voyak appear will help to keep public perception up. But in return, I want you to push for these colony process reforms. There¡¯s a better shot that this catches on if you¡¯re on board as well, and I think this could do some real good.¡± ¡°I.. I can agree to that. I just need anyone to go to Venlil Prime at this point. Are you sure you¡¯re fine doing it? It¡¯s going to be several years to make sure the training and public perception sticks.¡± I pause for a moment, thinking my options through. It made sense, the next step in my career, an entirely new organization to help improve for the good of the herd and the Federation. And Venlil or not, they were still good, honest prey. ¡°What¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡±. ¡ª------------------ Memory transcription subject: Joseph Adler, Head of research for the ¡®Predatory Pest Control on Skalga¡¯ project. Date [standardized human time]: March 9th, 2137 ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. You can¡¯t just tear up the entire system.¡± The train was relatively busy, the carriage filled with a variety of strange and wonderful species as the transport sped through the capital city at high speed, picking up and dropping off its passengers as the day- sorry paw came to an end. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a system though, is it? What good do they even do that you need to keep them around?¡± I stood next to Mike as he responded to my rebuttal, quietly talking with each other in the crowded space. I¡¯d met the boisterous man many years back during a heavy metal festival, and by luck had had it, both of us had moved into the same refugee centre. While I¡¯d moved out of that location and in with a very sad but good-hearted giant bird, our work schedules meant we occasionally took the same transport back during our commute back to our abodes. This was how the two of us were having a discussion, a regular one I¡¯d had with a lot of people over the last few months, generally brought up from my current living condition: The role of the Exterminators. Several months ago a very distraught Krakotl by the name of Estala had taken up a conversation with me during one of my many walks in the Venlil wilderness. An Exterminator who had been going through some¡­ issues. I¡¯d later learned the poor Krakotl had been trying to get me to eat her in order to both ¡®cleanse her own predatory taint¡¯ and to catch a human on camera giving into their instincts. Unsurprisingly, this didn¡¯t happen, although I had accidentally shattered her world view during our discussions, in a ¡®Joseph certified oops¡¯ moment. For the last three months I¡¯d been living with her, being glad to move out of the refugee centre and to have a new friend to lean on during this difficult time. This had confused several people, -scratch that, borderline everyone- considering what Estala¡¯s job was. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Also considering what had happened. ¡°The Exterminators do fulfil a purpose, as scattered as it is. They¡¯re a weird mix of law enforcement for violent acts, animal control and military defence. I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s great, but there¡¯s nowhere else in society that deals with these problems¡± ¡°Then just replace it with something better. They already have a police force.¡± Calling them a police force was¡­ generous. The entire impact of the Federation fear response in the Venlil culture was everywhere, including in their secondary law enforcement. I¡¯d heard a lot of rants from Estala regarding the newly appointed solo police force in Dawn Creek flat out disconnecting calls regarding inebriated humans. ¡°The issue is the people who joined those jobs previously did so to avoid that work, none of them want. You used to be a janitor right?¡± ¡°My job title was Senior Hygiene Specialist!¡± I raised a judging eyebrow to Mike¡¯s explanation, also noticing a few other nearby Venlil taking a little more interest in our conversation. I imagined it was an oddity to see a human take my position: That it was easier and more likely to overall succeed if you just reformed the Exterminators instead of tearing it all down. ¡°So a janitor. Well, what would you do aliens came down and stated, with pure logic, that your job also included nuclear waste material? Since it¡¯s all part of what they consider ¡®cleaning¡¯.¡± Honestly, the cultural human aversion to nuclear waste was less than the Federation¡¯s aversion to ¡®predatory¡¯ actions. Every action they took was one where it was clear the idea of individuality and breaking from the herd was literally a disease. It made sense considering what the Venlil once were, what the Federation didn¡¯t want them to be. ¡°I''d quit, obviously.¡± ¡°What do you think the police here will do if violent crime is suddenly added to their responsibilities?¡± I saw Mike start to respond, before going silent for a moment, realizing in a moment that you¡¯d end up with no law enforcement at all. ¡°... Well, can''t they just hire new people willing to do it?¡± ¡°They did, and they''re all in the Exterminators. You''d basically tear down the building to rebuild it just down the road with a new name.¡± ¡°What''s so wrong with that? Maybe call it something that doesn¡¯t stand for setting fire to people?¡± I could hear the anger, the annoyance in Mike¡¯s voice, becoming a little more animated as he spoke. That was always going to be the problem, wasn¡¯t it? The Venlil overall had a positive view of the Exterminators due to their childhood, regardless of the latest revelations, while humans as a whole would never see them as anything other than pyromaniacs. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that the Exterminators brand has value here. While I have many problems with the name myself, especially as an ecologist, for the people on the planet it¡¯s an institution. That has value.¡± ¡°What value? As far as I¡¯m concerned, the Venlil I talk with also all want the Exterminators gone as well.¡± I shake my finger at that. A simple answer there. ¡°You¡¯re working with a biased sample. People who interact with us are going to, on average, be less pro-Exterminator. You¡¯ve seen the culture. There are toys, TV shows, national holidays around the organization. Based on the last election, at least 50% of the population still supports them.¡± It was always an issue with these kinds of things: The kind of person who still fully supported the institutions they grew up with tended to avoid talking with humans. It was important to not fall into an echo chamber of ¡°new view¡± aliens. ¡°Why should we care about what some racists who hang onto an old organization care about?¡± ¡°Because long term, we want people still stuck under Federation concepts to leave them, not get metaphorically dragged away kicking and screaming. Replacing or even renaming the Exterminators is going to be seen as humanity meddling with people who they¡¯ve seen as protectors from a young age. It¡¯s far easier to convince them to change if the institutions they trust are reforming towards that goal.¡± Mike narrowed his eyes. He clearly wanted to say something, but I could see it in his expression: my points were sound. ¡°Maybe if they could speed up their change, that would be great.¡± I gave a smile and a small tired sigh. Change. That¡¯s all that had been happening over the last year for all parties involved. ¡®May you live in interesting times¡¯ was a curse that the entire universe was suffering from. ¡°They are. The change we¡¯re seeing to Venlil culture is blisteringly fast. Remember, a mere 8 months ago humans were the only intelligent species in the universe, and the concept of a surviving human was a myth to scare children with.¡± ¡°The myth is¡­ 8 months? I¡­ has it only been 8 months? It feels like¡­¡± I saw Mike falter, stopping for a moment as he realized just how¡­ little time had passed. It felt like this new normal had lasted forever, but the reality was everyone in the universe was still reeling from the changes to all cultures. ¡°Years? I know the feeling. The fact is for where we started from and where we are, things have changed immensely. Don¡¯t you remember the first time you took the train mere months ago?¡± To punctuate my point I gestured to the crowded train carriage around us. ¡±Now instead of cowering in fear from two unmasked humans, we¡¯re jammed in a crowd of them while several Venlil keep trying to listen in on our conversation.¡± I could hear a few embarrassed beeps and bleats as several of the closer Venlil turned a shade of orange, each one making an effort to stare more intently out the window or at their own personal pads. ¡°I do miss the extra legroom¡­¡± ¡°My point is, you don¡¯t get meaningful change by tearing everything down unless you really need to. Change isn''t done through young adults with suspiciously great hair on a battlefield, giving a speech about how everything is going to be great now that they overthrew the entire government. It¡¯s done through slow, steady change, getting a little better every day. It¡¯s far easier to reform the Exterminators than to destroy it and attempt to rebuild from nothing.¡± It was a well argued point I felt, that drove the point home: Don¡¯t allow perfect to be the enemy of good. Mike however gave a mischievous grin in response, his voice turning mocking and teasing as he spoke. ¡°I mean, you are a little biased considering your Krakotl Exterminator girlfriend-¡± ¡°For the last time, I am not in a relationship with Estala! Why do people keep thinking that? You can be friends with someone without being in a relationship, and I¡¯m 100% not into giant birds.¡± It was now my turn to turn red, embarrassment running through my body as yet another person accused me of being a xenophile. I held my face in my hands as Mike started softly singing, continuing his teasing. ¡°Joseph and Estala, sitting in a tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First comes love, then comes Marriage, then comes the egg in the Krakotl carriage!¡± ¡°Oh shut up you-!¡± I gave Mike an exacerbated look, a few other Venlil giving concerned glances towards the weird pair of humans, suggesting it was time to calm down. Mike took this hint, sincerity entering his voice once again. ¡°But yeah, gotta be honest, it was a little crazy hearing you decide to move in with one of the pyros.¡± ¡°Estala is a good person. A little unsure of herself and needs a lot of therapy, but who doesn¡¯t after everything? She¡¯s been a little bit of stability for me over the last few months.¡± ¡°Yeah, the last few months have been crazy. You doing OK?¡± You doing OK? How do I respond to a statement like that? How would anyone be doing in my situation? London was gone, nothing more than atoms scattered to the winds. The little coffee shop with the overpriced muffins that I used to study at was gone, the countless museums, the walk down the River Thames: all gone. They¡¯d given me my doctorate. Not earned, given. Technically my name was Dr Joseph Adler, but using that felt wrong, as I never got to defend my thesis. The final document was still sitting on a secure cloud server somewhere, awaiting an event that would never happen. The university where I¡¯d been getting my PhD was nothing more than just a memory, along with most of the people I¡¯d met while studying there. None of that was the worst of it. I was enjoying my time on Skalga. Even near the beginning, back when every single person would flee in terror at my mere presence, back when what counted for law enforcement here would grip their flamethrowers tighter as I walked past. No, not even that could dampen my spirits at the sheer wonder of walking and interacting on an Alien planet, with alien culture and alien fauna. I¡¯d see something cool, or Estala would do something adorable, and immediately I¡¯d want to text the info back home. Then I¡¯d remember. There was nobody to send a message to. Part of my brain couldn¡¯t wrap my head around the idea that they were gone. That at any moment now the parents who raised me, the older sister I¡¯d always looked up to, would call me or respond to my long unanswered messages, and we¡¯d chat about how crazy the universe is. Then everything would be fine again. It never would be. The last time I¡¯d seen them was right before I boarded the shuttle off of Earth. I¡¯d been given refuge on Skalga, presumably because of my degree. They¡¯d also been offered the same, but were unable to take it because of Vanessa¡¯s condition: the heavy gravity wouldn¡¯t work for her. They told me it would be fine, to have fun, to not worry about them. The last time I¡¯d spoken with them was right before the battle of Earth, as they were planning to enter the bunkers. Their only thoughts were making sure I didn¡¯t worry too much about them, that ¡®everything would be fine¡¯. I kept thinking about those moments, a desperation to go back and never leave Earth, as if somehow remaining would have changed anything, the guilt of leaving them behind. You doing OK? How do I even respond to that? ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine, busy with work.¡± I respond after a moment, deflecting and leaning into my British upbringing to pull away from a serious conversation I wasn¡¯t ready to have yet. ¡°The cat project is going swimmingly, a lot of success there¡±. I wasn¡¯t even lying about that last part. The Venlil ecology was so messed up by the Federation teaching the Exterminators to set fire to anything and everything, that adding cats of all things bloody improved the environment. It was crazy, interesting as hell, and worth its weight in scientific papers. Once I¡¯d finished my paper on the positives impacts of the commonly derided environmental addition of domesticated felines in a predatorless ecological system, that¡¯s when I would use the title ¡°Dr¡±. ¡°Really? Venlil aren¡¯t freaking out?¡± I gave a small laugh at that, glad to have successfully steered the conversation to lighter topics. ¡°Cats are going to conquer the Venlil like they conquered humans. Right now, there are two main reasons for the program failing on a farm. The first one¡¯s what you¡¯d expect.¡± ¡°Something something predatory actions?¡± That was understating it. I¡¯d spent a lot of time having to rush over to various farms to collect a cat due to a Venlil freaking out the first time a cat ¡®left a gift¡¯ to their owners. ¡°Yeah. The second most common reason is they didn¡¯t let the cats out of their house. The amount of times I¡¯ve had a Venlil tell me, with no shred of irony, that they were ¡®Worried about them getting hurt outside¡¯ was not a problem I was expecting to have. I swear, half of those cats are living in better, more pampered conditions than I am.¡± Mike let out a snort of amusement. ¡°I guess the power of kitties is universal.¡± I felt the train start to slow as it approached my stop, more Venlil getting ready to leave the transport along with myself. The Venlil pointed their tails towards the now opening door, but I settled using my fingers instead. ¡°Well this is my stop, was a good chat like always. Tell Mama Nyx at the centre I said hi!¡± ¡°And tell your Krakotl Exterminator Girlfriend hello as well!¡± I didn¡¯t entertain that last statement with an answer, instead flipping Mike the bird as I walked off the train, rather glad that nobody else would know the real meaning behind such a obscene move. I couldn¡¯t help but feel my spirts lifted by Mike, regardless of his teasing. I couldn¡¯t help but feel good in general as I walked along the strange curved streets of Dayside city, the novelty of living on an alien planet never having worn off. The fact that nobody seemed to care any more about a ¡®unmasked predator¡¯ roaming the streets also helped my mood. No matter what people said, things were clearly on an upwards trend in the universe, the absolute mess the Federation had left gradually being reversed. Acceptance of humans was becoming commonplace even in remote areas of the planet, the Exterminators were trying to reform, and no matter my personal situation, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a level of optimism. I entered the apartment block where Estala and I lived, getting in the lift to travel the ten stories to the top of the building; The Krakotl obviously having no problems or finding any inconvenience in being that far from the ground floor. I couldn¡¯t help but have my thoughts drawn towards the silly, mango loving, very traumatized bird who had offered to host me in their home. Estala was a strange case: someone who was clearly trying their best in a bad system, a reflection of the tragedy of the mess humanity had found themselves in. She was younger than I was by some degree, yet had gone through experiences I couldn¡¯t imagine. The Krakotl was a key example that even the Exterminators were a victim in this whole messed up situation. As I opened the door I couldn¡¯t help but feel happy for Estala. She had clearly come a long way and was doing far better than the mess who had nervously approached me in the forest all those months ago. For the two of us life was looking up and getting better. Or so I thought, as I entered the chaos of the apartment. Chapter 9: Past mistakes and reasons. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: May 8th, 2134 ¡°Welcome everyone. Thank you for your time and presence today.¡± I tried to keep my voice as enthusiastic as possible, even as the weeks and months weighed on me. Venlil Prime was¡­ rough. The constant sunlight and oppressive gravity was draining me of any energy I had, straining my feigned attempt at positivity. ¡°This is a mandatory training event on how to properly diagnose predator disease after a confirmed report from one or more members of the public. I am Prestige Exterminator Estala, otherwise known as the ¡®Hero of Voyak¡¯. Before I start, do we have any questions?¡± I looked out into the sea of mostly Venlil faces staring back at me, bored tail flicks and uninterested expressions filling the otherwise sparsely furnished Predator Disease test viewing room. A computer with the results of the already complete analysis was shown on the monitor to my left, and a one way glass plane filled the entire wall behind me, allowing us to see the patient in question. One of the Venlil, an Officer Purdal slowly raised a paw, standing out from the crowd of Exterminators packed into this small room. I¡¯d made sure to gather at least one Exterminator from each district on Venlil Prime, which led to a veritable herd of people packed together in one place. Also, all I can smell right now is fur. The Venlil¡¯s lack of smell is very apparent. ¡°Why are we here?¡± Purdal asked slowly, getting a few bleats of agreement as he spoke. ¡°Just because Dawn Creek made a mistake doesn¡¯t mean the rest of us are incompetent as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying you are incompetent,¡± Although you probably are. ¡°But with the impact of negative perception on our roles, the guild wishes to ensure all its members are trained in the latest legal requirements. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here from Nishtal.¡± I tried to keep my voice professional, but even that was a task considering the sheer number of¡­ issues I¡¯d seen with the Venlil Prime Exterminator¡¯s guild. Nishtal had its fair share of Exterminators who weren¡¯t quite fit for the uniform, but the Venlil seemed to attract entire herds of them; their general weak, skittish nature causing even those who wanted to be Exterminators to end up¡­ subpar. ¡°We¡¯re going to go through an example case, to discuss exactly what went wrong with the Tarlim case, and how to avoid it.¡± I gave a stretch as I felt several parts of my spine pop and crack, complaining about the constant pressure placed upon the bones; The gravity never ended on Venlil Prime. My first time trying to fly had resulted in me immediately face planting into the ground. I pointed my wing towards the glass window and the patient beyond, the Venlil still remaining motionless on the reclined seating, making no movements as always, a blank expression on their face ears and tail. ¡°This is Tradiv, a 17-year-old male Venlil, reported by his brother for possible type C predator Disease, or a lack of a proper emotional response to predators and the herd. Two weeks ago, I applied an empathy test to Tradiv which came back positive. Who can tell me what was the first mistake made in the Tarlim situation, which we have avoided here?¡± ¡°You applied an empathy test, ma¡¯am?¡± I gave a sad sigh as a voice answered from the crowd. It really was that simple. ¡°Exactly. Dawn Creek failed so hard in this case, that they literally stumbled before takeoff.¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t they apply a ¡®Herd Standard¡¯ test? Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± I turned to look at the new offending voice, an Officer Garvad who had just said the dumbest thing imaginable. I gave him a withering glare which caused the Venlil to shrink back. ¡°The ¡®Herd Standard¡¯ is not a method of diagnosing predator disease! To provide an example: Garvad, please answer yes or no to the following questions. Do you spend long periods of time not interacting with a herd?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Work does not count, as that¡¯s an enforced herd.¡± ¡°Well¡­ yes, but I spend all my time-¡± I interrupted him with a triumphant glee in my voice. ¡°They are yes or no questions. Do you find yourself often being treated differently from others in the herd?¡± ¡°Well I''m a known exterminator, so yes.¡± ¡°Yes or no Garvad. Lastly, do you spend your time near predators?¡± ¡°...I''m an Exterminator, what do you think!?¡± I saw Garvad throw his paws up in frustration, tail darting around as I drove my point home. It was a flawed test, not designed for an official diagnosis. ¡°I''m afraid that according to the ¡®Herd Standard¡¯, you have predator disease, along with basically every Exterminator,¡± I said mockingly to a small smattering of nervous laughs as I made it quite clear I wasn''t actually accusing him of having PD. ¡°The ¡®Herd Standard¡¯ is a simple diagnostic tool for inexperienced lay people to use, such as a family member or teacher, to see if Exterminator follow up is required. The only way to properly diagnose Predator Disease is through an empathy test.¡± At this point I motioned towards the monitor to my left, drawing people''s attention to the results. ¡°Here, I applied a standard empathy test to Tradiv. Now, who can give an example when a non-standard test plan should be applied?¡± I scanned the crowd, feeling a wave of relief as I spotted at least one raised paw from an Officer Taral. I motioned towards the young Venlil with my wing, prompting her to speak up. ¡°If the person being tested is an Exterminator?¡± ¡°Correct! Exterminators are expected to have a lower fear response to predators because of our work. A doctor may have a lower empathy and fear response to injured prey, or many other reasons the standard program will not be fit for an individual test subject. Always be on the lookout for external factors that might require using one of the five other programs.¡± Feeling a little better that someone was able to provide at least some knowledge on how to be an Exterminator, I pushed onwards with my explanation. ¡°So this is the second empathy test applied to Tradiv, with the last being the prescribed test [2 weeks] before. The original test, as well as this latest one, both came back positive for type C predator disease. I technically have ran this test three times, as I assumed the original device was broken from its readings due to a lack of proper emotional response of any kind. This is one of the most severe cases of type C I¡¯ve seen,¡± I paused for a moment as I saw a raised paw appear from the crowd. ¡°Officer Bahten, You have a question?¡± ¡°Uhm, why bother with the second test? The first came back positive, he has predator disease.¡± I felt my mood drop again, resisting the urge to sigh as the Exterminator asked about what should be standard knowledge. There are no such thing as stupid questions, there are no such thing as stupid questions, there are no such thing as stupid questions¡­ ¡°Who here applies a second empathy test before giving a diagnosis?¡± Nothing. The room went completely silent as not a single paw or even tail was raised up. I felt an urge to start shouting at people for not following basic and clearly described procedures, a feeling I pushed down in order to teach these people better. ¡°OK, who here can provide a possible reason that a second empathy test is needed?¡± More blank looks, a few tails moving slowly in confusion, causing me to hold my head in my wing for a moment. By Inatala, how is ¡®this¡¯ the best this planet can muster for Exterminators? ¡°OK, there are three reasons why you do a second test. The first is to remove error. The device might be broken or might have been applied incorrectly to the patient. This can cause an inconsistent result. It''s rare, but does happen.¡± Sending false positives to a facility was just bad for everyone, the person themselves going through the false worry of having predator disease and wasting the facility¡¯s time in processing then discharging a patient they didn''t need. ¡°The second is a matter of consistency. Everyone has moments of anger or uncertainty, that in itself is not Predator Disease. The environment of an empathy test itself can cause these feelings. Fear while having a piece of technology strapped to your head, anger after being accused of having PD. A second test allows the subject to calm down and get used to the process. Remember, Predator Disease is a consistent deviation from the herd, not momentary.¡± Like how seeing a sea of blank and bored faces clearly not understanding my teaching filled me with momentary rage. You are exterminators, act like it! ¡°Lastly, it''s your Inatala damned job!¡± Suddenly, the group collectively jumped and started paying more attention. ¡°Two tests is the legal standard, and if a PD diagnosis is later deemed to be invalid, the Exterminator in charge could be held legally liable if you didn¡¯t do this. You know, like what just happened with the Tarlim case.¡± Finally, a few of them seemed to take notice. Hopefully the threat of financial and legal ruin was enough to get some of them to pay attention. I got the feeling that my next few years here on Venlil Prime were going to be very long, not just because of the gravity. ¡°So, we¡¯ve correctly deduced that our subject has Predator Disease, what is the next step?¡± Finally, the group seemed to become more sure of themselves, a few of the Venlil shouting out what they believed would be the next step as paws and tails were raised up to grab my attention. ¡°Put a behaviour control collar on them before they can hurt you!¡± ¡°Tranq dart them so they can¡¯t taint you!¡± ¡°Stun them with a baton before they tear you apart!¡± I looked on, horrified, at the suggestions the crowd were making, snippets of fear creeping into their voices as they treated the Venlil inside as if he was a rabid Arxur. ¡°No!¡± I responded, cutting off their suggestions ¡°By Inatala¡¯s talons, no! This guy has low level type C Predator Disease and has not been aggressive or combative in any way! We¡¯re taking him for treatment for the long term sake of the herd, not because he¡¯s an immediate danger.¡± He hadn¡¯t really been¡­ anything. Getting any words out of the poor Venlil other than basic conversation had been impossible, like all the life had been pulled out of him. His fur was unkempt, and a slightly hefty weight suggested a complete lethargy as the Predator Disease taint did its work. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re here to make them better. This person is a victim of a terrible disease. I¡¯m going to go in there, explain his diagnosis calmly, organize transport to a facility, and let the latest in Federation medical knowledge make him better and ready to be reintegrated into the herd. It¡¯s very simple.¡± That was the important thing to remember: Most people with Predator Disease were just people who needed our help. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be scared or to overcomplicate it. Everything is going to be fine.¡± ¡ª----------------------- Memory transcription subject: Joseph Adler, Head of research for the ¡®Predatory Pest Control on Skalga¡¯ project. Date [standardized human time]: March 9th, 2137 This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The apartment was dark as I opened the door, the curtains closed and the lights off, creating a near pitch black void as I entered the abode. I stumbled for a moment, only the light shining from the hallway letting me see further inside. I could hear noises from inside the apartment, a Krakotl speaking softly, their words indiscernible from this position. With confused and worried steps I moved deeper into the apartment, a settling feeling of unease filling my body as something about the area felt off. The sound of quiet Krakotl sobbing could be heard as I walked through the landing, an even deeper feeling of despair gripping my heart as I stood on something that only spelled bad tidings: A clump of bright blue feathers. Estala has been pulling feathers again, that¡¯s not good. ¡°Estala, you OK?¡± I spoke softly, not wanting to startle the poor Exterminator in whatever mental state I was about to find her, every step closer allowing me to hear that the Krakotl¡¯s voice was Estala¡¯s, speaking about Predator Disease and how to diagnose it. The strangest part was she didn¡¯t sound distraught, but neutral. And there was a hint of a digital tone that made me wonder if it was a recording. Going to be honest, this is creepy as hell. Eventually I came to the source of the noise and the person I expected to find: Estala, slumped in the corner, her upper torso lit up slightly as she watched something on her pad. That¡¯s where her voice was coming from, a video I recognized watching a few months ago: some training thing Estala did, where she went over how to properly administer a Predator Disease test on some Venlil that was clearly suffering from extreme depression. Of course, I¡¯d seen all of these videos before, all of the speeches she¡¯d given and media appearances she¡¯d been through. I¡¯d found and watched all of these soon after our second meeting. I wasn¡¯t stupid, as soon as I¡¯d realized the strange Krakotl was coming back to our meeting location in the forest, I¡¯d searched for any mention of the Exterminator on the Federation internet. Better safe than sorry, lest I ended up turned to ash by some anti-human Federation-addled bird. In retrospect, it was heartbreaking to hear Estala explain the fake pseudo-science that was Predator Disease, knowing that the well-meaning Krakotl Exterminator was sucked into lies and deception by generations of propaganda and fake science. Which led to the question: Why was Estala watching these? ¡°Estala, what are you doing?¡± The Exterminator gave no response, her full attention clearly transfixed on the screen in front of her beak, while the younger Estala explained to the Venlil that the next step was for them to be placed within a facility. I didn¡¯t want to think about what probably happened to that person, as like all things in the universe humanity had found themselves in, it probably wasn¡¯t good. Based on the feather pulling and gentle sobbing, I imagine Estala is punishing herself by reliving her old mistakes. The question is why? Since she was so engrossed in her past self, still not noticing my presence, I instead fumbled around for a moment in the dimly lit living room until I found the light switch, banishing the dark in an instant. Estala gave an adorable squawk of surprise as she jumped from the intrusion, the pad in her wings going tumbling as she glanced around in shock and surprise, a look of guilt covering her features as she recognised me. My feelings of worry about Estala''s mental health were replaced with worry about her physical health. The Krakotl looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to their head, cuts and bruises adorning the avian¡¯s face. Medical attention had been clearly applied, a fresh transparent cast replacing the old one, but I still reacted with concern. ¡°Jesus Christ Estala, are you OK!? What the hell happened!¡± I found myself rushing to her aid, worried about her as I looked over the Krakotl¡¯s injuries. ¡°I''m fine, it''s nothing.¡± ¡°Nothing!? It doesn''t look like nothing! Who did this to you? If it was a human we can contact the UN, they''re really on top of this kind of thing.¡± She seemed OK as I looked over her injuries, although I didn¡¯t really know of the signs of a concussion on a Krakotl. Still, she seemed to have been seen by a medical professional, so was presumably OK. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a human. It was a Venlil, and I deserved it.¡± Ah, something must have happened. Self punishment through watching old videos, feather pulling, her general¡­ demeanour. I hadn¡¯t seen her in this much of a state since the first time she¡¯d gone through the information on FederationColdCases. It was an unfortunate side effect of humanity removing the lies of the universe, so many people having their mental state and entire world view ripped away from them in an instant. The poor little Exterminator needed calm words and an understanding person to speak to her right now. I gently brushed several misplaced feathers along the top of her head back into place, hoping to calm her down with a soft touch and soft voice. ¡°Whatever happened Estala, let¡¯s just calm down, I¡¯ll go get some mangos from the fridge, and we can discuss whatever happened. I¡¯m certain you didn¡¯t deserve to get hurt.¡± ¡°I deserved it. I deserved more.¡± There was a little moment of conviction in Estala¡¯s words, before she looked up at me in a sad bird way, breaking my heart seeing her this distressed. ¡°Why do humans keep trying with us? You must think we¡¯re monsters, having spent generations hurting each other in ways you solved centuries ago. Why are you still here when you know what I¡¯ve done?¡± Of course, I knew what Estala had done. On the one hand, she was someone who had directly contributed to the ecological demise of at least 6 planets, was part of a system that sent the mentally ill to some kind of Victorian era asylum, and had actively supported and progressed an ideology that wanted to set me on fire. However, everything else I saw in Estala suggested she was a good person with a desire to protect and help others, trapped in a bad system created long before her birth. ¡°I¡¯m here because I know you¡¯re a good person. Come on, what happened, what¡¯s caused all of this self hating all of a sudden.¡± ¡°I¡­ I was investigating the heartbreak killer, and I met someone I had previously diagnosed with predator disease. I ruined his life, I destroyed who he was by sending him to that place. How can I be a ¡®good person¡¯ when I did that!?¡± Ah. All of a sudden Estala¡¯s behaviour made sense, her past actions catching up with her in the worst kind of way, leading to a spiral of self loathing. Part of me wanted to mention that she shouldn¡¯t be investigating anything while on medical leave, but I quickly realized that this wasn¡¯t the time. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. You couldn¡¯t have known what you were doing at the time. All we can do is make the best of the information we have.¡± ¡°But I should have known!¡± Estala¡¯s voice raised as he squawked out the exclamation, getting up to her feet in her objection. ¡°I saw it with Dawn Creek, it was on my list of things to do, to ensure the other facilities weren¡¯t the same! I just pushed the task back because I was busy, I should have investigated, I should have done better!¡± Estala was¡­ slightly right here, although I knew from experience that it wasn¡¯t that simple. From what I understood the state of the Predator Disease facilities was an open secret, nobody was trying to hide what was happening, but nobody was looking either. This was hardly anything new: Throughout history people had always avoided looking at how the sausage was made. Whether it was the conditions of the workers who made devices they used to access the internet, or the abusive way mass-produced factory farm animals had been treated before the invention of lab grown varieties, entire societies had accepted the tried and true method of not looking too closely at issues like this. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie and say it¡¯s good. The entire universe is messed up, and that isn¡¯t your fault. You can¡¯t blame yourself for not changing an entire ingrained societal ideology on your own.¡± ¡°So what am I supposed to say to the guy I hurt!? ¡®Whoops, my bad?¡¯ He was fine when I first met him, and now he looks like a Sunbliss addict after what I did to him!¡± I waited a few moments as the translator explained what Sunbliss was: Some kind of drug, containing¡­ oh boy, nobody should be ingesting that. Still, I got the idea. ¡°You didn''t do anything to him. A system created by authoritarian weirdos long before you were born, provided you with no choice in the matter. You can¡¯t change what happened. Heck, often what happened doesn¡¯t even have anyone at fault, an avalanche of bad decisions by hundreds of people causing a tragedy. All you can really do is learn from it, and make sure to do better in the future, a little bit at a time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy for humans to say! You¡¯ve already solved the problem!¡± I could hear the exacerbation in Estala¡¯s voice as she got more agitated. ¡°You¡¯ve only just arrived and somehow have solved all these issues that we didn¡¯t even know we had!¡± ¡°Well, humanity has had its issues as well, you-¡± ¡°I already know about the war the Farsul found.¡± Estala interrupted me, a look of despair on her face as she continued. ¡°But that was over 200 years ago! I¡¯ve read the UN data dump, about how all these issues of discrimination and ¡®predator disease¡¯ got fixed ages ago! Most of my time is dealing with people harassing humans for no reason and you people don¡¯t do anything in return. Even Humanity First was created because we couldn¡¯t stop treating you badly!¡± I watched as Estala ran out of steam, slumping back over, defeated against the mountain of issues she was trying to fix. I could understand her point, it must be demoralizing to constantly interact with a humanity that didn¡¯t have any of these Federation caused problems, that had seemingly fixed all their societal woes generations ago. That it was just so easy and that the only reason the ex-Federation hadn¡¯t managed to do the same was a moral failing. The problem was, that vision of humanity was a lie. ¡°That¡¯s, that not true.¡± I started, gathering the courage to basically break international law ¡­ intergalactic law? In order to provide my friend with the context she so desperately needed. ¡°What do you know about the UN Emergency Order 56?¡± I saw Estala tilt her head with confusion ¡°Isn¡¯t that just ¡®don¡¯t talk about eating meat around any pathetic Federation species because they can¡¯t handle something as simple as that?¡¯¡± ¡°It¡¯s a legal order to hide everything negative about humanity, including the problems we have internally. Everything you¡¯re going through, we¡¯ve been through as well, and are to some extent, still going through.¡± I take a moment to connect my pad to the Earth-based FTL communication, the standard legal warnings telling me that showing unauthorized material to humans could be a crime. ¡°I¡¯m going to show you some things to give you some contex about humanityt, but I need you to promise not to tell anyone. If anyone finds out I¡¯m showing you this, I¡¯m one hundred percent going to jail.¡± The enforcement of Order 56 had lessened over the last few months: they¡¯d stopped arresting people for turns of phrases or stating things most aliens already knew about. However, what I was about to show Estala was not within that category. ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± I quickly navigated to the video I was looking for, handing it over to the Krakotl as I watched her expression drop. I knew what it was she was looking at: Victims of those who had been born to those on Rexopoletine, deformed with distorted bodies and limbs, misshapen skulls pressing on the brain and other facial organs. ¡°30 years ago, there was a new wonder drug that cured forms of blood cancer like leukaemia called Rexopoletine. It was considered a major breakthrough and was quickly taken up by the medical profession. Unfortunately it later turned out that all children sired by those who had taken the drug would be afflicted with what would later be called Rexopoletine syndrome: Incorrect bone development caused a variety of issues in children born to people who had used the drug. By the time the medical community realized what was happening, around fifty thousand people had effectively been sterilized by the treatement, with thousands of children already born with the condition.¡± It was a major issue that was still legally and medically being dealt with today and had sparked the creation of many movies and documentaries about the practice. I could see the shock in the flared up feathers on Estala¡¯s neck. ¡°Even worse, the creators knew before everyone else and didn¡¯t tell anyone to make more money. That¡¯s not the only medical care that ended up hurting people. The 21st century had the opioid crisis, and the 20th century had their own¡­ issues. In 1949, the Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded for the new breakthrough procedure of lobotomy. Those who diagnosed and provided the treatments weren¡¯t evil, they were people being tricked, or just ignorant of later science.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ but that was still thirty years ago.¡± I gave an even deeper sigh, taking the pad back and searching for the next video I was going to show. The sounds of fighting and shouting filled the air as I showed Estala the second clip. This one was newer, the sounds of a recent protest in Chicago back on Earth, which had resulted in an over the top response by police. ¡°This was the end result of a peaceful protest about a month ago, ironically about the authoritarian method in which Order 56 was implemented. Police, who are basically the human version of the Exterminators, overreacted in a way that¡¯s not uncommon enough.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not what I¡¯ve experienced, every human I¡¯ve worked with has been nothing but professional, and all of the TV series you showed me¡­¡± I could see the look of distrust and worry in the avian¡¯s eyes, as I reached over to take the pad back. ¡°Because they aren¡¯t sending your average investigator to work with you, and fictional TV is just that: fiction. The problem of Exterminator reform and overreach of powers¡­ we know all about that, we still struggle with it, just under a different name.¡± That was the real issue with Order 56. Either it was apparent that humanity was full of shit, or you ended up with the situation of an unfortunate Exterminator believing an unobtainable version of humanity was the real one. Slowly, I selected the last piece of media I needed to make my point. This one was bad, really bad, even though the video was censored enough for news channels it was still some of the worst humanity had to offer. An Extermination fleet ship had crashed into the Mongolian wilderness, and the local population had¡­ responded. ¡°By Inatala, what the fuck?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human execution method called ¡®crucifixion¡¯. You nail a victim¡¯s hands and feet to a raised cross, and this position causes asphyxiation as the shoulder blades push into the lungs due to gravity. We also found out that it doesn¡¯t work on aliens because of differences in anatomy. There was a lot of that kind of thing going on after the battle for Earth that doesn¡¯t get talked about.¡± I finally took my pad back from Estala, who was looking a little sick now, having gone from self loathing to full on shock. ¡°Why are you showing me this?¡± ¡°To show you that we¡¯re exactly like you. There¡¯s no mythical human superiority that you¡¯re failing to reach. There¡¯s a reason we¡¯re so horrified by what¡¯s going on in the Federation: because we get it. The fact that the Tilfish used to eat their unborn young is so alien that it doesn¡¯t register in my mind as a moral or immoral thing. But the problems you have: police overreach and brutality, medical treatments that cause more harm than good, hate and fear causing people to do terrible things. We understand those problems, because even today we still struggle with them.¡± There was a moment¡¯s pause as we both just sat there, wallowing in the amount of pain and suffering in the universe, a never ending cycle of mistake after mistake, until Estala finally spoke once more. ¡°If you people have dealt with all this, then how did any of you fix it? Or do anything to make up for the harm already done?¡± ¡°Well, we punish those who are responsible, which for the record isn¡¯t you, but the shadow Kolshians or whoever that put these measures in place knowing the harm they created. And you make sure that those who were impacted get the treatment and resources needed to properly heal and move on from the harm. Sometimes it¡¯s money to allow them to recover, medical support, or just simply an acknowledgement that what happened was wrong.¡± That was the issue, wasn¡¯t it? You couldn¡¯t unharm someone, you can¡¯t go back in time and never hurt the person in the first place. All you could do was try to make it better in whatever way you could, and to make sure it didn¡¯t happen again. ¡°So what am I supposed to do?¡± ¡°Your best.¡± I responded simply, grabbing her wing and looking the Krakotl in the eyes as I spoke. ¡°You can¡¯t change what you¡¯ve done, or anything in the past. You¡¯re never going to be able to fix everything as it¡¯s more work than a million good-natured people could handle, let alone just one sad Krakotl. All you can do is learn from it, move forwards, and hopefully next time you¡¯ll make fewer mistakes, making the world a little better than it was before. Can you do that for me, Estala?¡± I gave her a soft smile as eventually the little Krakotl gave a small nod. ¡°I guess I can.¡± Chapter 10: New beginnings Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: July 12, 2136 I could feel my heart pounding as I stared out through the window, my raised gun waiting for the first predator to appear within my sights. The blaring alarms were still ringing, the harsh sound echoing along the streets, warning the herd of an incoming attack. Not that there was anyone out and about any more; anyone not in one of the bunkers had decided to lie low wherever they were, hopefully out of the grasp of any predators. My eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for any movement, waiting, ever vigilant for signs of danger. That was something ¡°The Exterminators¡± TV series never showed: most of the job was long periods of boredom, just waiting for something to happen, followed by small, brief moments of everything happening at once. I glanced around at my surroundings, tables and chairs of the office upturned to provide extra cover, the five other Exterminators all doing the same as us as waiting any contact with the enemy. The small Guild owned building we were in, when not being used as a general office and administration hub, was designed to be a defensible location allowing the Exterminators to scout out the movements of any attacking Arxur, situated at the outskirts of the city. A clattering sound caused everyone to jump as the tension in the room heightened, half a dozen pairs of eyes darting around looking for the noisy intrusion. My own heart threatened to beat out of my chest before I spotted the offending item: a can of flamer fuel that had fallen out of its pocket on a silver flame resistant uniform. The room calmed back down again, the six of us going back to our defence of this part of the town and its hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, awaiting defenseless in their shelters. There were thousands of these groups spread out all over the planet, all armed and trained Exterminators holding as the last time of defence against the Arxur, awaiting first contact with the beasts. Our job was simple: engage any forces we could, and provide information of Arxur movements to the rest of the Guild¡¯s forces. I looked over at the Venlil who had dropped the item. A Junior Exterminator by the name of Salek, no more than eleven years old, not that age mattered. When a Arxur raid was inbound, any paw, wing, or tentacle that could hold a flamer needed to help and defend the herd. I watched as Salek fumbled with the canister, shaking from ears to tail, another clanging sound echoing through the room as it scattered from his trembling paws once again. This time the others gave more annoyed and frustrated tail flicks, worried that the junior''s actions would alert any hostile predators to our position. Poor kid looks like he''s on the verge of stampeding. I moved over to his position and picked up the canister from the floor myself, placing a reassuring wing upon Salek¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hey kid, look at me, everything''s going to be fine.¡± I saw the Venlil look up at me as I touched him, a sharp movement as my contact startled him. I could see Salek breathing heavily through a slack jaw, eyes darting around unfocused as panic was completely in control of the Venlil. The kid was fully under the influence of his prey instincts, running on autopilot without a single coherent thought. I''d seen this before, especially in newer Exterminators. This was probably his first Arxur raid while wearing the uniform. Poor guy. ¡°Listen to my voice. Take deep breaths. Everything is fine, you''re going to be OK, just focus on breathing.¡± I watched as Salek listened to my instructions, taking large deep gulps of air, the staggered sound eventually slowing as I stood next to him, watching his gaze slowly regain focus and his trembling slowing. ¡°You good? You think you can continue?¡± I handed the Venlil the flamer fuel again as Salek gave an affirmative tail flick. ¡°Y-y-yes, I th-think so. How a-are you s-s-so calm knowing what''s o-out th-there?¡± I gave a small soft laugh. ¡°I''m really not. Fear is good, fear is a healthy part of being prey. But you''ve got to push through in order to keep the rest of the herd safe. That¡¯s what it means to be an Exterminator.¡± I gave a small shrug as the young Venlil looked up at me, only giving a small glance back out of the window to make sure nothing had changed, before returning to reassuring the Junior Exterminator. ¡°Besides, statistically we won''t see anything. The chance the Arxur raid this exact location is low.¡± Almost in response to my statement, the blaring predator alarms gave three short, final tones before going silent, signalling the all clear to the entire planet. Whatever threat had befallen Venlil Prime was clearly over. ¡°See, everything is fine kid.¡± I gave Salek a final reassuring pat, before turning to the now relieved rest of the room, the tension evaporating as the raid was declared over. ¡°OK, squad, we''ve got work to do, standard post stampede cleanup. Check for anyone injured in the rush, see what damage the predator attacks did, and get treatment and aid to anyone that needs it.¡± The end of the predator attack didn¡¯t mean the end of our job. The guild would be busy over the next paw, providing aid where needed from the inevitable injuries and deaths in the resultant stampeding, as well as ensuring there were no stragglers left behind by the Arxur raid. I hoped it had been a small one, that as few people got hurt by the beasts as possible, but asking for mercy from a predator was like demanding the winds not to blow. I reached over to Salek, the young Venlil seemingly perking up now that the immediate danger of the Greys had passed, giving the Junior Exterminator a reassuring pat on the back. ¡°The worst is over, everything is going back to normal.¡± ¡ª----------- Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 10th, 2137 ¡°So what do we have to go on?¡± I asked the question rhetorically, looking at the random pieces of information shown on the digital whiteboard, the various testimonies of dates and times given by the more helpful witnesses at the facility. Jkob stood behind the controls, the Letian¡¯s regular IT experience greatly helping out with this kind of thing. I myself sat on a perch situated in the otherwise empty meeting room at the Guild¡¯s office, a bright mango coloured scarf Joseph had given me covering up the new patches from where I''d been pulling feathers. Each of us trying to solve this murderous puzzle. ¡°Well we know they are, or were, an exterminator, and that they are a Venlil of average build.¡± Joseph was right, of course. In the end I couldn¡¯t change what has happened, only try to make it better in the future. That started with bringing this murderous Exterminator to justice. Joseph and Jkob had both individually said they wanted me to rest properly till my injuries, new and old, healed up. I''d told them both the same thing: I wouldn''t be able to rest until the monster hiding behind my organisation''s name was caught. ¡°So that narrows it down to only almost every single Exterminator on the planet.¡± ¡°Can''t we just focus on Dawn Creek, since that''s where all the murders were done?¡± I shook my head, giving a sigh of annoyance. ¡°Nope. Nothing stopping someone from travelling to Dawn Creek because they see how incompetent they are. Or how incompetent they were. We also have no idea if there are more murders in another district we didn¡¯t find.¡± ¡°So our search area is any Venlil exterminator within travelling distance to Dawn Creek?¡± ¡°Which is basically a quarter of the planet thanks to the train system. That''s what, a suspect list of two hundred thousand people?¡± There was a moment of fingers tapping on a keyboard as Jkob searched through his data. ¡°161,366 to be exact, boss.¡± I gave another sigh. Far too many to search through. There must be something we''ve missed, some detail that can cut down the number of suspects. Silence took over the room as both of us mentally strained our memories or occasionally rechecked the data we''d gathered. That was the issue, wasn''t it? All of our leads were second hand, rumours and missing people reports with the only first-hand witness being a child who only got a glimpse of ¡°A Venlil in an Exterminator suit¡±. There wasn¡¯t even any real evidence still that it was an Exterminator, perhaps just some kind of twisted fan who got their hands on a uniform. We were merely assuming so because otherwise we had literally nothing to go on. Maybe we can see if the facility members know anything else, see if we can get more info on a second meeting with them? Although I really don¡¯t want to go back there. ¡°Boss, something I''ve been wondering. Whoever¡¯s doing this, why didn''t they keep wiping the records? If they kept doing that, there''s no way we''d even know there was ever a killer.¡± That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a good point. Jkob¡¯s assertion was correct: it was only the predator attack records of the three latest victims that let us know what was even happening. Without those records, there would have been no media attention, the humans would have never spotted them, and whoever was doing this would be free to keep doing it. Whoever was doing this clearly had enough knowledge on our processes to keep this hidden. Unless they didn¡¯t want this to be hidden, they wanted to send a message. ¡°I think- I think they wanted people to know. Not that it was a murder, but that these people had been killed. Everyone already knew the ex-facility patients were predator diseased, but the three latest murders were just normal people who supported humans some way. Whoever did this wanted people to see that supporting humans invited ¡®predator attacks¡¯. Humans arriving was the change in their behaviour¡­¡± I trailed off for a moment at that last word, a niggling idea forming in my mind. Change. Something changed, something was different that caused the killer to change their victims. ¡°Jkob,¡± I asked, an idea starting to form. ¡°Can you show all the confirmed dates of death in order of date?¡± A furious tapping once again emitted from the Letian¡¯s fingers as they did their computer magic, changing the screen to show a depressing graphical representation of the assumed dates of the murders. Seeing it like this, it made the distinction between the pre and post human killings rather blatant, as well as instantly highlighting a discrepancy we hadn¡¯t noticed before. ¡°What happened there?¡± Jkob asked, highlighting a series of dates where the more consistent pattern of Facility patient killings stopped near instantly one paw. ¡°Before these three latest killings at a far slower pace, the original targets just seem to¡­stop.¡± While I knew we didn¡¯t have the whole picture, not with our limited information, something had clearly changed here. I rubbed my head with my wing to try and think about anything that might have changed an Exterminator¡¯s schedule during that time. It was early during the human interactions, I was busy being stupid and trying to work out what the humans were up to, failing to keep people ¡®safe¡¯. It was also around that time that the Guild decided to¡­. Decided to¡­ ¡°The suspended Exterminators!¡± Both of us shouted it out at the same time as we realized what had happened. Early during the discovery of the humans, every suspended Exterminator had been rehired by the Guild, to gather as many personnel as possible. I personally had been against the move, since they were no longer Exterminators for a reason, but the idea had been popular amongst the fearful public, so had been done. ¡°That means the Heartbreak killer is a previously suspended Exterminator who was rehired by the Guild!¡± I shouted triumphantly, the excitement of finally hitting a solid lead running through both Jkob and I. ¡°There¡¯s no way someone doing all the extra patrols and work during that period would have had time to travel to the facility and kill people there, which is why they stopped! We can search with that!¡± ¡°We can filter further! Get rid of anyone who left the planet in the last [2 years].¡± ¡°Or had an extended medical issue! Anything that would stop them from being consistent in the last [2 years].¡± I paused for a moment, thinking, before adding another limitation. ¡°Remove anyone who later had pro-human leanings. Joined the exchange program, befriended a human in any capacity. There¡¯s no way whoever did this would have changed their mind, at least not that much.¡± ¡°Also going to remove anyone who was originally suspended for general incompetence. The killer being able to hide their tracks to this level means they aren¡¯t an idiot.¡± ¡°Good thinking!¡± I waited impatiently as Jkob did his magic on the computer, the tapping of the keys sounding out as the Letian filtered our result further, leaving me to pace side to side as I waited to see if this gave us a list we could work from. ¡°31,¡± Jkob finally spoke. ¡°31 suspects who fit the criteria.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but give a gleeful trill at that news, the first good news I¡¯d had while investigating this case. Sure we¡¯d made some assumptions to get this list, but they were reasonable ones, ones that made sense. ¡°That¡¯s manageable! We just gotta go down the list one by one, filter out anyone who has an alibi at the known times, then see what¡¯s left.¡± I felt a confidence swelling in my chest at the thought that we were a mere 31 names away from finding whatever monster had corrupted the Exterminator¡¯s noble ideals to do their horrific business. I can¡¯t change what terrible things have happened, but I can make sure they¡¯re fixed in the future. Chapter 11: A meeting with HR Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: July 22, 2136 ¡°What are we even doing here?¡± The Venlil to my side asked the question as we walked through the streets, slowly marching through the never ending day that Venlil Prime offered. Both of us were fully kitted out, silver flame retardant suits shining in the sun and flamers in hand as we walked in lockstep. Normally I would avoid wearing the warm bulky uniform for day to day duties, but this wasn''t a normal day, was it? ¡°I don''t know what you mean. We''re on patrol, we are Exterminators, that''s the job.¡± The Venlil¡¯s name was Halek, he was an¡­ okayish Exterminator, probably wouldn''t make the cut on Nishtal, but here on Venlil Prime he was a perfectly average officer. Perfect for this kind of work. ¡°But we''ve just been walking in circles. Shouldn''t we be¡­ doing something?¡± It''s called a patrol, otherwise known as a fancy term for walking in circles¡­ To be fair to Halek, I knew what he was getting at. Ten paws ago everything had changed, ten paws ago the worst possible thing to happen to Venlil Prime had happened. Humans had returned from the dead, and they were hungry. They were the second known instance of sapient predators, the important facts about them being their predatory brutality against each other, and that they wiped themselves out a hundred years ago with nuclear fire. Apart from the second part was false, that hadn''t happened, the predators had survived their own cruelty, and Tarva had¡­ Welcomed them. ¡°We are doing something, we''re being visible.¡± I responded, not breaking my stride. ¡°Look around you. The herd is terrified, the news of the predators finding Venlil Prime has everyone practically stampeding over the slightest noise. By patrolling here we are being visible, telling the herd that we will continue to protect them no matter what.¡± The streets were normally far busier during this claw, the bustling herds of shoppers and commuters had been replaced with a mere few stragglers clinging together for protection. Only those who absolutely had to leave their homes were doing so, most people were still bunkering down against this new predatory threat, terrified at the horror we had found ourselves in. ¡°But isn''t there something we should be doing something proactive instead?¡± I couldn''t help but give an unintentional chirp of laughter at that suggestion. ¡°Like what? Regardless of the hundreds of calls we''re getting about seeing humans in their garden, none of the blasted predators are on the planet yet. So unless your suggestion is to jump in a ship towards their homeworld of blood, flamer in hand¡­¡± I watched Halek give a shudder at that thought before going silent once more, leaving us to our patrol. I looked around at the near empty streets and terrified populations, and wondered just what Tarva and the rest of the Venlil government were thinking. Originally I''d assumed the Venlil leader was simply buying time for the Federation to get here, a smart move when a human invasion fleet was approaching in orbit. Pretend to submit to their savagery and await the Federation military to solve the problem. However, reports from the Venlil military suggested they¡¯d driven away the Gojid defence force, and since then the government had locked down all communication to the universe outside of Venlil Prime, stopping people like myself from calling Nishtal for aid. Everything suggested that the Venlil leader¡¯s pleas of a ¡°friendly¡± predator species were actually believed, insanity that lead many to suspect these beasts had some form of mind control over prey. In retrospect, I don¡¯t even blame Tarva that much, regardless of the danger it puts us all in. The Venlil were well known for their empathy and weakness, the fact that an intelligent predator race could abuse what made the Venlil model prey was no real shock or surprise. ¡°So what¡¯s going to happen next? They say they¡¯re creating an exchange program, I guess for any poor souls who want to feed themselves to the predators.¡± I have a small sigh. Tarva claimed that the predators had empathy, that they could be trusted and were harmless. We knew better than that, didn¡¯t we? It was a naive statement wishing for a world where beasts didn¡¯t rain down from the stars and devour innocent prey. There was no case were something that consumed flesh could be considered a normal reasonable empathetic person. ¡°I don¡¯t know why the government are doing what they did, or how these predators lied to Tarva and hid their bestial ways. But I do know that a predator cannot contain its instincts for long. The mask will slip and something will go wrong long before they reach Venlil Prime. Then, the Federation will deal with these primitive beasts. They probably won¡¯t even make it to the planet itself before they stumble, we¡¯ll probably never even see a human, no matter our job.¡± ¡ª---------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 11th, 2137 I sat on the chair, the lack of a perch making the seat uncomfortable as I slumped awkwardly on the padded surface. Jkob had a better degree of stability on his own seat to my right, while we both looked across the desk at the single Venlil on the other side. The room was a simple office: a desk, a set of chairs, computers, and a few filing cabinets for any rare physical documents. The Venlil we were here to see had decorated her working space slightly; pictures of her family and a few potted plants scattered around to give the area a little bit of life. Nothing out of the ordinary. Dashnek glared at me from across the desk, her tail flicking angrily, side to side, as I patiently waited for her to speak, the Venlil¡¯s silence stating her displeasure. Dashnek was not one of the names on our list, but she was a source of information about those names, and someone I trusted to keep this quiet from the rest of the guild. There is a human saying: Amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics. Dashnek didn''t do patrols or attend predator sightings, and her last firearm certification was older than I was. But the giant machine that was the Exterminator Guild needed people to run it, and Dashnek was one of those people. She''d been here forever, knew everyone and everything about the guild, and would be a good first start on whittling down our list of suspects. ¡°You should be resting! You are on medical leave!¡± The Venlil practically growled the words at me, her annoyance clear, the elderly Venlil making me feel like a hatchling again with the first words she¡¯d spoken since I¡¯d entered the room. ¡°Well, I have a good-¡± I started to respond before being cut off again. ¡°And you should know better than to be helping her with whatever.. this is. I thought you were more sensible than this, Jkob!¡± This time Dashnek¡¯s ire was focused on Jkob, who slunk back into his seat as the Venlil pointed her claw at my Letian coworker. ¡°Well the boss said there was a good reason for it¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care! Do you know how much liability you two are putting us in by not taking your medical leave. The guild is under attack; both from ¡®Skalgans¡¯ who seem to blame us for every ill done by the Federation, and predatory lawyers lying in wait like Shadestalkers in the shadows. Estala is one of the few Exterminators with a mildly positive public opinion, especially with humans. So what do you think would happen if you end up seriously hurt because you decided to push yourself irresponsibly while injured?¡± There was a moment¡¯s pause as I began to respond, only to once again be cut off, confirming that this question was rhetorical. ¡°There¡¯d be conspiracies of what actually happened to you and people would blame the guild as a whole regardless. Not to mention the liability the guild would have if you make a mistake while in this state! So please explain, Estala, what is so important that you¡¯re breaking medical leave and providing me with cryptic notes about needing to talk about something off the record?¡± I sat there in my chair, wondering if this time she wanted me to actually respond, pressed back in my seat as I was scolded for my ¡®irresponsible¡¯ actions, feeling as if I was back at school on Nishtal, being told off for being naughty. For a moment my eyes drifted to the singular window in the office, despair filling me as I saw the opening was shut. There would be no flying away from my problems today. ¡°Well, we have reason to believe the Heartbreak Killer is an Exterminator, and that they¡¯ve killed over 40 other people because of an anti-predator ideology, and those are just the victims we¡¯ve found. Every moment we wait is a moment they might realize we¡¯re onto them, and we can¡¯t have this be an official investigation because whoever is doing this has access to our systems. We¡¯ve got a shortlist of suspects, but Jkob and I are hoping you can make it shorter and tell us which Exterminators have known alibis or the inability to commit these crimes.¡± There was a pause as the sheer magnitude of what I¡¯d just said kicked in, her ears and tail falling back as the amount of negativity, liability, and just general moral issues that would befall the guild if we didn¡¯t catch this monster before this information became known to the wider public sank in. Dashnek paused for a moment, the elderly Venlil taking the pad of information I was handing her and giving me a suspicious look. ¡°Well, I guess that information does change this slightly. You still should be resting, but¡­ time does seem to be of the essence.¡± ¡°If it helps, Estala was already on the case before we figured out it was an Exterminator.¡± Jkob childishly added, causing me to give the Letian a glare before Dashnek gave an annoyed beep in my direction. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll help. But after this I¡¯m resetting your medical leave, and you will have the rest that you need, Estala, no ifs or buts. I swear by Solgalik I will get the humans to physically keep you in one of their facilities if that¡¯s what it takes for you to stop working!¡± I kept my head dipped as the Venlil gave me a final bout of chastising, before she finally looked over the information I¡¯d brought along, kept off of the Exterminator databases just in case our target was still watching for any investigation. Dashnek would occasionally look something up on her computer as she went over the list of names and times we¡¯d provided, muttering to herself as she cross-checked something. She knew everyone in the guild. I liked to think of myself as someone who took effort in learning about the members under my command, but a lot of these names were Exterminators before I¡¯d even arrived on the planet. Her job was to deal with personnel problems: legal issues and the like. While she wasn¡¯t perfect, as nobody could be in an organization as large as the Exterminators, if anyone could narrow down our search it was her. ¡°Here. Not sure about all of them, but these can¡¯t be your killer.¡± She handed the pad back, this time with 13 fewer names on it, nearly half of our job done in less than a quarter claw. ¡°A bunch of them worked with a security company that hires ex-Exterminators, their shift timings wouldn¡¯t allow them the freedom to be at Dawn Creek that often. A few have pro-human leanings they keep to themselves, including one in an adorable relationship with a human. Lastly, one of them is a functioning Fainter, only found out when they came across a predator for the first time and locked up. Didn¡¯t go in their public record due to privacy reasons.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but give a chirp of success as the difficulty of our task was reduced in an instant. ¡°This is why we came to you Dashnek, you¡¯re the best.¡± She gave another small beep of annoyance, tail flicking towards me in a warning manner. ¡°Don¡¯t think flattery will stop me from forcing you to rest, Estala!¡± The Venlil then turned her wrath upon Jkob again, pointing a claw towards the Letian ¡°And you need to make sure this idiot doesn¡¯t hurt herself more. Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t noticed that the cast on her head is new, we need less brain injuries.¡± Jkob gave a shrug and a small quip back as we both got up to start to leave. ¡°Boss is well known for her hard-headedness.¡± Dashnek gave a few undeserved amused tail flicks at that. ¡°That she is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m standing right here!¡± The absolute cheek of these two! After mumbling a quick set of thanks to Dashnek for her work I left the room with haste before the pair could continue to insult me, feeling properly chastised for my refusal to rest. All I wanted to do was avoid my deep-seated problems through work. Was that too much to ask? I felt a wave of relief as my pad began to vibrate, giving me an excuse to focus on the incoming message and allowing me to avoid talking about my deep-seated problems through work. That feeling of relief was replaced with anxiety as I saw who it was contacting me. Minister Rolem. Maybe he¡¯s finally come to his senses and is letting me help him. I clicked the message, eager to see what the High Minister had to say. While his plan to blend the exterminator duties with the police was an understandable one given the multiple incidents and disasters the district had suffered, it wasn¡¯t a perfect solution to completely disband their exterminators in their entirety. Already, I had found evidence of calls being ignored due to them being far beyond what the police signed up for. Not a single predator sighting was looked into, and more worryingly, there were several calls about a violent crime being ignored. Hopefully Rolem agreed with my proposal to reintroduce the Exterminators to Dawn Creek under my series of reforms. To: [email protected] From: HigMVenDW.Rolem.Gov File link attached: 390.4burn.lzd To my concerned friend Estala. The data you have sent over is indeed concerning. The disbanding of the Dawn Creek extermination office along with the others in the other towns of the District of Dawn Creek was not a choice taken lightly, I assure you. And I must thank you for bringing up the failures and growing pains that necessitate addressing for true stability going forward. However, I must deny your proposal of using the arsonists of surrounding districts to address these concerns. To have done so is a violation of the District Jurisdiction procedure, and frankly causes issues when your fire-loving maniacs try to barge in and damage what little trust my people have in my cabinet. As you can see in the attached file, we have 4 officers penned for this violation of jurisdiction, and more specifically for reckless endangerment of life and property. We were lucky to have doused the forest they attempted to set ablaze as soon as they were on the third tree. You may send us payment for the fines, and we shall release them into the custody of the head office for processing and reprimand. Please inform the surrounding districts that Dawn Creek has no need for invasive arsonists, and any who complain are free to bend over and stick their heads in each other¡¯s asses. Yes, keep that in. Thank you. My Dearest Regards, High Minister Rolem No no no no no no no! Inatala damn it! No! What is the idiot thinking! What was the adjacent guild thinking! With a level of despair, I opened the attachment as I saw the report of a group of four officers who had responded to the predator sighting a few paws ago and started setting fire to the area because they had found an active den. They¡¯re not even supposed to be using flamers outside of emergencies! I didn¡¯t know who I wanted to throttle more: Rolem, or this group of idiots. Sure, it was only one incident of four morons doing the wrong thing, compared with the hundreds of calls the surrounding districts had been dealing with in Dawn Creek, but the single incident would be enough of an excuse for the anti-Exterminator Magister to start enforcing district jurisdiction. Inatala damn it, this is going to ruin everything! With a flurry of anger I started composing a response, rage and annoyance fuelling my frantic button presses. Dear Spehing idiot. While I¡¯m absolutely appalled at the actions of the officers in question for being morons who seemingly can¡¯t follow simple edicts like ¡®stop using flamers you speh-headed twats¡¯, and I am planning on shoving my foot so far up their ass they¡¯ll no longer need their annual medical checkup, stopping the local districts from covering up the fallout from this failing experiment of yours is absolutely brahking moronic, and you should check your ears for feathers! The Skalga Exterminator guild can hardly handle the job thrown at them, with Venlil Exterminators already scraping the bottom of the barrel for their hires regarding people willing to do the job, so expecting the police to take over these duties is like throwing an egg out of a window and expecting it to fly! What if there¡¯s another human riot? You think a group of police officers who hide under their decks at the thought of meeting a human are going to deal with that? This is going to end in tears and sadness because you are being a empty-headed stubborn fucker! But let me explain what¡¯s going to happen, since I seem to be the only person with two braincells to rub together on this Maltos forsaken tidally locked stupidly high gravity fucker of a planet! The police are going to miss something, probably a lot of something''s, the surrounding guilds will no longer deal with it and someone is going to get hurt, or even killed! Some Feddie thinking idiot is going to take it into their own hands to deal with a human sighting because nobody turned up, or a human is going to kill themselves with alcohol poisoning because they¡¯re too stupid not to overindulge in the rocket fuel you Venlil call a drink, which nobody will respond to because the police will be too busy crying in the corner at the thought of having to interact with a ¡®predator¡¯. Then it¡¯ll become a media issue, you¡¯re going to get removed which I really don¡¯t want, because while you¡¯re a stubborn idiotic moron who is going to be the death of me, you at least want change. Instead, you¡¯ll get replaced by some Veln supporting cunt and everything is going to go back to stupid Feddie thinking! All because you can¡¯t get out of your own way, because you¡¯re a dumb, moronic, Speh headed, brahking cloaca sniffing featherless CUNT AND EVERYTHING WILL BE TERRIBLESADFV ASKDJFVASDFMV CAKLSJFGDVMNALKJSFDVN The pad clattered onto the ground from my hands, as my final flurry of pure angry typing caused the device to slip from my wings. It left me breathing heavily, feathers fully flared out in rage, Jkob staring at me as he stood in the empty hallway. ¡°That good, Boss?¡± I gave a sigh, closing my eyes and taking several deep breaths to calm myself down, letting the annoyance of people not doing what they need to do slowly leave my body. ¡°Rolem just stopped other districts from helping Dawn Creek, which is going to be an issue.¡± ¡°Wait, is that going to impact our investigation?¡± I massaged my temples, trying to relax, giving a deep sigh before reaching down to pick up my fallen pad. ¡°No, we¡¯re head office. He can¡¯t stop us as our jurisdiction is the entire planet. But it is going to cause issues.¡± I gave a final sigh, turning back to the message I¡¯d written out, preparing to rewrite the text into something more professional. I had a habit of requiring several drafts to write a professional sounding message when stupidity was involved. It had taken me three attempts to write a message regarding the Ipsom Grove Mango farm that didn''t involve threats of physical violence. But instead of the interface to write a message, I was greeted with two words that sent fear running through my body. ¡®Message Sent¡¯ ¡°No no no no! No! Undo! Delete! No!¡± In my final flurry of rage I must have pressed the wrong button and accidentally sent the message. A message where I called a member of the government a cloaca sniffer¡­ ¡°Jkob, Jkob, Jkob. You¡¯re good at IT and computer stuff. How do I delete a message I sent!?¡± ¡°Wait, you sent the first draft Boss? I did tell you that you shouldn¡¯t put your rage messages directly into the reply to. You can¡¯t delete the message once it¡¯s left your device.¡± I stared down at my messages in horror as a second notification arrived, a small little icon representing the worst thing that could happen right now. ¡®Message Opened¡¯ ¡°OK, new plan. We break into his office and hit him over the head until Rolem forgets about this message and I don¡¯t get fired.¡± Jkob didn¡¯t bother to grant that plan a response as I continued to spiral into panic, full flight mode filling my brain as I tried to work out how to fix this. No wait, I got this, I have an excuse! I quickly hit the reply button, for once feeling glad about constant human led attempts to break into my digital systems and change my profile details. This would be the perfect excuse. Dear Rolem, Please disregard this last message, as I have been hacked by the well known human terrorist group Humanity First. Thank you. Yeah, this will work, this will totally work. Smooth, perfectly believable. My pad immediately dinged in response, causing my feathers to rise. It had received a message. To: [email protected] From: HigMVenDW.Rolem.Gov Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I must say it is refreshing to have someone of your office talk so plainly to me, where they are speaking like they would to a common citizen rather than a schmoozer trying to gain favour. I appreciate that you care so much about the function and safety of this planet, and look forward to hearing about the rearranging of these officer¡¯s internals. Rest assured, there are projects being researched and implemented, things that even a dumb featherless cunt like myself will be able to understand. I do hope this correspondence can continue, I am deeply curious what other opinions you might have. Dearest regards, High Minister Rolem Well¡­ fuck. Chapter 12: Interviews, Interviews, Interviews. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: September 1st, 2136 I dropped the food in the middle of the table before sitting upon my perch, looking across the smooth metallic surface at the Venlil seated on the other side. I tried to be as calming and supportive as possible as I picked up a salad from the pile, motioning for the other to choose from the selection of snacks the vending machine in the hall had provided. ¡°Thank you for coming in, Parlek. Please make yourself comfortable, I just have a few questions.¡± ¡°I-I- I didn''t do anything. I d-don''t have predator disease.¡± I tried to give a calming reassuring look, which wasn¡¯t easy considering the cold, soulless environment of the interview room. The Venlil looked to be on the verge of stampeding, looking more and more panicked as he sat on his own seat. Of course this was a problem I¡¯d had a lot during my research, that when asked to come in for a voluntary interview by the Exterminators, most people assumed the worst. ¡°I never said you did. You¡¯re not in trouble, I just want to ask a few questions about your time with the Exchange program.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not tainted, nothing happened there, I did as the program said.¡± I gave a small sigh, watching the anxious ball of fur in the shape of a Venlil stare at me as if I were five seconds away from turning into an Arxur. While the Venlil were prey with perfect anti-predator instincts, it was occasionally annoying to deal with just how easily they fell to complete fear over the simplest things. ¡°Look, Parlek, listen. You¡¯ve done nothing wrong, the Exchange Program is an official government process. This meeting is entirely voluntary, you can leave whenever you want.¡± I slowly hopped off my perch and moved over to the door, opening it up with an outstretched wing, offering an exit. ¡°But, for my own curiosity I¡¯d like to get information from you if you please. Make sure you¡¯re safe, help protect the herd. Do you think you can do that for me? Would you like a drink before we start? We got water, teas from around the Federation, and even some cans of Sprunk.¡± ¡°J-just water.¡± I gave a small affirmative trill in response as I left the Venlil alone for a moment to calm down while I got him a drink. Admittedly Parlek did have a small Ipsom seed of truth to base his worries on, as there were rumours of certain less professional Exterminators harassing Exchange Program participants, calling them tainted. Which was dumb, considering the entire thing was officially supported by the Venlil government. Sure, it was a stupid move to offer yourself up as cattle to the predators, but if being stupid was a sign of Predator Disease, then half the galaxy would be in a facility. Eventually I returned after several minutes with the large glass of water, half expecting to find an empty room, feeling glad that Parlek was still there as I handed him his drink. He looked a little calmer after the offer of ending the interview, especially as I kept the door open while I took my perch once again. I pulled out my pad in order to take notes while I spoke, trying to remain calm and supportive in my vocal tones. ¡°So let¡¯s start shall we. Can I just confirm your name is Parlek, and you are part of the Exchange Program with the predator humans?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what caused you to join the program?¡± Aside from insanity and a death wish? ¡°Well¡­ It was the humans'' pictures of gardens,¡± Parlek answered, tail swishing in a cautious way. ¡°I¡¯m the caretaker for a local park, and seeing the predators¡¯ gardens made me curious.¡± That wasn''t an uncommon reason. The predators had created a dump of ¡°accurate Information¡± about their blood soaked species. It was an impressive creation, an entire database showing these humans doing prey activities: art, literature and other peaceful things. There was so much information that I''d barely scraped the surface during my own study, and had yet to find a mistake, any self-contradiction. It was a terrifying thought, that this trickery must have been premade. There was no way this much information had been created in the short period of time after they discovered the Venlil. Was this how they hunted, luring in prey with trickery and subterfuge? Maybe it worked together with a speculative Exterminator theory that humans had mind control, explaining why Tarva had decided to ally with the predators. ¡°So Parlek, during your conversations with the predator, did it-¡± ¡°Human.¡± The Venlil interrupted, a little less anxious and a little more defiant as they corrected me. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like being called a predator, and her name is Mary.¡± I paused for a moment, a little surprised at the conviction suddenly appearing in Parlek¡¯s voice. ¡°I apologize. Did the human ever speak of anything distressing? Such as cattle ownership, killing prey, or methods of hunting?¡± ¡°No! N-Nothing like that. We mostly just talked about our gardens, and she was careful not to speak about anything that might scare me, Mary was nice.¡± That wasn¡¯t surprising to me. I¡¯d spoken with over thirty members of the Exchange Program, and only one had anything negative to say about their predator partner. Which in of itself was suspicious and suggested that the entire thing was a trick. I didn¡¯t like your average prey as much as most of the Exchange members did their partners. The chance that this many people got long with random predators of all things made the manipulation theory far more likely. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± I said half-heartedly, before continuing with my next question. ¡°So when you were on the station, did you feel any danger from the human based on how it acted or spoke?¡± ¡°Well... Our first meeting I was terrified, but that¡¯s hardly Mary¡¯s fault! Nothing the humans did put us in danger, the only attack on the station was a Venlil attacking a human!¡± I¡¯d heard about that. The idea that the only assault during the entire physical meeting between predator and prey, had been a Venlil attacking a predator was¡­ insane to think about. Inconceivable. Especially since after attacking one of the blood soaked humans, the Venlil had been returned to Venlil Prime, unharmed. I would have guessed that a predator would use such a challenge of their power as an excuse for ¡®blame free violence¡¯. It really shows how much effort these predators are putting into their trickery. ¡°I heard about that. I¡¯ve just got one last question for you: During your meeting with the pr- human, did they do anything strange, act weirdly or anything else of note you¡¯d like to mention. Remember even the slightest piece of information could be useful to the herd.¡± ¡°Not really, we just talked and spent time around each other. It was enjoyable. Although¡­.¡± Parlek paused for a moment, tail twitching in a thinking motion. ¡°There was this one weird moment.¡± Excitedly I leaned forwards, staring at the Venlil as I expectantly waited for them to finish whatever thought they had. I knew the predators wouldn¡¯t be able to keep a lie this complicated together for this long. ¡°Mary got wet.¡± I paused for a moment, feeling my excitement dissipate into confusion, shaking my head as I tried to parse that statement. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, we were walking around the station for a while, and I noticed after we had a little rest that the human was¡­ wet. Leaking on their skin. I asked about it and Mary acted really weird and brushed it off, like she was hiding something she didn¡¯t want to talk about.¡± WHAT? How does that have anything to do with anything? I¡¯m looking for proof of these predators plans to eat people, not ¡®damp humans¡¯. ¡­ ¡­ although if it was hiding this, maybe it is important? ¡°Was there anything else? Maybe the liquid was dangerous?¡± ¡°Nah, it was just liquid. It¡¯s probably nothing.¡± I suppressed a sigh, giving a motion to the door as I did so, a forlorn feeling as yet another failed interview came to a close. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it noted, any information on these humans might be useful to us, Parlek. Thank you for your time. You can leave now.¡± I watched as the now much calmer Venlil left the room, giving a goodbye with a flick of their tail. Parlek left me alone in an interview room filled with snacks from the vending machine, and a pad filled with useless notes. I still had plenty of people I could bring in for an interview, but so far nobody had anything even slightly useful. Just what are these predators planning!? Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 13th, 2137 I sat perched upon the chair, looking at the Exterminator sat across from me, the Venlil glancing around nervously in the otherwise empty interview room. ¡°Thank you for speaking with me Salim. I''ve just got a few questions to ask you, then you can be on your way.¡± I sat alone, having split off from Jkob so we could work through the list faster. Each of us had a list of names to go through, to check on the alibi of each possible suspect. I¡¯d travelled a little while to this district, taking a train to eventually talk to the Exterminator who now sat on the chair in front of me: Salim. ¡°Sure. Um. Do I have to be alone for, um, this? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to have witnesses?¡± I gave a small chirp of confusion as the Venlil continually swapped their gaze between me and the door, his fear and worry evident as I sat nonplussed. ¡°We¡¯re going to be discussing things of a more private nature. Just calm down, you¡¯re not in trouble. I¡¯m not going to peck you.¡± Somehow this was the wrong thing to say, as Salim seemed to get even more alarmed, his fur standing on end, ears pressed against his head and tail stood stiffly upright. ¡°S-sure. I didn¡¯t mean to challenge you. I¡¯ll do whatever you want!¡± I stopped for a moment as the Venlil shouted out his reply, before shaking my head and continuing. ¡°So, just to confirm a few facts. Your name is Salim and you were initially suspended from the Exterminators <3 Years, 8 months> ago for setting fire to the Tallen farmstead?¡± ¡°Yes. I thought I saw a predator, but it wasn¡¯t, and they didn¡¯t like the damage I caused. Not that I have anything against predators! Or you! Or anyone!¡± I paused for a moment, confused as hell about why this Venlil was acting so weird. I understood that being selected for an interview by someone at the head office was hardly a ¡®calming¡¯ event, but Salim was looking at me like I was an Arxur five seconds away from tearing his head off. ¡°OK¡­ so I just want to ask what you were doing at certain times, doing an investigation on how suspension impacted Exterminators who later returned to duty. Let''s start with where were you on <20/9/2134>?¡± Stolen novel; please report. Not all of the dates I was asking about were official points of interest. If the Heartbreak Killer was in front of me, I needed to keep them guessing about the real reason for this interview. ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know. I might have gone to the market, I think. I don¡¯t know.¡±. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I responded, taking a moment to make a note before continuing. ¡°What about on <01/03/2135>, do you remember what you were doing then?¡± ¡°I¡­ um, really don¡¯t know¡­. Maybe I was working? I can find out, I promise, I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t answer your questions!¡± Once again I was taken aback by the reaction from Salim, who looked as if he was about to cry from his inability to answer my questions in a concrete manner. ¡°It¡¯s fine, there¡¯s no need to worry. What about <19/03/2135>?¡± ¡°I think¡­ I remember! There was an all paw showing of the ¡®Wandering Salesman¡¯ series at the local cinema.¡± The Venlil looked through his pad desperately for some information, before looking up at me triumphantly. ¡±I have the receipt, is this what you want? What you need? Does this help?¡± I looked at the pad that was shoved in front of my beak from across the table, the frantic energy from Salim causing me to lean back in surprise, flapping my wings slightly to keep my balance. I could see the receipt, which I could verify the authenticity of later. If correct, it would remove the nervous Exterminator from the suspects list. I was planning on asking about a variety of other dates, but the sheer anxious energy emitting from the Venlil caused me to abandon that idea, not wanting to give the poor guy a heart attack and keep him any longer. ¡°OK, that¡¯s all I wanted to ask you. You can leave now if¡­¡± My voice trailed off as Salim literally bolted from the room. He left his chair and exited the room in a flurry of speed, as if the Venlil was desperate to leave my presence, not even glancing back as he disappeared into the deeper hallways of the office. I knew being interviewed by someone like myself was stressful, but this was something else. That was very strange. ¡°For the love of Inatala, this isn¡¯t a trick question. What were you doing on <19/03/2135>?¡± Another district, another interview room, another possible suspect. If it wasn''t for the quarter claw travel time, I wouldn''t have known I''d changed offices as I looked back at yet another Venlil. Maybe we need to put some decorations or houseplants in these rooms, they really are quite dull. ¡°Do you think I''m going to tell you of all people my routine?¡± I paused for a moment as Danlek responded with a hint of anger, arms crossed, tail flicking around agitated as he glared at me. Danlek had a history of conflict and anger issues, having originally been suspended for allegedly assaulting his superior officer. Allegedly, since there had never been any solid proof of the incident, and the Exterminator managed to pass every single empathy test sent his way. ¡°Wait, what?¡± I responded, taken off guard by his response. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s not an option. As I explained, this is an official head office investigation. We need to know where you were.¡± ¡°And I said, I¡¯m not telling someone with clear predator disease my goings-on. If the head office wants this info, they can send someone who isn¡¯t tainted.¡± I felt my feathers flare out in anger as Danlek insulted me. Of course, I knew a lot of Exterminators did not like my new-found mission of reform and removing Federation thinking, but to be so brazen about it. Slowly I gave a sigh, trying to calm myself and bring the discussion to something more constructive. ¡°Look, you might not agree with my methods, but this is still an ongoing investigation. Is it really that difficult just to answer this?¡± ¡°And I said no, you speh!¡± Nope, that¡¯s it, nope. Screw this guy. I felt anger fully take over as Danlek angrily insulted me once again, this time daring to get up out of his seat as if challenging me. No more trying to be nice, time to pull rank on this little shit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the last time I checked I¡¯m your superior. I don¡¯t care what you think about me, and unless you want consequences you can stop with this disrespect and attitude right now.¡± ¡°Or what, you¡¯re going to eat me like the predator you are!?¡± What the hell is with this guy? ¡°No, I¡¯ll taze you, arrest you and then bring you into head office for interfering with an official investigation. I¡¯ve seen the record of your scores during training. I can and I will kick your ass!¡± I shouted the last words out in rage, finally standing up from my perch and matching Danlek¡¯s aggression. Admittedly, I was bluffing. Sure I had the authority to conduct investigations, and had the ability to arrest any Exterminator deemed to be interfering with said investigations. I also absolutely had the capability of putting this overconfident Feddie thinking piece of shit in his place, but doing so would advertise our investigation into the Heartbreak Killer to the guild as a whole, which might tip off the killer if it wasn¡¯t the aggressive Venlil stood in front of me. Luckily, my bluff paid off, as Danlek seemed to deflate slightly, sitting back in his chair with his tail just flicking around angrily. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I was doing back then. Probably with my family. Happy?¡± I took an annoyed deep breath, sitting back down myself, cooling my emotions. ¡°Yes! Was that so hard? Now, what about <03/06/2135>?¡± ¡°Thank you for your time Talless, you¡¯ve been very helpful.¡± I tried my best to give a cheerful response, resisting the urge to shudder as I concluded my questions. The Venlil opposite me was¡­ was¡­ if you¡¯d have asked me what the Heartbreak killer would look like, it was Talless. Everything about her was wrong, everything. The way her eyes seemed to stare through you, the monotone voice, the way her movements were stiff and forced. Like a puppet being moved by someone who only had a vague idea what a Venlil was. Of course, she wasn¡¯t the Heartbreak killer. She had the single most solid alibi in the history of alibi¡¯s, the Venlil choir Talless sings with was preforming in front of hundreds of people at the time of two of the murders. Thus it was impossible for her to be the killer, no matter how much my mind was screaming something was wrong with the Venlil. If I was being reasonable and trying to ignore my gut instincts corrupted by years of Federation propaganda, she¡¯d been perfectly polite through our conversation. The reason for her original suspension was a ¡°job duty failure¡± with no details, but in reality It was probably because every single feather on my body was stood on end just being in the same room as Talless. If I was being brutally honest with myself, I should probably trigger an investigation into the original complaint, as there was a good chance it was unwarranted. I¡¯ll just put that on my to-do list after I was no longer feeling creeped out by the blank stare of the Venlil sat opposite me. ¡°Estala, before I go, I¡¯ve been wondering¡­ what was it like?¡± I felt a moment of disappointment as I realized Talless wasn¡¯t getting up to leave, but instead had asked me a cryptic question. I shuffled on my perch uncomfortably, ignoring the stare from the Venlil that looked as if she was planning on skinning me alive and wearing my feathers as a mask. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure what you mean?¡± ¡°You know what I mean, with the humans. I¡¯ve always wondered if it was the reason they are so strong, whether such things are the difference between prey and predator.¡± Nope, I was very very creeped out right now. I could feel my feathers further standing on end as the Venlil continued to talk in her monotone voice. ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand. You don¡¯t want to talk about it here, at the guild. Keep it low-key. I get you.¡± I watched as Talless gave a stiff and jerky tail movement to signify understanding, leaving me even more concerned. I gave a forced cough, trying to remove some of the tension in the room, before pointing to the door of the room with an outstretched wing. ¡°Well, I¡¯m very busy today, so if you could see yourself out¡­?¡± Finally, the Venlil got up from her chair, making her way towards the door, before turning to look back at me and giving an unnatural smile, the action looking even stranger than when humans did it. ¡°If you want to talk about it later, you know where to find me. I would be very interested in hearing about the experience.¡± I watched as the very creepy and strange Venlil finally left the room, finally leaving me alone and very confused. I slumped over on my perch as I gave a deep sigh of relief. That was just weird. ¡°Yeah all of ¡®em checked out over here as well, boss. All had something proving they weren¡¯t there.¡± I was once again sat in the van next to Jkob, both of us describing the events of the last several claws and catching up on the status of our investigation while the van drove us back to head office. We were exhausted, travelling between districts and interviewing Exterminators for several hours straight left us with no energy at all. ¡°Well, I guess a negative result is still a result. 9 more names off the list. We¡¯ll get some rest and pick this up next paw. Good work.¡± I slumped over in my seat, watching as the streets of Skalga passed by outside the van¡¯s window. For a moment I wished I was a human with their insane stamina, being able to work for hours without rest, before leaving that thought behind and giving a final tired groan. ¡°How were your interviews, Jkob? Not the result, but the general vibe? I don¡¯t know what was going on, but everyone was acting so¡­ weird today. Like they were all expecting me to do something that I had no idea about.¡± ¡°Nah, everything was fine on my end, Boss. It¡¯s probably just the thing on Bleat that¡¯s gone viral regarding you.¡± I gave a confused head tilt in response, looking across questioningly towards the Letian. ¡°What ¡®thing on Bleat¡¯?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it, boss? I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working, I haven¡¯t had time to waste on social media!¡± Brushing aside the feelings of exhaustion I pulled out my pad, navigating to the site with just a few button presses. Bleat was the most popular social media app on Skalga, with only the Federation wide ¡°MyHeard¡± providing any competition in the Venlil market. The first thing I saw when I logged into my account was a worrying message. You have 74555 notifications. That couldn¡¯t be good. In fact, it wasn¡¯t good, as plastered all over my homepage were links, mentions and reactions to a video with an extremely provocative title. ¡°KRAKOTL EXTERMINATOR DEVOURS KFC! FLAME BIRD GONE HUMAN GONE SEXUAL IN THE HOOD!¡± And there I was, on video: eating, and very clearly enjoying, the fake meat substitute. Sure my name wasn¡¯t mentioned, but there weren¡¯t a lot of Krakotl Exterminators on Skalga to check against, and I was one of the more famous ones due to my vocal pro human view point. The fact Joseph had pulled out the Plushie of me during the video made it all the more obvious who the Krakotl was. I hadn¡¯t even thought of this being a problem at the time, caught up in the moment of proving the human wrong, ¡®baiting¡¯ me into consuming the food item with the suggestion that I was still stuck under Federation thinking. I would have assumed that the humans at the location would have wanted to keep this silent, but even predators couldn¡¯t resist the allure of social media fame. The reaction was mixed and incendiary, the Venlil network aflame with accusations of ¡°Feddie¡± and ¡°Predator Diseased¡±. Claims that this was the human''s plan to turn us all into predators, whether I¡¯d been brainwashed or already had predator disease. Others called the action brave, declaring I was throwing off the shackles of the ¡°Cripplers¡±, that all Federation thinking, whether it was crippled knees or the fear of meat should be cast aside. The minority of human commenters mostly made jokes and bad puns, either mentioning that I looked ¡®adorable¡¯ while enjoying the food, or calling me ¡®Birb Colonel Sanders¡¯, whatever that meant. I could feel a panic rising in my chest as the actual implications of what this meant started to fully hit me. I was going to get fired at the very least, there was no way an Exterminator could be seen eating ¡®fake meat¡¯. Sure the facilities didn¡¯t exist any more, but there were probably other terrible things that could happen to me. Even worse, the reforms I was pushing for would be delayed, everything would collapse, everything would be terrible. This was the worst thing that could happen. ¡°No no no no no!. Jkob, how do I remove a video from the internet?¡± The Letian just had a laugh at that, causing my mood to sour even further as I continue onwards in my panic spiral. ¡°I¡¯m being serious! This is bad, this is really bad! I¡¯m going to get fired, or arrested, or¡­ shit!¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not, don¡¯t panic so much. Nothing''s gonna happen, it¡¯s just internet drama, boss.¡± Jkob looked entirely undisturbed by the entire situation as I pulled a mango out of a pocket on my uniform, stress eating the delicious fruit as I continued to freak out. ¡°It¡¯s not nothing. An Exterminator can¡¯t be seen eating¡­. That!¡± ¡°They can and will. Remember, one of the new laws that got signed in with this Sapient Coalition thing is you can¡¯t discriminate based on diet. If the guild fires you I¡¯m sure that guy with the ¡®Lawven¡¯ adverts would love making you rich.¡± I paused, thinking over the Letian¡¯s words. That was true, any attempt at discrimination against diet came with legal repercussions now. It wasn¡¯t like eating vegetables cooked into the form of meat was illegal in any way. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t get fired, but people are still going to-¡± ¡°Do what? Hate you, which they already did because of your pushing for reforms?¡± Jkob interrupted me, explaining this with a bored sound in his voice, as if the entire thing was obvious. ¡°Anyone still spouting ¡®predator disease¡¯ this and that after everything we¡¯ve learned this year is an ass. Do you care what an ass thinks about you?¡± I felt the panic start to dissipate as I realized that Jkob was right. The only people who would have a problem with this, are the kinds of people who already thought I was ¡®Predator diseased¡¯ due to my pro-human viewpoint. ¡°I guess¡­¡± ¡°If anything this helps. Most of the recent negativity against the Exterminators is about its ties with the Federation. People seeing a prominent Exterminator reject outdated ideologies is probably a net positive.¡± I gave a final sigh, finishing my mango and feeling a bit better after Jkob¡¯s words. The Letian was probably correct, it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal in the long run, I¡¯d just have to avoid social media for a little bit. ¡°So what am I supposed to do about it then?¡± ¡°Nothing. People will forget. Based on how this year has been going, there¡¯ll probably be another groundbreaking revelation where god is real or something within 7 paws and nobody will care about a Krakotl eating fake meat.¡± Chapter 13: Of Firearms and Firings Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: September 29st, 2136 BANG. BANG. BANG. Three shots, three hits, centre mass, the target disappearing as the bullets ripped through the artificial representation of an Arxur, my actual shots thudding harmlessly into the backstop of the firing range. I¡¯d already moved onto the next target, tilting my head as I focused on the rapidly moving representation of a predator rushing my position. BANG. BANG. BANG Three shots, one hit. Not good enough. The target was moving far faster than I normally practised against, at a further distance, near the maximum effective combat range of the exterminator provided handgun. Normal guild rules and specifications didn¡¯t expect this degree of accuracy, but these were not normal times. BANG. CLUNK. The weapon misfired as the next simulated attacker grew closer. Entirely as expected, considering the drill required to clear at least one jam at random within 45 shots. Still, even though I knew the attacker was nothing more than a state-of-the-art system of holograms and computer code, I could feel a surge of adrenaline and fear pulse through my heart as the ravenous figure drew near. Fake or not, a predator and all its evils was still a terrifying thing to have rushing your position. My hands moved quickly, hundreds of hours of practice evident as the intruding blockage was removed, the next round recycled in the chamber, before putting a bullet between the eyes of the attacking ¡®Arxur¡¯, switching targets once again as the drill continued. I was the only one here, which was a shame as frankly the entire guild required far more range time; only a small minority of Exterminators passed the bare minimum required proficiency with the weaponry. Most tended to focus on the far easier to use flamers, ignoring the issues surrounding the weapon¡¯s limited range in engagements and excessive collateral damage in tight quarters. That was an oversight that I feared would be our undoing in these troubled times. Fear. That¡¯s what drove me on as I blasted away at the targets, knowing just what was at stake. The situation had gone from bad to worse, every day, every moment being yet another horror inflicted upon Venlil Prime and the noble prey who lived upon it. The humans were on the planet now. Not a lot of them, but enough to be potentially dangerous. And dangerous they were. The Gojid were well known as defenders of the herd, second only to the armies of Nishtal themselves in protecting us against the evils and horrors of the predators. They had been preparing to eradicate the human threat from our planet, but had been beaten to the punch by the bloodthirsty predators. One of the greatest military forces in the federation had been torn apart by the claws and teeth of the brutal primitive primates who had discovered FTL less than a year ago. Working together with the Arxur, they¡¯d torn the Cradle apart until it was no more. Sure, the predators claimed that they hated the Arxur, that they did not intend for the greys to attack. They¡¯d even created convincing footage of them fighting against the Arxur, showing them evacuating any Gojid cattle they could capture and fighting against the predators who tried to steal their feasts. But anyone sane could see through their lies, see these claims as nothing more than Maltos informed trickery. I couldn¡¯t help but feel my heart break as I wondered just what horrors those poor Gojid who had been taken to Earth as cattle were going through, living upon a blood soaked land ruled by predators. I fired the last shot, a final target disappearing as the drill ended, giving me a moment to see the results of this drill: 45 shots. 32 hits. All targets fatally wounded. 3 minutes 45 seconds. I wish I could set the drill to use more realistic targets, but training upon human simulations would be considered ¡®improper¡¯ and against the Venlil government¡¯s wishes. Arxur would have to do as a vague stand in. Not good enough. The assault on the Gojid home world, the supposed ¡®defensive action¡¯ from the predators, had given humans the opportunity to set up military installations on Venlil Prime itself. ¡°Cooperation with the Venlil military¡± they said. As if predators knew what cooperation was. Small pockets of vicious predator warriors, living and training on the same planet as honourable peaceful prey. It made my feathers shiver to think what vicious depravity went on behind those newly erected harsh chain link fences. But what made me truly scared was a glimpse into the pure power of their violence. From what I understood, a guild member had challenged them. Normally such an action would be considered suicide, to goad a predator into violence, but in retrospect the Exterminators had gained a key insight into the predator''s capabilities thanks to this mistake. I didn¡¯t know exactly how such a thing had happened, but I did know of two things. Firstly, an Exterminator had taken a human soldier to a Guild¡¯s firing range such as this, and had challenged them to a test of combat on a drill similar to this one. Secondly, the human had destroyed the previous record time for finishing the drill with a perfect score. That terrified me to my core. The Gojid cradle had already fallen, and it could be any paw that the predators would finally reveal their vicious plans for the Venlil people. It would be up to people like me to stop them hurting the herd when they did, an impossible task. Seeing their military on the Cradle, and seeing the firearm training results of a random predator soldier, I realized just how much better they were at inflicting violence upon those who stood against them. It was a sobering thought, considering their eventual plans had me and the rest of the herd standing against them. Once again I reloaded my firearm and corresponding magazines, ensuring I had the full 45 pieces of ammunition required, dud bullet included. I took another deep breath, before starting the drill again, for the 6th time this claw. Venlil Prime couldn¡¯t afford for the predators to be better than the Exterminators. While Tarva may be playing a dangerous game kowtowing to their vicious demands and falling for their lies, when their eventual trickery was found out it would be up to us to protect the herd from their predator depravity. I¡¯m not good enough, I need to be better. ¡ª-------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 14th, 2137 I felt the feathers on my wing stick to something, causing a feeling of pure revulsion and horror to shudder through my body as I learned I¡¯d leaned on¡­ something gross. The entire Exterminator Guild¡¯s office was a mess, dust and trash lining every possible surface. Well, calling it an office was a bit of a stretch, considering it was basically one big room filled with chairs, desks and storage. It barely even counted as a proper Exterminator¡¯s outpost. The ¡°Tree Tree Hill¡± district was an organizational oddity, a small plot of land that lay smack bang in between more conventionally sized districts. Most districts were sized around historical borders: Rivers, hills, valleys. ¡°Tree Tree Hill¡± however, was situated at the edge of civilization, smack bang in the middle of four larger areas. A strange misshapen plot of land vaguely containing ¡°everything else¡±. The entire area was made up of an industrial estate, several unmaintained and unused scraps of land that could, if you were being charitable, be called ¡°parks¡±, and a total population of around 300 people. Tourists in this district all agreed that the top attraction was the tiny train station that sat at its centre, since the train station offered such fun activities like ¡°Leaving this area and never coming back¡±. ¡°Well that¡¯s all the information we need regarding your whereabouts. Although we do have some questions regarding this district.¡± There were two total suspects at this guild¡¯s district, which made sense as all four employees of this Exterminator¡¯s office had been suspended before. It was a dead end, a place to put people who weren¡¯t quite bad enough to fire, but not good enough to be doing any important work. This entire guild¡¯s office only existed for the same reason the entire district existed: It was a legal requirement. Frankly, the more time I spent here, the more I wondered if burning the entire building down and starting again was the correct solution. The entire office was a travesty, poorly maintained equipment scattered in piles and on the floor, confidential data pads just lying on desks and chairs, and everything was¡­. dirty and dusty. I needed a shower just standing here. I couldn¡¯t imagine leaving my office in such a state. A complete lack of¡­ pride in my work or working environment was something I couldn¡¯t fathom. While I knew many Exterminators were just in it for a pay cheque and a job, this was a lack of care to an extreme degree. ¡°Yeah, in addition to our research on suspended Exterminators, we¡¯re here because there have been numerous complaints.¡± Jkob spoke as he stood to the left of me, a more accusatory tone in his voice than mine. I could see the dislike in the Letian¡¯s body language, the absolute disgust we shared at the unprofessional actions of this district''s Exterminators. All four of them sat in front of us, haphazardly slumped on chairs or any seating they could find not covered in rubbish, lacking the self pride required to be embarrassed at what they were showing us. Sure, none of them were the Heartbreak killer, but that didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t in trouble. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°The herd seems to have no complaints with how we keep them safe in these troubling times.¡± The grey coloured Venlil called Ravlek spoke in a disinterested tone, the disgrace of an Exterminator being the closest thing to a ¡°leader¡± in this district. I already didn¡¯t like any of them, so the lack of care being shown made my blood boil internally. ¡°Well, there have been. Too many for such a small district. For starters, we¡¯ve been told that you¡¯re still using flamers, which the guild has specifically banned in recent paws.¡± I spoke curtly as I stood up, annoyed, picking up a flamerthrower which had been left haphazardly on a desk. I felt a mixture of horror and rage as I realized the fuel canister was still dangerously attached. ¡°Which should all be in long term storage, not lying around still armed!¡± I glared at the group of useless Venlil as I waited for an answer, taking the time to remove the fuel canister and make the weapon I held in my hands safe, in order to avoid burning this pitiful office to the ground. None of them seemed to care, one of the group even giving a flick of the tail that seemed to taunt me. ¡°Well, they were banned apart from in emergencies.¡± The deep black Venlil named Glavan, a smug smirk in her voice as she did so, as if daring me to do anything about it. ¡°With the infestation of predators we are currently suffering, our district''s situation is an emergency.¡± ¡°What predator infestation? And why has this not been reported to head office!?¡± I gave a confused shake of my head at that statement. ¡°What predators are settling here, there¡¯s nowhere for them to hide, this area couldn¡¯t support a-¡± I stopped as Jkob gave me a polite tap on the shoulder, interrupting me as I questioned these idiots. ¡°Boss, they¡¯re clearly talking about humans.¡± I could see the stifled looks of humour on the four Venlil¡¯s features, my glare wiping their merriment off their stupid tails and ears as my feathers flared about in anger. ¡°Oh you think that¡¯s funny do you! Well let¡¯s see how funny it is when I fire all of you for breaching the Exterminator rules and regulations. We¡¯ve had over eleven complaints of this district harassing humans, which considering that nobody really comes to this shit heap of a district, is a worrying amount of complaints!¡± ¡°They¡¯re just lying predators, we haven¡¯t done anything against anyone while protecting the herd. It¡¯s our word against theirs.¡± Ravlek said in an annoying tone, not bothering to even sit up straight, as they looked completely unperturbed by my threats against his job. ¡°Jkob, get me the body cam footage from these idiots, and I swear if there¡¯s anything wrong in it¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, they¡¯ve not been working for a few paws.¡± Glavan said more confidently than I liked, her tail swishing nonchalantly. ¡°Nothing records.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± I shouted in return as I took an annoyed step towards the four ¡°Do you really think that¡¯s going to work as an excuse?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve reported it to head office, I have the report ID if you need it. With the budget cuts and the issues caused to the Exterminators by this Tarva government, we¡¯ve been unable to fix it. It is really a shame.¡± I wanted to taze them. I wanted to taze them. I wanted to punch them in their stupid little smug throats and their racist Feddie thinking as they- ¡°Got the backups boss.¡± Jkob interrupted my rage spiral, the Letian holding up a data pad triumphantly. ¡°Someone had deleted all the main camera records, but the backups were still working. Also, they really need to update their systems, they haven¡¯t applied a security patch in years.¡± ¡°Backups?¡± Ravlek asked. All of a sudden the calm uncaring demeanour of the failures masquerading as Exterminators changed in an instant, the four all suddenly sitting up. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jkob responded with a shrug. ¡°All data gets backed up, just in case it gets deleted. You can turn it off in the settings, but it¡¯s on by default.¡± It was now my turn to look happy, staring at each of them as the four Venlil started to squirm, a righteous jury building in my person as I started to shout at them. ¡°Now, based on what I¡¯m seeing here, I¡¯m going to comb through every single interaction you¡¯ve had with a human, and if I¡¯m seeing anything other than the absolute pinnacle of professionalism, I am going to destroy your careers, do you understand!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not-¡± Ravlek started to talk, before I cut them off. ¡°No! You don¡¯t get to speak! Look at this place! It¡¯s an absolute disgrace!¡± I stood above the four sitting Venlil who were not far more alert and sitting back in their seats as I towered over them. ¡°This place is disgusting, you¡¯ve got dangerous fuel canisters just lying about everywhere, your uniforms are a shambles, everything is disorganized, dirty and everything I see is an absolute embarrassment to the Exterminators name. Even if I don¡¯t find anything wrong with your conduct, this stops right now! When I return here, I expect to be able to eat off this floor or Inatala so help me you won¡¯t have to worry about any predators!¡± ¡ª---------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 14th, 2137 I sat upon my perch back at home once more, a half-eaten mango held in one wing, using the other to navigate through the hours of recorded body cam footage on my computer. The room was dark apart from the glow of my screen, Joseph wasn¡¯t back home yet, leaving me alone with my work. Which was a good thing, considering I¡¯d spent the last half claw doing nothing but swearing. The ¡°Tree Tree Hill¡± district Exterminators reactions against humans were¡­ OK, if I was being honest, it wasn¡¯t the worst I¡¯d seen. Nothing criminal. No assault or property damage, just harassing humans. Normal people going about their day, humans wandering around and seeing what Skalga had to offer, like the curious primates are known to do. It still wasn¡¯t acceptable though, not what the Exterminators stood for, and it made my blood boil. My efforts focusing on Exterminator reform was an attempt to show the world that the organization I¡¯d put my entire faith and life in was more than just a Federation mouthpiece. It still stood for protecting the herd from dangers and keeping people safe. All that had happened was the definition of herd and danger had changed. Exterminators like these four idiots, holding onto old broken Feddie ideals, were a harsh reminder that not everyone wanted to change. I finished collating the information for my official report, giving it a final look over before inserting it into the system. Getting these idiots fired would be easy: Multiple breaches of policy, dereliction of duty, lack of proper maintenance. By now, most of the upper levels of the Exterminators were also pro reform to some extent, even if it was for the more selfish reason of making sure the organization survived in these changing times. Of course, someone else would have to investigate it, confirm the evidence with the harassed people. In addition, before they could be removed, there were the requirements for replacements to be found, which¡­ that could take a while. The guild was suffering a personnel crisis, and you couldn¡¯t just leave a district without an Exterminators'' guild without express permission from the magister of the district, which wouldn¡¯t happen since that magister wanted to do the least amount of work. Putting that together would cause this to last¡­ [months]. What they¡¯d done was bad enough to get them fired eventually, but not enough for people to care to speed up the long bureaucratic process of doing that. Which angered and annoyed me. They could resign, but I doubt they¡¯d do that based on that attitude they¡¯d given¡­ Unless¡­ I knew someone who specialized in this kind of thing, didn¡¯t I? A number I had of a very very scary lawyer, or at least his assistant. I couldn¡¯t just tell them outright to go sue someone in the guild, that was probably a major conflict of interest. Of course, if they found out about this lawsuit worth actions all on their own, that wouldn¡¯t be my fault, would it? Quickly I looked through my pad, finding the contact information I¡¯d saved of the very scary Venlil, and sending a message From Estala: Hello, it¡¯s Estala. I¡¯m just checking to see if there¡¯s any update on the Mango farm, as I sent the information through. It didn¡¯t take long for me to get a response From Venric: Greetings Estala. I must say it¡¯s a pleasure to get an official interested in my case in the sense of me winning it. The local council quite suddenly sent out some emergency assessment fees after receiving the letter, and it caused a minor coup. We are currently waiting for the new council leadership to form for things to proceed, and that¡¯s all I can legally reveal at the moment. From Estala: Cool. While you¡¯re here, could you provide some legal advice? I¡¯m right in thinking that if required by an ongoing lawsuit or investigation, a Prestige Exterminator like myself would be legally required to provide any relevant information to said investigation (Such as body cam footage, ongoing internal investigations, etc etc)? I was hoping that this was obvious enough to signal that I had something they might be interested in. From Venric: For such an officer to give testimony as well as information would have quite a bit of weight behind it. But you should know that by the letter of the law, the only ones legally required to divulge information are the specific District Office and officers within. Eehhhh, it was probably close enough. I could argue that regardless of the legality, the guild shouldn¡¯t be hiding such evidence regardless. From Estala: That¡¯s what I thought. I also want to check, that it often makes more sense to focus a potential lawsuit on an individual instead of the guild as a whole, especially if an internal investigation regarding this issue is already ongoing? There was one issue with this plan I had. Technically there was nothing stopping Venric from suiting the district as a whole, instead of just the four idiots involved in running it into the ground. I also hoped Venric was smart enough to realize what this message meant: If you want tips and information like this again, don¡¯t go after the guild as a whole. Frankly my job would be far easier if Venric stopped stripping Exterminator district budgets and instead focused on the individuals causing the issues. From Venric: That is quite correct, as an ongoing investigation goes to their character, and specifying the individual in a lawsuit greatly reduces the protections granted to them by being officers. If it can be demonstrated that the actions in the lawsuit go beyond the duties of their job, they can even be tossed entirely and be personally penalized for their actions without blowback upon the office. From Estala: Thanks for the information. You should check out the human visitors to the ¡°Tree Tree Hill¡± District. I think they¡¯ll be avid mango purchasers. That should be enough information for them to work out what¡¯s going there. I wished I was a Laysee on the wall, watching when the group of idiots realized that Venric was after them. A small punishment for the disrepute they had brought to the guild. Slowly reforming the Exterminators, one Exterminator and district at a time. Chapter 14: Guilt and Statistics Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 9th, 2136 I balanced the supplies unsteadily in my wings: the still warm Strayu brought from a local bakery, a dozen cans of Sprunk, and a large bag of Yatcha root slices. I walked over to the computer station, all but two of the rows of computers turned off during this rest paw as I dumped the supplies on the table unceremoniously, taking my perch and turning to face the only other person in the room. Salek, the junior Exterminator I¡¯d last seen cowering in fear during the initial emergency when the predators had arrived, sat at his own screen to my left, the Venlil looking at me quizzically as I motioned towards the pile of goodies I¡¯d brought. ¡°So, thanks again for taking the time here since it¡¯s not your normal shift. I need all paws available for this task and every little bit helps, so help yourself. If we¡¯re still here at the end of the claw I¡¯ll order us something from that new Yotul place.¡± Sure, preferably I¡¯d have far more of the herd on this project of mine, more than just a single inexperienced Junior Exterminator, but officially this project was just a simple low priority data analysis: My actual reasons couldn¡¯t be known, of going against the current government narrative and the predatory lies that so many Venlil were falling for. So a single Junior Exterminator working after hours would be my workforce. ¡°You said it was important, that you had a special data project, about the humans. What exactly is so important that it has to be done right away?¡± I gave my wings and full body a stretch as I prepared to get to work, my neck giving a small, audible pop before I turned back to Salek. ¡°Well, as you know, it¡¯s been 9 paws since the predator ¡®refugees¡¯ started landing on Venlil Prime, mixing with the native prey population.¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s been busy.¡± Busy was an understatement, the Exterminator office had been overwhelmed with calls and reports of predator sightings from terrified prey as the things stalked the streets. ¡°Now logically, you''d expect the predators to have hurt someone by now. While we know they can hold off on their instincts from the original exchange meetings and empathy tests, expecting thousands of predators to not fall to their tainted desire to feast upon a planet of prey goes past all belief.¡± ¡°But there haven''t been any reports of any human violence.¡± I gave a small trill of agreement while Salek¡¯s tail flicked around in confusion, clearly not understanding where I was going with this. ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s the million credit question. Predators have been on our planet, mingling with the public, for over 9 paws now, but no verified reports of predatory actions. This is not good.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? The humans have arrived, and no damage has been done.¡± I gave a sigh, feeling my feathers flatten in despair. How naive was this kid to believe everything was fine, with those things roaming the streets of Venlil Prime? This really was the problem with the Venlil, Tarva and all: Far too trusting, no matter what the actual proven Federation science said. ¡°No reports doesn¡¯t mean no damage. Where are the injured and killed prey? These casualties should exist by now, which leaves only one answer: They¡¯re somehow hiding their carnage. Working out where and how is the only way to stop it continuing.¡± I watched as Salek¡¯s ears pressed against his head in fear of what might be going on right under our beaks, the idea of innocent members of the herd being preyed upon in secret by the predators, never to see the light of day again. ¡°But-but it might not be the case. How do we know that the humans are hurting people? Maybe they¡¯re telling the truth when they say they don¡¯t want to?¡± I gave a small soft chuckle at that, looking softly at the young Venlil sat to the side of me. ¡°Predators lie, but statistics do not. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here. We need to collate missing person reports over the 8 districts they are confirmed to have refugee centres at. Then we compare that information to historical trends, and then compare those to the same trends of surrounding districts. Then we¡¯ll have proof. It¡¯s just going to take a lot of hard work going through records and collating the data.¡± Salek didn¡¯t look convinced however as I finally logged onto my terminal, grabbing a can of Sprunk and getting ready to start my work before I was interrupted once again. ¡°What if they¡¯re not lying though, and all this is a waste of time? Bradley said that they don¡¯t even have any instincts, that-¡± There was an instant as the Venlil put his paws to his lips as he realized what he said, the name, the very distinctly ¡®predator¡¯ name causing me to stop looking at my screen and once again stare at the young Venlil. ¡°Bradley?¡± The tone in my voice made it obvious I knew that wasn¡¯t a Venlil name. Salek¡¯s tail flicked around in worry and anxiety as I stared him down, feathers flaring out slightly as I did so. ¡°I¡­ I joined the exchange program. Bradley was my partner, he¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s really nice.¡± I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. Sure Salek was a Junior Exterminator, but he was still an Exterminator Inatala damn it! I could understand Tarva or other Venlil falling for a predator¡¯s trick to this degree, but he should know better. ¡°Why?¡± I said the single word curtly, filled with disappointment, making it clear I had expected better from him as Salek continued to squirm under my unblinking gaze. ¡°I- I was sick of being so¡­ scared all the time! I just wanted to stop being scared of humans of everything! I thought if I actually talked with one, it would help me face them¡­¡± Disappointed. I wasn¡¯t angry or annoyed, I was disappointed. Disappointed that someone from the guild would be so trusting of a predator, to fall for their lies. The seconds passed by as I sat there wallowing in despair, at the predatory taint seeping into Venlil society at its roots. Just what power did these predators have to consistently cause Venlil to fall for their trickery? ¡°Maam¡­ am I fired?¡± Salek said the words softly, interrupting my silence, causing me to give a deep sigh. ¡°No. The Exchange program is government authorized. Why would we fire a government member for participating in such a thing?¡± I gave a small flutter of my feathers, settling back down onto my perch and looking back at my screen, starting to pull up the records that I needed. ¡°And we still have a lot of work to do, firing you would be counterproductive.¡± Salek gave a confused beep, tail twitching in confusion as I motioned for us to start the work. ¡°You still want my help?¡± ¡°Well unless the predators have taken your brain and ability to collate basic statistics, I don¡¯t see why not.¡± I ruffled my feathers in an annoyed fashion while Salek continued to stare at me with a blank look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried about me being tainted or something?¡± Another sigh escaped by beak as I fully stopped looking at my screen to focus on the young Venlil. ¡°You are not the first Venlil to be taken in by their trickery, and you won¡¯t be the last. Tarva was fooled by them long ago, and she¡¯s still competent enough to run the planet. If I stopped interacting with any Venlil who had fallen for these predators, there¡¯d be a lot of people I would no longer be talking to.¡± I said the words sternly and simply, making it clear that while I didn¡¯t care for the beasts who had invaded the planet, I wasn¡¯t about to start fighting the innocent prey they had tricked. ¡°Besides, I guess it¡¯s good to know that you¡¯re safe, for now.¡± ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you worried that I¡¯d be in the most danger?¡± At that I gave a small chuckle, turning back towards the Venlil who was so naive. ¡°You¡¯re officially part of the Exchange program. If anything happened to you, the humans would be the first suspect. They may be predators, but they''re smart. They¡¯re not going to do anything that would break their trickery. The only way they¡¯d hurt you is they thought they could get away with it. That¡¯s our problem, isn¡¯t it? Based on how good they are at lying, you¡¯d have to find a way to to get them to eat you on camera to get any solid evidence.¡± I saw Salek¡¯s ears once again press against his head, tail stood straight up as he shook in fear at my suggestion, causing me to give out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not saying do it! I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone to do something I wouldn¡¯t do myself. It¡¯s just¡­ frustrating that with how good the predator¡¯s trickery is, that something this drastic is what we¡¯d need to get solid evidence¡­ It would be an insane idea to actually try, as it would be suicide.¡± ¡ª----------------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Date [standardized human time]: March 16th, 2137 I sat in the van, watching the streets of Skalga go by the window while Jkob sat in the other seat. The investigation had been¡­ going. We¡¯d checked on all the easy to find suspects, districts and offices that held multiple easily verifiable Exterminators on our list, meaning now we were down to the dregs. Six names. Six people who still might be the Heartbreak Killer, a little anxiety running through my body as I realized we were getting closer and closer towards being face to face with someone who had killed so many people. I decided to stop thinking about such a meeting, instead turning to look towards my Letian coworker. Jkob was a solid, ethical and noble Exterminator, hardly a blemish on his record. The fact that this person had been languishing in office IT before I¡¯d started bringing him with me over the last [few months] really showed the flaws in Federation ideology. Such a resource wasted because of fears of Letians having ¡®Predator Disease¡¯. Still, I did have a question for him, considering his generally optimistic demeanour. ¡°Jkob, how are you always so positive when we¡¯re dealing with the mess the Exterminators have done before?¡± ¡°Huh, what did you mean boss?¡± He gave me a series of confused ear twitches, stopping his blank staring out of the window to focus on me instead. ¡°When we were at the ex-facility, or the way some of us are still acting. How do you deal with guilt of what we¡¯ve done so well?¡± The Letian gave a shrug, ears flapping in a non-committal manner. ¡°Well, I never did any of that stuff.¡± I stared at him for a moment, disbelief and incredulousness rising at that statement. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d managed to stay clean during all this time. Everyone in the guild had done something that the humans had shown to be bad in retrospect. ¡°No, you¡¯ve been an exterminator for five years. There¡¯s no way during that time you¡¯ve never PD¡¯d a single person.¡± ¡°I was in IT. Only ever went on one patrol when I first started. Not a lot of ways you can Predator Disease test a computer system. Although some patching processes were made by people who are at least a little deranged.¡± No, this couldn''t be the case, this didn''t make the slightest bit of sense. ¡°But you had exemplary performance reviews. Your firearm scores are the highest in the office!¡± ¡°I''m good at my job boss, upgrades and maintenance done within budget and on time.¡± Jkob responded simply, as if the fact he had very little active experience wasn''t a big deal. ¡°And I like guns, sue me.¡± I could feel my beak hanging open as I shook my head in disbelief. I''d been bringing Jkob along to confrontations with less than professional exterminators, unruly humans, and everything else the job required. The idea that he had no real field experience was¡­ Frankly, a sign of how incompetent your average Exterminator on Skalga is. ¡°Why didn''t you say something if I was pulling you from your normal work?¡± ¡°Declining exciting assignments given by a Prestige Exterminator seems like a career limiting move.¡± Again, Jkob seemed unfazed, as if nothing in the universe could change the Letians'' easy going mentality. ¡°Besides, the IT stuff is easy. Most of my job is resetting your password whenever the human crack it, boss.¡± I shook my head once more, dropping the conversation as the van finally stopped at our destination. This was a nice part of Skalga, expensive housing situated at the fancy edge of Dayside City; far enough away to not be trapped within the busy hustle and bustle of the planet''s capital, but close enough to not be considered rural. Tens of uniform and perfectly maintained gardens lay in large lines next to the soft gently curving roads, promising peace and stability. Jkob and I left the van and slowly approached the home of our next suspect: A elderly Venlil by the name of Tarnek. He''d been in the Exterminators for longer than I¡¯d been alive, a full 33 years, and had garnered a reputation for being a Predator Disease discovering superstar. That was why he''d originally been suspended, for accusing a nephew of some Magister. He¡¯d also not been seen at work for over 20 paws. That wasn¡¯t uncommon recently, not with the multitude of revelations causing many to simply stop turning up for work. Tarnek¡¯s garden was overgrown when compared to his neighbours'' orderly plots, as we walked along the small path, through the knee high grasses, to get to the front door. With a small flap I jumped up to peck at the doorbell, hearing it ring and echo through the small but cosy house. We waited there for a few moments, no movement or sign of life being shown from the property as I jumped up to ring the bell again. Then I smelled it. It was a smell I knew intimately, that putrid sickening stench that only came from one source and one source alone: Death. Jkob noticed it at the same time as I did, both of us moving into action at once at the realization something was wrong. Clearly only Venlil had been in the area, as anyone else would have noticed the smell of rot. Alarmed, I tried to open the door, reaching for my gun and putting a single bullet in the lock when it refused to budge, watching the entrance to the house swing open into the darkness within. Jkob gagged as the smell got stronger while I dove deeper inside, weapon ready, looking from room to room for any threat. The house was clean, well maintained and¡­ homely. Pictures of Venlil pups and other family members stood on shelves next to multiple awards issued by the Exterminator¡¯s Guild, wilted houseplants sat on tables, each memento a reminder of a life lived here as I made my way through the hallway. A fear rose in my heart rising as deep down I knew what I was going to find within. It didn¡¯t take me long to find the source of the smell, sitting slumped on a chair in the living room. The Venlil had sat there for at least 15 paws by my reckoning, the body rotting away as the claws had ticked by, the smell here overpowering and forcing me to take smaller breaths as I pushed down the urge to vomit. I didn¡¯t need a fancy human forensic course to understand what had happened here. The dried up brain matter splattered across the wall, the wound to Tarnek¡¯s temple, the Exterminator issued firearm still lying on the floor where it had fallen from the Venlil¡¯s paws. There would be no interview of the suspect Tarnek, not anymore. I could hear the sound of Jkob retching behind me as he finally caught up, his lack of experience meaning this might be the first time he¡¯d actually seen a dead body, at least in this decomposing state. In my many years of Exterminator service I¡¯d seen plenty of the dead, although I still couldn¡¯t help but feel sorrow at the scene in front of me. There was plenty that would have to be done here: Family needed to be notified, someone to bring a cleanup crew, and so much paperwork. But first, I needed to find the note, if he¡¯d left one. There was still a possibility that Tarnek was still the killer we were looking for, even with the grizzly scene laid out before me, I couldn¡¯t stop the investigation until I was sure. It didn¡¯t take long as apart from the obvious mess left by Tarnek, the room was tidy and ordered, allowing me to find the pad placed prominently on a side table. I turned it on as the sound of Jkob throwing up in the other room could be heard, the device opening up immediately to show a pre-written document. To whom it may concern. This is my confession. I have been part of the guild for thirty-three years. For thirty-three years I fought to protect the herd from predators and predator taint. I was good at it, very good at it. I could detect the taint even in its faintest forms, the disease at its most mild could still fester and become a danger. I could see those with predator disease who others would overlook, spot the tiny signs of those who needed to be removed from the herd. Over my thirty-three years on the job, I have successfully brought in 471 people to be remanded to facilities. I¡¯d heard whispers about the facilities, we all had, but I ignored them in favour of what we thought was right. I should have looked deeper, I shouldn¡¯t have pushed away the concerns, I shouldn¡¯t have avoided the hard questions about what I was doing. But to say I was completely ignorant of what happened there would be a lie. I knew, we all knew. But I chose not to think about it. I chose, for my own ego. Because of this I ruined 471 lives. I sent them to be torn apart within those facilities, I hunted them down and caused their suffering, and in many cases'' death. Nobody else would have found them. I had a talent for finding those who would fail the Predator Disease tests who would otherwise remain hidden. That should have been the hint, that these people were peacefully living amongst the herd before I turned up. Had I done nothing, the world would be a better place. How many accolades have I been given, built upon sending people to be tortured? My entire comfortable life built upon the suffering of others, those I sent away to be irreversibly destroyed. I should have known better. I should have been a better person. I should have been more than just an instrument of pain and Federation lies. I should have, I should have, I should have. I apologize to those I hurt, and I hope you find peace in this new universe being formed. May Sogliak have mercy on your souls, because they won¡¯t have mercy on mine. Tarnek. I looked up from the pad, a grim, sombre feeling filling the room as I once again looked upon the body of the Exterminator. This¡­ this wasn¡¯t uncommon in the new reality we found ourselves in. Having everything the Exterminators stood for revealed to be lies was more than many could take, being shown by humans the damage we¡¯d been doing by enforcing the Federation¡¯s will. Some resigned, some withdrew from the herd. A few chose more¡­ drastic measures. I pulled out my own pad to start making the calls I needed to make, resigning myself to dealing with this mess I¡¯d found. ¡ª-------------------- [Transcript skipped by 1 hour] I gave a heavy sigh as the van started up once more, slowly taking Jkob and I back to the main office. The peaceful upscale street was now filled with Exterminator vehicles, calling in a dead body garnered a quick reaction from the guild, especially considering the new processes the entire organization had taken on. The area was cordoned off, the incident being investigated to its fullest to ensure no foul play, a few humans could be seen, using their ¡®forensics¡¯ sciences being used to ensure the death was actually a suicide. Then, instead of just setting the body on fire to remove the taint, transportation to a proper morgue for a later funeral was the new process. I knew in light of the latest archives releases, many Venlil had requested more ¡®traditional¡¯ Skalgan funerals than the pyres the Federation demanded. A ceremony that would undoubtedly be attended by those Tarnek had left behind: three adult offspring and an ex-partner. I turned to look at Jkob, who was deathly silent. The Letian did not look great, the skin beneath his fur pale, shaking after his first encounter with a body. ¡°Hey, buddy, are you OK?¡± I asked, causing Jkob to focus on me instead of his own thoughts. ¡°Why would he do that, why would this happen?¡± He asked, a rhetorical question that demanded an answer. I shook my head sadly, giving a sigh. ¡°Even before the humans, it was a problem nobody really wanted to talk about. In between all the predator attacks, Arxur, raids and stampede victims, some people can¡¯t cope with the job. Then throw in the absolute breakdown in everything we believed in: the omnivore reveal, the predator disease reveal, the fact that a lot of the population now blames us for the Federation¡¯s lies. People just not turning up for work, or in this case, worse, has become an issue.¡± Jkob looked miserable, ears stuck flat to the side of his head, seemingly deep in thought as I explained an open secret amongst the Exterminators, a terrible truth of the impact of such a job on the people who held it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t anybody check up on him? He stopped coming to work, there should have been some kind of support, someone checking on him. His-his family should have found him before now at least.¡± ¡°The guild is overwhelmed at the moment, we barely have a spare moment and ¡®checking on guild members¡¯ isn¡¯t something that people want to do right now.¡± I responded sadly. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about it. Such thoughts of self-destruction are a sign of predator disease, so we just keep it hidden, don¡¯t mention it to anyone. And for their family¡­ I don¡¯t know. With all that has happened, I don¡¯t know.¡± Jkob didn¡¯t look happy at that answer, a small look of determination crossing his features as he stared at me. ¡°It¡¯s not right, it¡¯s not right at all. Someone should be doing something about this.¡± the Letian paused for a moment, before looking at me deadly serious. ¡°Are you OK Estala?¡± ¡°Better than I was. I¡¯m managing, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking.¡± I gave a small shrug and placed a reassuring wing on Jkob¡¯s shoulder as the van continued to drive us back to the head office. ¡°That¡¯s the problem with the situation. Exterminator, Predator Disease patient, the humans. Even the Maltos cursed Arxur if the archives are believed. All of us are victims of the same Federation lies, no matter what side we¡¯re on. We¡¯ve just got to deal with it the best we can.¡± One day at a time. Chapter 15: Consequences Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 12th, 2136 I felt fear grip my heart, a terror threatening to strike me down where I stood, as I witnessed what was happening in front of me. I alternated between gawping at the absolute stupidity of the Exterminator instigating the event and being terrified of the danger he was putting us all in. Things had gotten worse. Way worse. Somehow against all rational logic the humans had resisted their primal urges to destroy and devour every innocent prey, and instead had managed to worm themselves deeper into Venlil society; playing the part of innocent refugees as they became a constant fixture of our lives, walking our streets and stalking their prey in Venlil Prime¡¯s never ending sun. The Venlil had become¡­ used to them, at least in the capital. I¡¯d heard that the more rural towns still had some sense about them in regard to the predators, but the capital was full of them: Adopting the beasts, introducing them into our homes, our schools, practically inviting them in for the upcoming invasion. One such beast stood in the street, intimidating, towering over all reasonable prey, bloodlust filled eyes hidden behind its reflective visor, meaning you had no idea what prey was being focused on as they stalked around doing¡­ whatever predators did when they thought good people weren¡¯t watching them. Probably murdering and eating people. Even worse, and nearly just as harmful, was the stupid exterminator stood next to him. Orvan was dressed in his noble silver fireproof suit, flamer gripped tightly in his paws as he did the single dumbest thing I¡¯ve ever seen: He decided to antagonize the thing. The Venlil was moving aggressively as they spoke accusatory words towards the predator, flamer lifted ready to fire, the only thing keeping the predator from striking. It might have been a brave thing to do, standing up against the predators invading our home planet, but it was also the stupidest thing to do. Being aggressive against a predator, allowing it the option to choose violence, then being able to justify it? Even if the flamer would stop the thing from doing damage to the herd, the long term repercussions would be¡­ bad. I rushed over as quickly as I dared, not wanting to run too quickly and trigger the predator''s hunting instincts, still hearing the pair in an argument as Orvan held the thing at bay. ¡°What are you doing here, predator!¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ I told you I¡¯m just walking back to the refugee centre.¡± It was getting agitated, clearly struggling to keep its bloodlust in check as its deceitful actions were being challenged. I practically froze as I saw its visor snap towards my position, as I could feel its hate filled eyes glaring at me behind the smooth metallic surface. I pushed on regardless, using my years of Exterminator training to glare back at the thing, standing as tall as I could as the predator sized up their new ¡®meal¡¯. ¡°Come on, another one of you guys? I¡¯m not doing anything, I just want to get back before curfew starts.¡± I could hear the human trying to make a convincing protest, as if they weren¡¯t up to anything nefarious and just wanted to get back to its lair. Still, keeping it here in the street, antagonizing it, was just putting everyone else at danger. Normally the humans would be smart enough to avoid causing any recorded damage on Venlil Prime, but I wasn¡¯t about to test how far that intelligence went when other members of the herd were around, Venlil scurrying past, smartly giving the thing a wide berth. ¡°Then leave, predator,¡± I stated, trying to keep my voice steady, not showing any weakness that could be pounced upon. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here, make haste back to your lair.¡± Orvan seemed agitated at this statement, tail flitting around with confusion and anger, pointing his flamer once more at the predator as it took a step back. ¡°But it was lurking around and-¡± ¡°Is going to leave.¡± I interrupted the Venlil, placing my wing on his flamer and pointing it at the ground, my feathers flaring in anger as I tried to get Orvan to stop putting everyone in danger and holding up the predator. Thankfully, the thing got the hint that this wasn¡¯t an easy meal, taking this opportunity to leave quickly in the direction of the refugee centre. I gave a sigh of relief, my heart still thudding in my chest as the fear of the situation I¡¯d just been in still remained, before I turned back to the well-meaning but idiotic Exterminator, glaring at him as I looked the moron dead in the eyes. ¡°Just what do you think you¡¯re doing!¡± I hissed at him, keeping my voice as low as I could manage to not cause a stampede with the already frighted herd, while my pure fury emanated through my words. ¡°Are you an idiot with a deathwish?¡± ¡°But the predator was skulking around, who knows what it was up to?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t hurting people, that¡¯s all that matters!¡± I responded, hoping the Exterminator could work out just how stupid they had been. ¡°And you thought the best thing to do was to antagonize it, with hundreds of innocent people around?¡± Orvan seemed to take offence to that, as if this was an argument against his competence instead of basic safety. ¡°I have my flamer. If the thing tried anything I-.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still a risk that you didn¡¯t need to take!¡± I responded angrily, this time my voice breaking the whisper as I hoped the moron would learn the lesson. ¡°And even if you had, what do you think would happen? If you actually set it on fire? Tarva is under their predatory delusions, do you want predator soldiers and cattle controllers swarming the streets of Venlil Prime in order to ¡®protect their people¡¯? Sure we know the idea of a predator protecting anything is a myth, but that will be the excuse they use to have their armed cattle masters roaming among us! Because if a human gets hurt because of an Exterminator, that¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen!¡± The predators were clearly squirming their way into our lives, biding their time, waiting until they¡¯d fully integrated themselves within prey society before they struck. Luckily for us, they wouldn¡¯t have enough time for that, as the Federation was already making moves against the humans to save us all from their evil blood filled plans. ¡°But we¡¯re Exterminators.¡± I could see Orvan slowly deflate as he said those words, as if finally realizing just how stupid. ¡°Killing predators is what we do.¡± I knew how he felt, the complete betrayal of the organization that had kept the Venlil people safe for centuries, discarding all logic and Federation science based on the lies of the predators. ¡°No, we protect the herd. That¡¯s our job. Right now the best way to do that is just preparing. We watch and wait for when we¡¯re needed.¡± I said softly, a sadness creeping into my words at just how¡­ hopeless it all was. ¡°Look, we don¡¯t have to hold out for much longer. The Federation is coming to save us. Kalsim himself is leading the charge to remove these predators.¡± The Extermination fleet would be here to heroically save us all, the finest the federation had to offer to wipe out these predators who endangered us all, led by none other than the hero Kalsim. The Krakotl captain was legendary in his fight against the Arxur and predators everywhere, and hearing his impending charge to free Venlil Prime from the humans filled me with hope for the future of prey everywhere. ¡°We¡¯ve just gotta be smart and stay back for a little while longer, and everything will be fine.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡ª------------------ Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 18th, 2137 ¡°So, his name is Orhew, also goes by the name ¡®Mute¡¯. He was born with a birth defect making it difficult for him to speak, rich family, grew up with their uncle, competent and generally well liked by his coworkers.¡± I spoke simply, reading off the details on the file from the pad in front of me. Once again we were sat in the van as it travelled down the streets, this time getting closer to the cursed district of Dawn Creek. Well, it was either a curse, or something was in the water. There had to be a reason to explain how this district consistently had the worst things happen within it by a consistent margin. ¡°Compared with the rest of the idiots who made up the Exterminator guild in Dawn Creek, Orhew has a near flawless record, apart from two blips: The first being the Tarlim case: he was part of the three-person team who originally took the poor Venlil into custody. We both know about the second case.¡± Even with my shattered mental state at the time, [4 months] ago, everyone had heard about the shocking attack on one of the many human supplied meat cloning factories that had been built across Venlil Prime. The Exterminator Orhew single-handedly attacked the facility with a full outfit of flame weaponry, on a one man anti-predator crusade. That had gone about as successfully as one expected, with the Exterminator being promptly detained and arrested. ¡°Wait.¡± Jkob responded in the seat to my left, the Letian reading from the details on his own pad as I verbalized the summary. ¡°If this is someone who is both competent and has a history of anti-predator violence, why wasn¡¯t checking on this Orhew higher on the list?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s currently in prison, making him safe.¡± I responded simply. It turned out that even for an Exterminator, attacking a government facility with a flamer is still illegal. ¡°We focused on Exterminators who might still be doing harm if they were the killer. Mute is hardly going to go on a killing spree while locked up.¡± The conversation ended as the van pulled up to our location, depositing the both of us directly outside where Orhew¡¯s home was. It was a nicer part of Dawn Creek, his family¡¯s money showing as a grand four-bedroom house standing in the centre of a large garden. It had seen better days, the grasses outside unwatered and yellowing, the plants wilting in a mirage of what had once been a well maintained property. ¡°The plan is simple: We¡¯re looking for anything that ties him to the murderers. We know the killer took trophies, so anything like that is what we¡¯re looking for.¡± I stated as we approached the door ¡°Don¡¯t we need a search warrant to check his place?¡± Jkob asked with a little concern. ¡°Yep, we already got one. Turns out there was a warrant given after Orhew¡¯s attack on the facility, but none of the ¡®new and improved¡¯ police in Dawn Creek wanted to risk entering a ¡®True Predator lair¡¯. We¡¯re just executing a check that should have been done [months] ago.¡± I suppressed a sigh at the general disarray found within Dawn Creek¡¯s law enforcement. To be fair to the police here, it wasn¡¯t really their fault: Forced to take on roles they never agreed to, because of the incompetence of the Exterminators here. I didn¡¯t hold it against them as I pressed my pad to the front door of the nicely sized house, seeing my Exterminator override unlock the entrance with a little confirmation, allowing us easy entry into the house. Orhew¡¯s place was¡­ strange. At least for a home that had been presumably lived in, there was no evidence of it being¡­ well, lived in. The furniture you¡¯d expect in such a place existed, but the rooms had no sign of life in them, every surface and storage area completely stripped of their contents. Aside from the layer of dust that covered the entire house, the four-bedroom home was spotless, as if it had been scrubbed clean. ¡°I¡¯ll take the upstairs, you take the downstairs and see if there¡¯s anything in the shed, Jkob.¡± I slowly made my way up the stairs, a feeling of unease increasing as I walked through the sterile space, each step as if I was trespassing in a place I shouldn¡¯t be. Well, technically I was kinda trespassing, the kind of trespassing that¡¯s allowed within the law for an Exterminator. Each room was empty, even the bathroom devoid of any kind of toiletries apart from several bottles of cleaning supplies. The strangeness was a constant as I entered room after room, opening empty cupboard after cupboard. Was that his plan, to leave the house as if he¡¯d never been here when he¡¯d started his attack? Cleaning up as if he knew he was never coming back? The entire place was a shell of a home. I opened the final closet, this one a storage area found in what was presumably the main bedroom, this time instead of an empty space, a small chest sat at the bottom. A tiny thing, but something to investigate at this time. I saw the small box just sitting alone as I reached down to open it up. Trinkets and keep sakes lined the container: A self-help book titled ¡°Finding Your Voice¡±, a pen with the logo and name of one of the few disability organizations that existed within the Federation, to help those with limitations join the herd. At the centre of it all was a photo, two Exterminators I recognized from the Tarlim case: Orhew and a Gojid called Sol-Vah. The Venlil whose house I was going through had taken the time to have this photo printed out, a passage showing two very happy people just standing in front of the house in a goofy pose. But that was all, just a bunch of things you might find in and on a bed stand just shoved into a box and thrown into the corner of a closet. As if they were items you both wanted to hide because of the pain they brought, but never thrown away. Orhew was a anti-predator fanatic, and if he was in a relationship with the Gojid in the picture during the omnivore reveal¡­ well that wouldn¡¯t have ended cleanly. ¡°Estala, you better come outside and see this.¡± Jkob¡¯s voice sounded from my radio, breaking my concentration from the container of personal items, my wings hastily closing the box. I exited the room through the window, gliding down towards the shed which the Letian was standing beside. Jkob gave a startled jump as I swooped down upon him, leaving me to give a chuckle as I finally managed to get him back for all the times he¡¯d managed to sneak up on me with his strange ability to glide silently. The chuckle died on my lips as I looked upon the chaos in the shed. ¡°Well, this explains where all his stuff is.¡± Someone had shoved all the personal items of Orhew into this small space, the little shed packed from floor to ceiling with every manner of object someone would need to live in a four bedroom home. Clothes, musical instruments, wilting potted plants, books and electronics. But that wasn¡¯t what captured both of our attentions, because at the forefront of it all, untouched by the surrounding chaos, was a shrine with an offering bowl laid out before it. One whose imagery I regrettably recognized. ¡°What is that?!¡± Jkob asked, pointing at the giant religious object that was bigger than I was. ¡°It¡¯s a shine to The Herd. A more extremist sect, you offer it trophies from predators to keep the herd safe.¡± ¡°Exterminators do that?!¡± The Letian exclaimed with shock, looking warily at the object and the containers of offerings I could see were claws and bones of predators. ¡°Sounds, dare I say it, predatory.¡± ¡°Officially no. Officially if someone is caught taking trophies of predator cleanings, at the very least they¡¯re getting empathy tested.¡± I stated as I looked over the shrine. ¡°Unofficially¡­ there are rumours that it¡¯s a practice more common than we¡¯d like to admit.¡± I gave a small sigh as I looked the strange object over, noting two strange things about it. The first was the unopened packets of food popular amongst the Gojid population here. Tossed in as if they had been the last things to go inside. The second was the candles on the shine, or the lack of them. Normally the five spaces where candles would be lit before praying, but here they had been burned to nothing more than a pool of wax that dripped onto the floor. Which meant someone had been here recently, or at least ¡®after¡¯ Orhew had been arrested. ¡°We should add Sol-Vah to our list of people to contact. This entire thing feels wrong, and a Gojid has possibly been here recently. I found a photo of her and Orhew in the house, meaning she might know¡­ something¡­¡± I trailed off as my eyes caught the offering plates, each filled with predator claws and bones, a lot of them. Something was off about the shapes though. I was an experienced Exterminator, and I had seen my fair share of shade stalker bones and corpses. This wasn¡¯t that, the shape and size resembled¡­ I slowly and gingerly picked up one of the plates, making sure not to touch the items inside as I looked closer, realizing where I recognized that claw shape. The most common claw found on Skalga. Venlil ¡°By Inatala¡¯s talons!¡± I exclaimed with pure shock, as Jkob¡¯s own eyes widened with realization, his ears pressed flat against his head as he too worked out just what they were. Neither of us had expected to find¡­. This. ¡°My god Estala, is that, is that what I think it is?¡± I gave a small nod, swallowing nervously as I gingerly placed the offering plate back where it had once been, my heart beating fast in my chest as I realized my search for the Heartbreak Killer was over sooner than I ever expected. ¡°Get forensics here right this second.¡± Chapter 16: Meeting as imagined. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 18th, 2136 ¡°By Inatala, by the Protector, by Solgalick and the Stars, we will succeed, no matter the cost!!¡± I shouted the final statement at the crowd of Exterminators standing below me, my words filled with hope and denomination as they cheered and clapped in response, the energy picking up in the room of despondent people. I¡¯d been invited to help the Dawn Creek Exterminator¡¯s guild with their¡­ incompetence problem, in response to the new horrors we faced. Of course, it was all lies; we were in our darkest times, our worst times. Kalsim had failed, the humans had allied with the Arxur, predators banding together to destroy all good-natured prey. I gave an encouraging wave of my wing to the crowd as I stepped off the podium, keeping my appearance positive, even though my thoughts were anything but. This district was a mess. I could see the group of supposed Exterminators I¡¯d been speaking to were all hung over. As if they were Junior Exterminators passing training, as if they¡¯d seen the Extermination fleet arriving at Earth as a party, instead of the most dangerous time for Venlil Prime. They were lucky that Kalsim had failed, since had the predators triggered their fiendish plans, this group would have not been ready for them. I slowly made my way towards the office of the man who was in charge here. A Krakotl by the name of Kevros. I quickly made my way as I followed him, feeling the anger and rage start to bubble up inside of me as I approached the private area, keeping my feathers from flaring up until I closed the door behind me. While I was of the opinion that there were a lot of Exterminators who needed shouting at, I¡¯d never do so in front of their subordinates. I watched as Kevros took his commanding position behind his desk, sitting upon his perch as I chose to stand, now my feathers flaring out in rage and annoyance as I glared at him. ¡°What in the Maltos cursed hells are you thinking!¡± Kevros¡¯ feathers flared momentarily before they soothed. ¡°I am afraid you will have to clarify what you mean.¡± ¡°Where do I start with this mess of a district¡­¡± I continued, trying to keep my voice low enough to not be heard by anyone else. ¡°That¡¯s not a rhetorical question by the way, I¡¯m legitimately confused about where to start with this disaster.¡± I gave a deep breath, trying to keep my annoyance in check in order to avoid my voice travelling outside the room. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the obvious, shall we. Why do the group of Exterminators that you¡¯re supposedly in charge of, look like they just stumbled out of a paw long pub session?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± he chirped, ¡°could it perhaps be due to the fact that someone as prestigious as Estala has lent a claw to help, as well as my actions in getting our full funding back being seen as a reason to celebrate?¡± I gave the idiot a glare, my feathers flaring out as I spoke. ¡°Flattery will not get you out of this, don¡¯t piss in my wind and tell me it¡¯s raining! Unless you¡¯re saying the entire guild managed to get drunk and then sober up for a hangover in less than a quarter claw, it¡¯s clear why and how the entire office smells like a brewery.¡± Kevros shrunk his neck. ¡°That was- that wasn¡¯t unique to here. It was our fleet, we had to celebrate their heroism.¡± Kevros was kind of right, but in the worst kind of way, in a way that made everything worse. There had been a lot of shouting from myself at Exterminator guild districts who had made similar stupid mistakes of not being ready. ¡°If everyone else jumped into a shade stalker¡¯s jaws, would you follow them? Just what did you think the humans would do if Kalsim was successful, just lie down and die? No! They¡¯d be triggering whatever terrible plan they have. There are millions of the predators on Venlil Prime, and it¡¯s our job to protect the Venlil from them. Not to get trashed as if you¡¯re a Junior Exterminator.¡± He opened his mouth but I cut him off. ¡°We have to be representative of the safety of the herd! I know it¡¯s not something people can be at all times, but we should at least be trying to show that!¡± ¡°I know that!¡± Kevros protested, ¡°I got this position because the previous chief failed in exactly that! After the whole Tarlim debacle-¡± ¡°Oh let''s talk about Tarlim, let''s bring him up!¡± I interrupted with a squawk, ¡°I thought that problem was solved, but seemingly I was very wrong, because somehow this district is still harassing him! And it¡¯s the same people as last time! Why are those three patrolling in this district considering their history?¡± ¡°As opposed to?¡± ¡°Anywhere! I don¡¯t care where they go. Any other district. Nishtal. The Sivkit Fleet. Even putting them on a spaceship towards the predator''s home planet would be better! Literally anywhere that isn¡¯t here! Because I checked their records, and the first thing they did after getting unsuspended was come up with some predatorshit excuse to go for a round 2 with Tarlim and enter his home under a circumstance that would not hold up in court.¡± ¡°That was a standard search for hidden predators after finding a victim of an attack! We did it with every apartment and building within a [five mile] radius of the victim. It¡¯s part of the standard operating procedure-¡± ¡°No.¡± I interrupted his pitiful excuses, pointing my wing in an accusatorial manner, the word sternly cutting off his attempt to justify the wrong that had been committed. ¡°I looked at the logs. Tarlim¡¯s apartment is on the third of five floors, yet was the first place searched in the entire block. In fact, his apartment block was the first place searched in the entire investigation, even though Tarlim¡¯s home is at the edge of the standard search area. I am not stupid. Judges in courtrooms are not stupid. Please do not insult my intelligence.¡± ¡°And if you also check those logs,¡± he countered, ¡°You will further see that was brought about by Treven breaking ranks and charging there first. Why are you even caring about one PD weirdo?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s a member of the herd, one proven not to have predator disease, it¡¯s your duty to protect him, not go around assaulting him!¡± My temper finally broke, my voice raising to an actual shouting squawk as the audacity of this statement finally got to me. This was the entire reason I was on Venlil Prime in the first place! ¡°Even ignoring the ethical concerns, what about the legal ones? You realize that he¡¯s the guy who slashed your budget right? That if Tarlim wanted to, he could sue you and everyone in this district and would probably win! I didn¡¯t realize you were a religious man, but if you¡¯re going to take a vow of poverty can you keep the Exterminator¡¯s guild out of it!¡± Kevros stayed silent as I shouted at him, a look of guilt, presumably due to the culpability in his actions in this entire ordeal finally got through to him. Just how much money and resources had been wasted on Tarlim, when there were bigger issues to talk about? ¡°It¡¯s not even the worst thing this district has done. You endangered all of us and nearly set a human on fire, on live TV. As much as I hate to say this about a predator, there was no good reason for it, and people are justified to be angry at your actions.¡± ¡°The officer instigating the incident has been dealt with,¡± he stated instantly. ¡°They burned bridges with even their family. Without their influence, Treven will no longer tread any guild hall.¡± ¡°You should have dealt with it before! You are the one in charge here, and Treven has been a known problem for a while!¡± I gave an exacerbated sigh as the true danger of what this district had done fully hit the both of us. ¡°The only reason it didn¡¯t escalate was because of the suit it was wearing. What do you think would happen if you¡¯d actually killed it? Tarva is already wary of our interactions with the predators, making that worse isn¡¯t going to help. Maybe that was their plan all along: Wait until someone freaks about their terrible stalking, then use that as a reason to have their cattle leading predator warriors to take over the Exterminators to ¡®protect their people¡¯!¡± ¡°And what am I supposed to do then?¡± He squawked, ¡°every bit of this situation goes against everything in our training! All of it! Do you remember what we were told we should do if a predator made landfall on the planet? ¡®Make sure to burn as many of them as you can before you die.¡¯ The main office even authorized emergency extra supplies of stimulants after contact to assist in that very action! So what are you expecting everyone to do?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± I felt my anger dissipate at the complete lack of¡­ way forward we had as protectors of the herd. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the predator¡¯s plans are, the fleet was defeated, I just don¡¯t know.¡± I closed my eyes for a moment, the annoyance at this disaster of an Exterminator¡¯s guild being replaced with a¡­ tiredness, the stress of the humans invading Venlil Prime hitting me fully. I couldn¡¯t sleep properly, constantly anxious and waiting for the inevitable predator attack. ¡°What I do know is, we have a responsibility Kevros. I know you didn¡¯t do your training on Nishtal, but you¡¯re still a Krakotl. A Krakotl Exterminator. People look up to us, to protect them, to help them. The Venlil are well known to be weak and overly empathetic, meaning it¡¯s our duty to keep them safe. We have a responsibility to the herd, no matter how difficult or how obscured the path is.¡± ¡ª---------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 19th, 2137 I sat on the seat, annoyed at the lack of perch to properly rest upon, waiting in the sterile blank room for the prisoner to arrive. Selalee Penitentiary was a minimum security prison, mostly because all prisons were minimum security. If you did anything serious that required more than that, normally you¡¯d be sent to the PD facilities, but their recent closings meant that the system was struggling to work out where to place violent offenders. I imagined Orhew was about to suffer worsening conditions. What he did previously could be explained away: Stress from the humans arriving, mental breakdown, trying to stop the meat factories from printing their gruesome contents. A favourable jury could be found in such circumstances, and no prosecutor would want to try their luck compared with getting an easy plea deal. Mute¡¯s other crimes however¡­ I watched as the door was opened, several Venlil guards leading Mute to the opposite side of the table, staring at him warily as he was chained to the table to stop the once Exterminator getting any ideas. While I was certain I could kick his ass if needed, since all his victims had been untrained PD facility members, nobody was taking any chances. The results from the human forensics had come back, confirming that the claws and teeth we found were real, and matched several people on our list of possible murders. They also matched a lot of names that weren¡¯t on our list. Just how many people has this person killed? It was difficult to get my head around: Orhew had always been an above average Exterminator, and as he sat across from me, I couldn¡¯t imagine him being responsible for so many deaths. Just how many was the reason I was here: We had enough evidence to charge him without his confession, but really we needed a list of names so we could let their families know. As he was placed in the chair Orhew just stared ahead. It was like he was barely putting in the effort to stay upright in his seat. His eyes didn¡¯t even appear to be focusing upon anything l did, instead staring off into space as I sat on my own seat. ¡°Hey, he isn¡¯t drugged, is he?¡± I asked, giving a sigh, wondering if this entire thing has been a waste of time. If he wasn¡¯t of sound mind then nothing he could say here today would be admissible. ¡°I need him to be fully cognizant¡­ I thought we banned, or at least strongly advised against such practices being done any more?¡± The guard flicked their ears in the negative. ¡°He¡¯s been mostly unresponsive. Still eats and cares for himself, but he¡¯s barely reacted to anything beyond that. Only heard of him spe- ah- communicating with two other people while here. So whatever you¡¯re wanting to talk to him about, I wish you luck.¡± I shook my head, and set my pad to record the conversation. I had to be sure the annoying paperwork part of the situation was completed. Nothing would be worse than making this conversation inadmissible. ¡°This is Exterminator Estala, cond-¡± He moved.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Orhew was now upright. Ears straight. Tail stiff and alert. His head pointed directly at me. I could even see his pupils had twitched, both now staring at my person. They seemed to bore a hole deep within my soul, as if he was sizing me up, working out who and what I was I my core. I¡¯d faced off against Arxur, violent criminals and even a few Humanity First types. Those people at least had something behind their eyes. An intent. Even the Arxur had hunger behind them. This was as if a void looked upon me. I coughed, trying to reset my flow and remove the unsettling feeling creeping along my spine. ¡°This is Exterminator Estala, conducting an interview at Selalee Penitentiary with previous Exterminator Orhew, also known as ¡®Mute¡¯. Orhew has been informed that this interview is voluntary, but if there is any information not provided at this time that he would wish to use later, that this may harm his defence. The time and date is [13:51, March 19th, 2137]. Can Orhew please verbally confirm this for the recording.¡± His expression shifted at my words, a relief as it actually became an expression. It was¡­ annoyance? His right paw drew up, chain catching on the desk as it reached its furthest extent. He waved his paw flatly across his throat, staring at me like a parent disappointed in their chick''s report card. Oh Inatala damn it! I forgot he was literally mute!! Before I could respond, the door opened revealing a brown Venlil guard looking embarrassed. ¡°Sorry! I, uh, I forgot to put this on him.¡± He held up what looked to be simple black collar, make of sleek black metal. It was handed to the guard in charge of securing Mute, who then walked it over to the prisoner. Orhew lifted his neck while letting out a sigh as it was secured tightly around his person. The guard gave a light tap to the part touching his throat and stepped back into his position, as Orhew gave an experimental cough before he spoke. ¡°I. Acknowledge the time. And agree.¡± His voice, as it was mechanically supported, sounded scratched and robotic. But it was also unlike the few Electrolarynx users I had heard before. Their voices sounded like they were gargling gravel. But his¡­ it was like he only had deep congestion. The collar wrapped around his neck also looked like no other device I¡¯d seen before, and upon closer inspection, I could see strange alien human letters written upon them. That was interesting, that the Heartbreak Killer would use a ¡®predator¡¯ device. ¡°So Orhew, you were an Exterminator from [June 8th, 2122] up until the present. Suspended between [May 3rd, 2134] and [July 12, 2136], correct?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°After your suspension ended, and you were reinstated, you continued your Exterminator duties until the time of the meat factory incident?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wait, what? He was definitely part of the group reinstated¡­ and he wasn¡¯t part of that True Exterminators bullshit after the- wait. ¡°Did you continue or cease your duties upon the revelation that so many species were actually omnivorous, and thus considered predators?¡± A spark flickered across his eyes. The first I had seen in them. One of nostalgia and¡­ regret. ¡°I had much to figure out. So much¡­ wrong. Had to leave for something I thought pure.¡± Well I knew that feeling. Admittedly I didn¡¯t go off and kill a bunch of people and just embarrassed myself instead... ¡°During your suspension, what was your employment?¡± ¡°I had none. I had no need.¡± ¡°Do you remember what you were doing on August 7th, 2136?¡± The spark I had seen faded. His expression became stone once more, staring me on. ¡°What I believed to be my duty.¡± It was basic interview strategy, get the target talking, get them comfortable and go over basic facts, before slipping in important questions in between everything else. A predatory way of trapping criminals, so obviously it was an idea I¡¯d learnt from the humans. ¡°Do you know a Regven, do you recognize this Venlil?¡± I positioned the pad I was holding to show a picture of the first known victim of the Heartbreak Killer. He looked happy in that photo, not a care in the world whenever it had been taken. But Orhew didn¡¯t take his focus off of me. ¡°I know Regven. Do you?¡± I could see the shift in his body language, he knew what he¡¯d done, but the question was whether he knew that I knew what he¡¯d done. ¡°Not personally, but I¡¯m interested in his death. The ¡®predator¡¯ who killed him was never caught, and I know you were part of the first group to try and find the predator. Did you see anything strange or weird about the death? As an Exterminator you must have had some thoughts on what did it.¡± I asked the question, hoping Mute would slip up before he fully realized what I knew. All I needed was for him to slip up, to say something he couldn¡¯t know. ¡°I know what did it. Do. You?¡± Okay, so he was already picking up that I knew something. I would need to throw him off balance, make him overthink his responses. Make blunders in his mental search for the perfect story. ¡°We¡¯ll get back to that, the humans have some interesting theories. During your time at the Dawn Creek Exterminators guild, what were the rules around record keeping?¡± He didn¡¯t respond beyond a slight uncertain tilt of the head, so I continued. ¡°Because a lot of the Dawn Creek records have been deleted, I had to go to the raw logs to gather the autopsy reports. I then got IT to look at the logs of the person who last edited those files. Your name came up a lot.¡± That was admittedly a lie. The system didn¡¯t log changes and who made them, an oversight we needed to push and update for ASAP. Orhew probably didn¡¯t know that little fact, however. Yet while I spoke looking for fear and uncertainty to pass over his face, none came. Instead, his features relaxed into what I could only call relief at my words. ¡°You know,¡± he stated with more emotion than he had given till now. ¡°You know. You Know!¡± It was like he was cheering. His tail was in a wag, his hands shaking, ears twitching in enthusiasm. What was this? My mouth ran before I could stop myself. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know everything. There are a lot of gaps in my knowledge. Maybe, maybe it was an accident, or predatory taint making things complicated. If that¡¯s the case then I need that information, because without it, it doesn¡¯t look good.¡± It was another trick I¡¯d learnt from studying the human way of doing things. Offer a way out, the ability to take the path of least blame while still forcing them to admit what they did. I still had the results from the shrine to bring this home later. ¡°Don¡¯t lie.¡± Stated suddenly, cutting off my thoughts. ¡°One as Pure as you. Should not lie. You know. Know what true Taint did.¡± He breathed heavily, staring me down hard. ¡°What proof. Did you find? So the truth will be known.¡± Ugh, this was annoying. Just vague enough that a lawyer could argue it was about something else, while very clearly he knew that I knew. Not that it mattered. I guessed now was as good a time as ever to pull out the proper evidence. I changed the picture once again on the pad, this time showing the picture of the shrine. ¡°Are you a religious man Orhew? Do you recognize this shrine to The Herd?¡± He relaxed back into his seat. ¡°You found it. Did you find my desecration? Or was there none? As The Herd is another Falsehood?¡± I paused for a moment, giving a deep sigh. That was probably enough to confirm it was him who had created the shrine and its grizzly contents, but that left the main question I needed to ask. ¡°I found some of it, the offerings. How many were there Orhew? That¡¯s what I need to know. At this point the best thing to do is to allow the truth to set you free.¡± His tail wagged. ¡°I know you, Estala. You are famous. Pure.¡± I gave a confused look at that statement. He kept calling me that. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®pure¡¯? ¡°You were as an Exterminator should be. Ordered. Firm. An inspiration. Caring. Good. You are Pure.¡± That¡­ that wasn¡¯t creepy at all. Even ignoring him being wrong about my ¡®good¡¯ personality, being called ¡®pure¡¯ by a mass murderer left a terrible shiver running through every tip of my feathers. I suppressed a shudder before continuing¡­ ¡°Why is me being pure so important?¡± ¡°You will know what to do. How to deal with my taint. How to deal with someone who has murdered so many.¡± Again, creepy. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was expecting from Orhew, but it wasn¡¯t this: this was unsettling. ¡°Well, in order for us to work out what to do next, I need to know the full extent of what happened.¡± ¡°There were ten claws. In the offering plates.¡± He stated with near rapturous joy at his confession. ¡°I have purged 95 people more.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop my reaction, of pure shock as the sheer number he gave caused my calm demeanour to drop, feathers momentarily flaring out in a defensive display before I forced myself to flatten them back down. Over a hundred. By Inatala that¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s. ¡°So the total is 105?¡± I couldn¡¯t help the accusatory tone of pure horror to creep into my voice, breaking my ¡®friendly understanding Exterminator¡¯ routine I was attempting to play. ¡°That¡¯s how many innocent people you killed?¡± ¡°No, not all,¡± he stated. ¡°There were those I know are Taint. I know even now. The Gojid. Kevros. All in that ship. They were taint. I know they are. They were good to be purged.¡± Wait what? He killed Kevros? Kevros is dead? I didn¡¯t even know the Exterminator had been murdered. Sure, the Krakotl Exterminator had been missing for [several months], but that wasn¡¯t uncommon with how the world had turned out recently. And ship? The only one I could think of that happened in Dawn Creek was the day before the Cilany broadcast. I¡¯d thought that was an accident, a pilot overworked or something. That was his doing? I could feel myself spiralling at the knowledge of what I¡¯d uncovered, the sheer breadth of the crimes being committed by this one man. I decided to pull the conversation back to rationality, to simpler conversations. ¡°Why? Why did you do all this?¡± ¡°I thought them all Taint,¡± he stated. ¡°The taint of Predator Disease. Of the false doctors running Dawn Creek¡¯s Facility. Of those who would accept predators in their homes.¡± He held my eyes again. ¡°You know what we¡¯re told. To protect the herd. What must be done to Taint.¡± I stared at the Venlil opposite me, trying to keep my voice steady. ¡°And what would that be exactly?¡± ¡°Burn me,¡± he commanded. ¡°Get your blade. Cut out the seat of my taint. Carve out my heart, Estala. Burn it to purify whatever is left.¡± ¡°By Inatala¡¯s Talons, what the fuck?¡± I felt everything in my mind break down at this statement. Who just comes out and tells you to carve out their heart and set them on fire. I could feel my voice getting higher in pitch as I jumped back out of the seat. ¡°No! That¡¯s not how it works!¡± ¡°I am Taint!¡± He protested. ¡°It¡¯s what is done. What else would you do?¡± ¡°You go through the court of law, that¡¯s what my plan is because I¡¯m a normal person. Now admittedly there¡¯s a good chance you¡¯re going to be sentenced to death, but that¡¯s not my role!¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t burn! They wouldn¡¯t choose one pure! They wouldn¡¯t purify the taint! I must be burned!!¡± ¡°No. No. No! You don¡¯t get the easy way out, we don¡¯t get the easy way out.¡± I stated, my voice turning far more stern. ¡°We¡¯ve hurt people, you more than me, but people are damaged by what we did. I visited the ex-facility members of Dawn Creek, they¡¯re terrified of you, of you coming back. They think you¡¯re an official part of the Exterminators! No, you go through the system so they can see what you did, see you are punished for it, and move on and heal. What you want isn¡¯t the important thing here, it¡¯s the victims you left behind who need help.¡± Orhew suddenly jerked his paws back. The chain went taut, pulling hard upon the table. I could have sworn I heard it creak. ¡°I can¡¯t return! I must be burned! I will return without it! Burn me! You should be pure! Burn me!¡± Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. Nope. I was not happy with how this had turned out. While anyone willing to kill that many people wouldn¡¯t be normal, this was full on crazy. I very much did not want to be in the same room as this person any more. Unfortunately, the guard who had brought him in had the same idea. As I was backing away they were already high-tailing it out the door. At least they left the door open for me to follow. Which I happily did, slamming it shut behind me and silencing Orhews outraged and despairing bleats. I could see Jkob staring at me with a shocked expression that mirrored my own. The Letian had been watching from outside the room, clearly as shaken as I was. ¡°How, how do you even deal with that?¡± He finally asked, looking to me for guidance where I had none to give. ¡°Is that normal for Exterminator cases?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said, giving a sigh of my own. ¡°That¡¯s really not normal. I don¡¯t even know what you do with that. My first instinct is this is actual legitimate Predator Disease, but with how everything¡¯s changed I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re supposed to deal with that. Frankly, that part is not my job.¡± I could see Jkob deep in thought as he spoke, just staring through the window at Orhew as he was being dragged away by three guards, fighting and shouting all the while. ¡°How many do you think are like him, that the Exterminators missed?¡± That I didn¡¯t want to think about, shaking my head as the thought of more of these people hiding amongst the herd sent chills down my spine. ¡° I pray not many. This is why we need to change, Jkob, learn from the humans and their experience in this kind of criminal.¡± The air between us grew sombre as Orhew finally disappeared behind a heavy locked door, hopefully the last time I¡¯d see the Venlil ex-Exterminator. ¡°So what happens now Estala?¡± ¡°Well there¡¯ll be the court case and the sentencing, although I imagine with a confession that won¡¯t take long. Gotta talk to the media about this, get ahead of the ¡®killer Exterminator¡¯ headlines. And¡­ see if we¡¯re able to find any of his other victims. Any more of the 105. Do¡­ do you remember how many we had on the list as suspected victims?¡± ¡°Our current list had a possible 27 names on it.¡± 27. Even discounting the number from that ship, that¡¯s still so many unknown victims. I gave another deep sad sigh. While this investigation had been a ¡®success¡¯, it didn¡¯t feel like one. An Exterminator had killed over a hundred people while wearing the uniform, nobody had spotted it happening, and he would have never been caught if strange humans on the internet hadn¡¯t taken an interest in three seemingly random predator attacks. There was still so much work to do. ¡°But first things first. I¡¯m going to go home, take a deep long shower, then go to sleep for the rest of this paw. Everything else can wait till later.¡± Chapter 17 - A monster is revealed Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 22, 2136 It was happening. Speh speh speh speh speh speh speh speh. I could feel the terror in my heart as the van sped through the streets, the auto-driver disabled as I pushed the vehicle as fast as I dared, the empty, winding streets cleared as all rational prey fled from predator¡¯s attack. The silver suit I wore felt constricting, the seven other Exterminators in this van also fully suited up, ready with flamers at our sides. A silence overtook us all, each of us ruminating about just what was about to happen. The predators were finally attacking, they had finally stopped their evil lies and gone straight into their plan. Tarva was probably already dead, along with half of the leadership on the planet, which presumably was the human''s plan all along. It was supposed to have been a memorial for the billion predators killed by the Extermination fleet on Earth, but that was the mistake we had made, assuming the beasts understood concepts like grief. ¡°Estala arriving on route, setting up defensive blockade on Federation Road. Maintain positions, keep eyes on predator refuge centres and known military outlets. Be ready to move back to secondary defensive locations.¡± I shouted down the radio, the worry and fear of what was about to happen breaking into my voice, listening to the responses of Exterminator groups from all across the planet initiating their own plans. For now, the only attack had been in the capital, but if this was the attack the predators had planned, then it wouldn¡¯t stay that way for long. We should have been there, a gathering of predators along with all the diplomats and leaders on Venlil Prime? Our entire job was to keep them safe, especially for this circumstance. The leaders had declined our request to provide security, claiming that in their ¡®time of grief¡¯ that Exterminators watching over them would ¡®Be contrary to the peace and solidarity we wish to show by hosting such an event¡¯. Stupid empathetic caring fools. And now they had sprung their trap, attacking our leaders with an explosive device, while we were all sat on our tail feathers doing nothing. Information of what had happened was scarce, garbled communications regarding casualties and a predator explosive device. Mental images flashed through my mind of dead caring Venlil scattered about, the humans feasting upon them as their instincts were finally allowed to be freed. The van shuddered to a halt as I slammed on the brakes, arriving at the predetermined defensive location I¡¯d marked out weeks ago for such an event. I could see the fear on my squad¡¯s tails and ears as we rushed out of the van, dragging barricades and setting up along the road, reading ourselves for the confrontation. There were three major bunkers within the perimeter we had set up, anyone who had raced to safety within them were probably dead now, there was nothing we could do about that. There was nothing we could do about any of it. The predators have a far better military than us, and now they¡¯re everywhere. The entire thing is futile. Not that I¡¯d go down without trying. I could see rising smoke and the distant sound of gunfire going off, as whatever the predators were doing raged on within the capital¡¯s centre. The sound of the approaching predators started to rumble through the pavement, the noise of shouting and screaming, tens, no hundreds of thundering feet approaching. I raised my weapon, the gun between my wings and its sights trained down the street as we waited, the other members of my squad doing the same thing; those of us not confident with firearms switching to the shorter ranged flamers. I felt my breathing slow as I tried to calm my self, my focus increasing as the first attacker rounded the corner into a view and- Wait, is that a Venlil?! Indeed, it was, and they weren¡¯t the only ones, the terror on the herd¡¯s tails obvious as the stampede came into view. Venlil and Gojid, Letian and¡­ human!? Indeed, the predators were among the stampede, even though my initial expectations expected them to be the reason for the terror, the beasts chasing down the fleeting prey as easy snacks to be devoured. It didn¡¯t take much to see that this wasn¡¯t the case, even counter to my expectations. There was no blood, the humans were also fleeing whatever had caused the stampede, alongside the prey members of the herd. There was no pouncing and attacking those around them, instead the predators were¡­ helping them? Picking up those who fell or in some cases carrying small members along as they fled. Why? What? Why? Why? If I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d have thought that the predators were just as full of fear as the rest of the herd. It had to be some kind of trick, some reason for them to do this. It wasn¡¯t possible, a predator couldn¡¯t feel fear, or empathy, or love. Couldn¡¯t they? ¡°Estala, what are we doing?¡± I don¡¯t know. I was expecting a predator attack, not¡­ this. Whatever this was, it wasn¡¯t the revelation of predator deception I thought had been happening when I heard about the attack on our leadership. I paused for a moment as the stampede got closer, reducing my decision-making time. I didn¡¯t know what was happening, but I needed more information. ¡°Get back! Retreat to the secondary position and take standard anti-stampede actions if they make it that far.¡± ¡ª------------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: March 30th, 2137 I stood behind the podium, looking back at a sea of faces. Well, while a ¡®sea¡¯ might have been overexaggerating, but it was at least a good-sized pond. Various journalists from different news and media outlets had arrived to listen to my press release, regarding the discovery of the Heartbreak Killer; Humans and federation species mixed together awaiting what I had to say. It was both good and bad news. On the one hand, we¡¯d successfully found and brought a killer to justice. The upcoming trial was nothing more than a formality, since Orhew was fully cooperative and pleading guilty to the murders. The only bug in that fire fruit salad was the human lawyer who had taken the case of the killer''s defence. I¡¯d heard that the predator was preparing a defence based on insanity for the ex-Exterminator Only a human would suggest or try such a thing for such a person¡­ The bad news was, this looked terrible for the Exterminators guild. An Exterminator had been found executing ¡®Predator diseased¡¯ members of the herd, using the perversion of our name and uniform as some kind of guiding light, killing people while proclaiming our values. Rumours had started to fly about his actions, as someone at the prison had leaked to the public the insane rants Orhew had given, with the idea of Exterminator supported purity killings taking hold amongst certain parts of the population. I gave a small sigh, before starting. ¡°I am Prestige Exterminator Estala, and this conference is to confirm the existence, discovery and capture of what is being called in certain spaces as the ¡®Heartbreak Killer¡¯¡±. I gave a small pause as I saw a minor ripple of surprise ripple through those gathered, mostly the human participants reacting to the news. ¡°On [August 7th, 2136], a Venlil by the name of Regven was found killed in, what at the time was considered to be a predator attack. Further analysis based on new information suggested that this theory was not only wrong, but that this murder was also connected to two other ¡®predator attacks¡¯. The human internet dubbed this unknown criminal the ¡®Heartbreak Killer¡¯. [2 weeks] ago, we linked these killings to¡­ an Exterminator.¡± The reaction was stronger this time, several tails and hands raised, half formed questions being shouted my way. I held my wings up to calm the room, shouting over the increased noise level. ¡°Calm down, calm down, please leave any questions until the end. Through our investigations we tracked the killer to a Venlil ex-Exterminator of the Dawn Creek district, by the name of Orhew, also known as Mute. When presented with the evidence, he confessed, and confirmed our working theory of these three murders being the tip of the treetops.¡± I paused once more, watching the tens of faces watching me as I steeled myself to drop the final piece of information. ¡°We can confirm that for the last [three years], Orhew has been killing people he deemed tainted with Predator Disease, including many released members from the now closed Dawn Creek Predator Diseased Facility. While the true number may never be known, we have a possible number of killings up to¡­ 105 victims.¡± That did it. The room erupted into a cacophony of noise, voices shouting over each other as they tried to be heard. tails, ears and arms waving as they each wanted to get their question answered all at once. I held up my wings for quiet once again, but even this wasn¡¯t enough as they just ignored me. I tried to plead for calm, realizing quickly this was a fool''s errand, instead I ended the chaos with a high-pitched screech, hitting the higher, louder notes in my natural capacity. Everyone in the room, apart from the singular Krakotl sat in the back, stopped shouting at once, giving a multitude of groans of pain as they held their ears. ¡°Sorry about that. I understand this information may be shocking, and we will now be answering questions from the press. Please, be orderly and provide them one at a time.¡± The room looked like they were about to explode into noise again, but a single glare from me silenced them once more, the threat of being louder than everyone else here giving them pause and forcing the journalists to act like civilized people. As if. Lawyers, politicians and journalists are the most predatory of professions. ¡°Saldgen, from the Republic Times.¡± A light grey Venlil held up their tail as he asked the first question. ¡°You say this Exterminator was killing the Predator Diseased, was this supported by the Dawn Creek Exterminator¡¯s guild?¡± ¡°Were they part of the True Exterminators movement that started there?¡± Another reporter added. ¡°The actions of Orhew are not, and never were supported by the guild.¡± I stated this firmly, trying to remove the annoyance from my voice, due to the fact that people kept asking me that. ¡°The Exterminators are not a group of crazed mass murderers, Orhew¡¯s actions were his own, and his own alone. He also doesn¡¯t seem to be part of the ¡®True Exterminator¡¯ movement, instead following his own delusions.¡± ¡°Reighas, with the Cradle Crew.¡± A Gojid this time, raising a clawed hand up high to gain my attention. ¡°You say this has been going on for nearly [3 years]. How were this many killings not brought to the attention of the Guild?¡± That was a question, one that didn¡¯t have an answer that didn¡¯t raise more questions. ¡°There was a problem with our systems, that allowed any Exterminator to delete reports without notifying the rest of the guild. This allowed the uptick in deaths, in and around Dawn Creek, to be hidden from view. Since then the system has been updated, and we¡¯re still working with experts to improve the security of all systems on Skalga.¡± A black Venlil with white spots on her head and shoulders rose her paw with a holonote in it. ¡°This would be the second known case of an Exterminator being a Serial Killer. What is being done to ensure that others of their ilk don¡¯t continue to be working for the office?¡± What could be done? Orhew looked, normal. At least before he started ranting about me being pure. There were no signs that he was going on mass killings or was going to try and set fire to a cloned meat processing plant. That was the issue, killers didn¡¯t look like predators, they just looked like¡­ people. ¡°I think defining this as an Exterminator problem is unhelpful and doesn¡¯t attack the real problem. The only reason these two were found, was because their position at the guild left a trail behind to follow. These are the easy ones. We think¡­ we think this is a bigger problem, caused by Federation thinking.¡± I paused for a second, taking a moment to collect my thoughts as I drank from a container of water, trying to work out the correct words to not cause panic. ¡°Our entire society has been tainted by incorrect Federation thinking. We were taught that prey didn¡¯t kill prey, so any murders we saw must have been caused by predators. Our initial analysis suggests there is much work to be done to reopen old cases.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Murmurs broke out amongst the group, although none of the voices rose to become a problem. This gave the Krakotl in the back a chance to speak, raising a wing before chirping out their question. ¡°Palsim, with the Truth Enquirer. Many people have seen the video of you eating ¡®fake predator meat¡¯? Do you have anything to say about this and the impact on your ability to keep us safe as an Exterminator?¡± Come on! The only other Krakotl here is Feddie brained idiot. Way to reinforce the stereotype! ¡°I am not talking about that or anything of a personal matter here. This conference is about the Heartbreak killer only. Next question?¡± I felt my heart drop as the black Venlil spoke up once more. ¡°Sharnet, with the VRPBN. You mentioned up to 105 deaths. How many have you actually been able to confirm?¡± Nope. I didn¡¯t like her. This was the second question she¡¯d asked that I didn¡¯t have a good answer for. ¡°We have confirmed¡­ 74 deaths in total are linked to Orhew, with the 105 number coming from his confession. We are still going through the records to work out who exactly these victims are, but this is a slow process.¡± ¡°And how many of those were previously imprisoned in the Dawn Creek Correctional Facility?¡± I gave a sad forlorn sigh. She must have researched this before me. Her questions were too specific to have known nothing. ¡°29 of the confirmed deaths are from the facility. We are assuming the vast majority of the unaccounted for murders are from that group. It¡¯s difficult to confirm, as most of them don¡¯t have families or a herd who kept track of them, the information as to where or even who was at the facility is scattered. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll ever know who all the victims are.¡± The energy of the room dipped as the sombre nature of my words took hold. This was both a triumph for the Exterminators, and a shame. ¡°So that¡¯s¡­ 76 victims completely unaccounted for?¡± ¡°Not¡­ exactly,¡± I admitted, ¡°3 of them were not part of the facility, but instead human sympathizing individuals. 42 others are part of another incident that I can¡¯t speak of right now, due to being under a separate investigation.¡± An investigation into questions like ¡®Why in the Maltos cursed hells was an Exterminator guild dealing drugs¡¯, ¡®What exactly is in the water at Dawn Creek, that makes every Exterminator there the absolute worst¡¯, and best of all: ¡®how many other offices were involved in the drug trade.¡¯ Another hand rose up, this time from a well-dressed human. Unmasked of course, I wasn¡¯t going to be leading an event where the ¡®predators¡¯ were forced to hide their faces. ¡°Ed Curtis, the Times, Skalga branch. I understand the investigation into the ¡®Intestine-Eater¡¯ was led by a human member of staff. Was this the case here as well?¡± It was now my turn to feel smug, a self-satisfaction practically irradiating the entire room as I shuffled my feathers with pride. ¡°No.¡± I responded with glee. ¡°The investigation was led by myself and officer Jkob. The Exterminator¡¯s guild has made mistakes before, when provided with the wrong information: This is a new world, with new information and new processes sparked by the changes throughout the galaxy. We are learning, and we are learning quickly. This is just the start, while we¡¯re happy to work with them, we don¡¯t need humans to hold our wing.¡± My good mood was instantly destroyed as I looked upon the Krakotl once again raising his wing as he spoke. ¡°Prestige Exterminator Estala, are you a danger now that you are tainted with predatory fake flesh?¡± A crumpled up paper bounced off his head right as he finished speaking, thrown expertly not by a human as I had thought, but by the black and white Venlil. OK, maybe I like her a little bit. ¡°Of for the love of Inatala! I¡¯m talking about someone who killed over a hundred people! Who cares what plant based food I ate, what part of the last [year] has led you to believe that diet matters you Feddie brained yolkless egg!¡± What is wrong with you!¡± I could feel my feathers flaring with anger as I spoke, the unfortunate Krakotl sitting back in his seat as I turned my wrath upon him. ¡±Does anyone else have any more stupid questions?¡± I hoped no one would be dumb enough to answer that question, but I was wrong. A hand raised itself from the back of the room, a small human who had remained quiet until now. ¡°John Smith, a random guy who followed this group in here because nobody was checking ID¡¯s. How much do you like mangos?¡± I¡¯m going to murder this human, and it¡¯s going to be justified. Seriously, this was a meeting to talk about the deaths of countless innocents, and he thought he could barge in and joke around? At least that lady Venlil seemed to agree with my outrage going by her own glare. I stared at the idiot who was wearing a shit eating grin, willing myself to set the moron on fire through my sheer will and rage. ¡°I don¡¯t know if your translator is broken, but I wasn¡¯t actually asking for stupid questions! It¡¯s called sarcasm! Since this has obviously run its course, I¡¯m calling an end to this, further details will be released as they become available. Thank you for your time!¡± I tried to flatten my feathers as I left the podium, my mood was full of annoyance as I ignored the straggling questions still trying to be posed to me. As soon as I was out of sight I buried my beak into the feathers of my wing and gave a silenced scream of frustration. Maybe I could get the Predator Disease Facilities reopened, then have every journalist arrested for Predator Disease. I gave a final deep sigh, trying to remove my rage before I continued on with my hopefully better day. I then spotted a figure approaching, moving away from the rest of the herd and making a straight line toward my position, one that suggested my day was going to get worse before it got better. The good news was my anger had been replaced. The bad news: it was replaced with fear and anxiety. What is High Magister Rolem doing here?! There were very few people on the planet who could get me fired: my reputation, willingness to move with the times, and good standing kept the Feddie brained idiots still within the guild at bay. However, calling a High Magister an ¡®empty-headed stubborn fucker¡¯ in an official email was one way to get fired. I hadn¡¯t heard of any fallout from my ¡®accidental wing slip¡¯, but that didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t coming. ¡°High Magister Rolem! What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here sir?¡± I hadn¡¯t met the Magister in person before, both of us only really knowing of the other through the requirements of our job. The Venlil looked rather pleased, tail swaying in a content manner as he approached. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. ¡°Hello Estala. I would have thought my reasoning would have been obvious. You called for a thorough investigation to be done on what had been previously thought to be a shuttle industrial accident, and then called a conference to talk about a murderer worthy of the Arxur had been operating in my district. That is certainly a way to grab the attention of an, ah, ¡®Empty headed fucker¡¯ I must say.¡± I could feel a panic start to set in, heart thudding as if an Arxur was stood opposite to me, instead of a Venlil Magister. I started spluttering and trying to keep my voice steady as I spoke. ¡°I-I¡¯d like to apologize for the email sent your way. You see, I¡¯ve been having, um, problems with, um, humans finding it funny to break into my, you know, email systems and-¡± I was cut off by a single clearing of the Venlil¡¯s throat, maintaining direct eye contact as he stared me down as I tried to create a flimsy excuse for the email I sent. I withdrew within myself, looking down at the ground, feathers flattened in fear and shame. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to send that email. I normally rewrite them before sending them and I accidentally sent the message before doing so. I am very sorry, and I won¡¯t do it again.¡± He nodded, their spotted wool keeping their expression more unreadable than most. ¡°I do hope I am not intruding with this request: would you walk with me?¡± Well, I¡¯m not fired yet I guess. I gave a small nod as I took position to his left, silently walking with him as we left the press room behind and entered the busy streets of Dayside City. I could feel my mind racing as I tried to work out exactly what to say. ¡°So, how¡¯s your police project going on?¡± Well that was a stupid question. I knew exactly how it was going: Badly. Sure, it was better than what was there before, but at this point an Arxur raiding party would have done a better job than the Dawn Creek Exterminators. The refusal to deal with ¡®predator¡¯ problems had gotten worse now that the Exterminators in surrounding districts were no longer responding to calls: I¡¯d heard rumours of at least one human getting into medical trouble with alcohol poisoning due to nobody wanting to ¡®harass a drunk predator¡¯. ¡°I would say it has been going better than expected,¡± he hummed, ¡°that is not to say flawless, of course. As my expectation was that I would have been, as the humans call it, literally burned at the stake for the complete disbanding of exterminators in my District.¡± Wait, humans do WHAT? No, no, focus Estala, work out what that¡¯s about later. ¡°You could say I¡¯m not a fan of the idea, although you know that already.¡± I added diplomatically. It was a dumb idea, a short term stupid idea that probably wasn¡¯t even legal. ¡°I understand the old guild in Dawn Creek needed to go, but there are¡­ issues with permanently removing the guild.¡± ¡°Oh, that has been quite clear to me. I and the other Magisters have been working hard to restructure things, add new training for the police, and even hire those exterminators who had shown themselves to be truly heroic during that¡­ disaster of a paw.¡± ¡°And I support all of that. Training, reformation, restructuring is what the guild needs.¡± Half my job, when I wasn¡¯t on medical leave, was simply trying to get other districts to take on the changes they needed to survive. ¡°But¡­ you have a staffing issue. The problem is you¡¯re fighting against hundreds of years of cultural knowledge. People know what an Exterminator does, they know what a Police officer does. Trying to mix them, you¡¯ll get the wrong people applying, and the wrong people calling up with their problems.¡± ¡°You must at least understand that my biggest reservation is that, quite simply, your plan for the office is very similar to the plan used after the last debacle. The one that got me into my current position.¡± ¡°The guild isn¡¯t inherently bad, it just needs¡­ changes, like everything in every level of government the Federation touched. The Dawn Creek guild was terrible, but you don¡¯t ban Strayu because a faulty oven burned a batch of them. The police force you want to build, the Exterminator Guild is already reforming to become that. The main difference is your solution breaks down the existing support structures. The Exterminator guilds in the surrounding districts legally can¡¯t help you with your project, which in retrospect is more Federation tampering.¡± ¡°Then does that not further explain my stance? You say I am dismantling support structures, but I ask you: what is it they are supporting?¡± I stopped walking, simply taking the time to look Rolem square in the eyes with full sincerity. ¡°Did you know that 62% of the guild has lost at least one parent? With 78% of those being full orphans? I know I am, that¡¯s why I joined.¡± I spoke softly, sadly, voice filled with emotion as I thought back to when I became a junior Exterminator back on Nishtal, all those years ago. ¡°I wanted to stop others being hurt, that¡¯s why most people join. Some do it for other reasons, but most just wanted to save people.¡± ¡°You say that you wish to help, but have not answered my core question: what is it made to support?¡± ¡°The guild¡¯s purpose is to help the herd. The humans arriving haven¡¯t changed that, haven¡¯t changed why we exist. It¡¯s just shown us a better way to do it.¡± ¡°But think about that. Who made the determination it was ¡°the herd¡± and not everyone? Who decided that orphans and the traumatized should be the main resource? And who set up the very danger you volunteered to save people from?¡± He paused, letting out a sigh. ¡°Can you see what I see it to have been? What I see it as supporting?¡± ¡°The Federation.¡± I said it simply, a tough pill to swallow that inherently, the entire organization I had placed my life behind was a creation of the monolith of suffering that had blighted the galaxy. ¡°Like everything is. As someone from Nishtal, I always did wonder why the Venlil government worked like it does. Governors having near absolute power over the planet, High magisters having absolute power over their district. Makes more sense now I know what the Venlil originally were, made it easier to control you I guess.¡± Well, until one of those Governors uses that power to unilaterally decide to trust a brand-new predator species and completely reveal the Federation¡¯s lies. I gave a small sad sigh, shoulders slumped as I continued to speak. ¡°If I could tear it all up as if I were Inatala herself, remove every law and government structure, rebuild them without the Federation¡¯s influence, then I would. But we can¡¯t, that¡¯s not realistic. All we can do is work with what we¡¯ve got, and make it better. I know the end goal, in a generation or two, won¡¯t require the Exterminator¡¯s guild, but that¡¯s not today.¡± Rolem sighed, ¡°I do not see why it cannot. Because I feel like if we keep it up, it will just encourage a return to fear and prejudice. So yes, I know you disagree with my methods, as I disagree with yours, but I cannot think of any other way forward. Not on my own¡­¡± Well there was another way, something I¡¯d thought of in the last few weeks, a possible compromise. ¡°I have an idea. In small towns and cities near the nightside, the Exterminators and Police are basically the same thing, since they don¡¯t have the facilities for two separate organizations. Normally in such cases, the police are a subgroup of the Exterminators under their command structure, but.... there''s nothing in the laws or procedures that states it can''t be the other way around. You get to keep the name and legal structure, attract people who didn''t join the police to do dangerous stuff, and keep the ability for other district¡¯s Guilds to help. You get to keep the public¡¯s knowledge, their support for the Exterminators, and you also get to build them into something better for this brighter future.¡± Rolem laughed lightly. ¡°Not so sure about the name, but you do have a point.¡± I gave a shrug in response. The name was one of the more important parts. While people had a lower perception of us than they did before, people overall still trusted the Exterminators to protect them, even in these uncertain times. It was our job to ensure that trust wasn¡¯t misplaced. Still, Rolem even considering this was a step forwards. "It also probably helps your reelection campaign, if you''re seen to be ''fixing'' the Exterminators, instead of destroying them." ¡°Heeeeee,¡± He whistled loudly in amusement, ¡°I have come to terms that I am not going to be reelected no matter what I do the rest of my term. I just have to try and set things up so that things do not get immediately undone the moment I leave, as impossible as that may seem.¡± "A year ago, predators were evil, Krakotl were prey, and only predators killed people. The one thing I''ve learned is nothing is written in stone." I paused, before letting my voice fill with mirth. ¡°Besides, I really need you to win your reelection. If you get replaced by some Veln supporting asshole, I¡¯m going to end up sending an even ruder email to them, and I don¡¯t think my career can survive that.¡± ¡°I would not be so sure. The only thing I would have to use against you would be slander, as would they. But unfortunately for them, it is not slander if it is true.¡± I laughed along with Rolem at that, a lighter feeling entering my heart as I did so. Even with the sombre information I¡¯d shared with Skalga today, overall this was a positive note. The found herd at the Dawn Creek Facility would be very happy to learn the Stalker would, at the very least, be spending his entire life in prison. A murderer had been discovered, one hidden by Federation thinking, uncovered without the help of humans. In addition, Rolem and I had come to some kind of an understanding. The universe was a messed up place. The only thing you could really do was try to make it better, one step at a time. Chapter 18 - A few loose ends Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 29, 2136 ¡°Maybe we can pull back if the attack comes from there, defend the main shelters¡­¡± I stood alone as I talked to myself, staring down at the map lay in front of me on the screen, the digital representations of the streets of Venlil Prime showing the maze of streets I needed to protect. Possible avenues of attack from the humans, major bunkers, Exterminator resources. It all mapped together to paint a picture most dire. ¡°Of course, that won¡¯t work if they attack from the sky, like on the Cradle¡­ maybe we can pull back further, though it requires us to abandon the south and north side bunkers to the humans.¡± It was hopeless, the entire thing was a forlorn display of failure. I¡¯d spent days at this, trying to plan for the inevitable defence, trying to find the right tactics to delay for long enough for the Federation to help us, to save people. There was nothing, every single idea and simulation ended the same way: Utter defeat. The predators were just better equipped, more aggressive, more ready, and more¡­ well, predatory. I ripped a feather from my side, hardly realizing I was stress plucking until I saw the solitary blue plume floating in the air and landing softly on the ground. How could I not be stressed? Everyone was going to die, it was my job to stop everyone from dying, and it was an impossible task wrapped in a- ¡°Estala, are you OK?¡± The Venlil voice caused me to jump, glancing up to see Dashnek staring at me, her tail and ears full of worry as she looked down at my pitiful stressed out state. Nobody else was here, it was long after my shift was supposed to have ended several claws back, but I was at the office here trying to work out how to stop these predators from killing everyone. I took a few seconds to flatten out my ruffled feathers and try to present myself reasonably. ¡°I guess so.¡± I blatantly lied, not wanting to worry the empathetic herd member, trying to calm myself from the sheer panic I was feeling, at least enough to have a conversation with another person. Of course, Dashnek saw right through me. They were a Venlil after all, one with an especially good eye for how people actually were and what they were feeling. Her tail swished with a level of doubt at my statement. ¡°I have reports you¡¯ve been overworking yourself, a few of us are worried Estala. We know you want to help everyone, but you can¡¯t do that if you get a heart attack or contract Predator Disease.¡± I felt myself getting agitated at that statement, annoyance and anxiety ramping up as the entire problem of this Maltos damned situation overfilled my person. ¡°Well that¡¯s been going around a lot lately, hasn¡¯t it! The entire planet inviting in predators and letting them get ready to attack us, pure Predator Diseased insanity! I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m supposed to do because the damned things are so tricky, so good at hiding their instincts I don¡¯t know what their plan is! I¡¯m flying blind here!¡± The despair in my voice was obvious as the frustrations of the last [several months] were sounded out as I anxiously held my head in my wings, running my beak through the feathers as the stress of the responsibility of my position took hold. There was a moment¡¯s silence as Dashnek stared at me intently, ears and tail movements cautious, as if deciding whether to say something as I stewed in my emotions. ¡°What if¡­ what if there is no plan? That the humans are telling the truth?¡± I stared at her with shock for a moment, as if the Venlil had suddenly grown fangs and turned into an Arxur. ¡°Really Dashnek, you¡¯re also buying into those predatory lies as well!!?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been here nearly [a month] and we have no reports of any wrongdoing Estala, at no point have the humans been shown to be distrustful. How long can predator deception really last?¡± I paused for a second, the question stopping me as for all her empathetic irrationalities, Dashnek was right. It was a problem: All predators were evil beings filled with terrible instincts to kill and devour, but these humans had seemingly perfect control over their brutal desire to devour flesh, to the extent that many were saying they¡­ didn¡¯t even have them at all. This, of course, made no sense, it flew in the face of every known fact in the universe. ¡°What, you¡¯re saying that they¡¯re flesh eating empathetic predators who just want to be friends? Do you know what that would mean!? It is a known fact that predators kill, indisputable knowledge proven time and time again.¡± ¡°Are we sure about that? To the point of driving yourself bald with stress?¡± I stood there with my beak agape at that suggestion, the insanity of questioning something like that. Dashnek might have well as asked whether gravity was actually real or not. ¡°So everyone else in the Federation is wrong? That every single scientists for hundreds of years is wrong? I¡¯m not egotistical enough of a person to believe that. Predators kill and decieve people, that¡¯s a known fact.¡± I could see the twitch of doubt and confusion in Dashnek¡¯s tail, the simple fact that the predators being trustworthy was an impossiblity fought against the Venlil¡¯s empathetic nature to want to help and trust everyone. That was the problem with Venlil, they were too perfect of a herd member, so they had fallen for the predator lies. Both of us were slumped over where we stood, the anxiety and energy of the conversation dissipating as we felt a wave of tiredness wash over us. Tiredness at this entire Maltos damned situation, tiredness of having no clue what the next move should be. ¡°Just stay safe Estala, take a break. Even if you¡¯re right, you can¡¯t help anyone if you¡¯re in this kind of state. ¡± Maybe Dashnek was right. I had a patrol next paw, forcing this wouldn¡¯t help, I didn¡¯t have a solution. There was nothing I could do but wait for the end. To stop focusing on this for a moment would be nice. ¡ª------------------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: April 14th, 2137 I was full of despair and guilt as I sat on my perch, wings wrapped around my body, looking down in shame at the untouched drink set in front of me. The caf¨¦ was nice, with flowers and greenery scattered around the garden and the pair of us taking a seat in the back, the only ones in the entire establishment at this early paw. I¡¯d never visited this place, it was a small thing at the edge of Dawn Creek that I¡¯d not heard of before, I was only here because Tradiv had contacted me. The Venlil who I¡¯d sent to the Predator Disease facilities had contacted me a few claws ago about wanting to meet up, and I¡¯d rushed over as fast as I could. I owed him that, I owed him much more than that after I¡¯d ruined his life. Each of us had taken our positions without a word, ordering a basic tea for the simple ambience of pleasantries. Now we both sat in silence, my heart thudding with anxiety as I tried to gain the courage to say something, anything to the person I¡¯d wronged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really am.¡± I kept my gaze pinned to the table¡¯s surface, not being able to look the Venlil sitting across from me in his eyes. ¡°If you need anything at all I¡¯ll give it to you. Money, a place to stay, anything at all. If you need more than that¡­ I can¡­ make sure you don¡¯t get caught.¡± I¡¯d not informed anyone else about the meeting, as I imagined most people would be wary of my being alone with the Venlil who had assaulted me the last time we¡¯d met. Not that it was his fault, not that I didn¡¯t deserve what Tradiv had done to me and more. If the Venlil wanted my death they¡¯d be perfectly within their rights after what I¡¯d done to them. No matter what punishment they demanded, what restitution they required, I¡¯d give it to them. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to get anything from you.¡± I took a moment to finally glance up at the Venlil, the isolated seat at the back of the caf¨¦ giving us both the privacy we needed while we spoke. His tail and ear movements were slow, meek, almost¡­ guilty. Not that they had anything to be guilty of. ¡°I wanted to apologize for attacking you.¡± He was calmer than when I¡¯d last met him, and I couldn¡¯t help but stare at Tradiv incredulously after that statement. I¡¯d expected him to shout at me, hate me, demand vengeance. An apology wasn¡¯t what I expected to get, or even what I deserved. ¡°Why?¡± I managed to stutter out after an awkward few moments of silence. ¡°You did nothing wrong, why would you apologize?¡± ¡°I shouldn''t have attacked you. Harry says that it''s normal to feel strong emotions again, after the impact of the facility and the [depression, untranslatable], but I shouldn''t hurt people.¡± I didn¡¯t know who this Harry was, but I guessed it was the human I¡¯d seen during our brief violent interaction. Of course, it was a human trying to grant me mercy for my crimes. The irony of the Federation propaganda is that they seemed to be the most empathetic of us all. ¡°I deserved it.¡± I deserved more. If Tradiv had killed me then it would be deserved. I''d destroyed his life for nothing. ¡°No, you didn''t. I saw¡­ I saw you caught the Stalker.¡± The Venlil spoke with a calm voice while I shrank back from his words ¡°You really were there to help, you stopped the monster. But when I saw you again, it was like I was back at the facility again.¡± ¡°I didn''t know what they were doing in the facilities, but I should have.¡± I could hear the hollow excuses ringing empty from my beak as I spoke, useless and pathetic. ¡°I should have visited one, I should have investigated. I should have done better.¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. I should have, I should have, I should have. Why didn''t I? ¡°Why did you do it? Why did you bring me in?¡± I looked across at Tradiv, remembering when I brought him in for the original test. The Venlil had been clearly unwell, not offering any resistance or even opinion on the things going around them, or even their own well-being. Their family and herd were worried, that''s why they''d reported him in the first place. ¡°You looked so broken, I thought they''d fix you, but they just made it worse. I made it worse. I''m so sorry.¡± If anything he looked worse now, burn marks and patches in his fur showing where the ¡®treatments¡¯ had been administered, his frame thin and shaking, as if continually looking out for a threat. The only thing that had improved was the fire in his eyes and tail, looking more alive than the broken empty soul I¡¯d once determined had Predator Disease. It was those eyes that stared deep into my soul as he spoke the next words with conviction. ¡°I forgive you Estala. Harry says that holding onto anger and hatred is self-destructive. So I forgive you Estala.¡± Those words were not the ones I expected to hear, not the ones I deserve. Forgiveness wasn¡¯t possible, not after what I¡¯d done to Tradiv. I could feel myself tearing up as I slumped even further into myself, as if I could avoid the words spoken by the Venlil. ¡°I¡­ I don''t deserve it.¡± ¡°It''s not your choice to make, only I can choose to forgive you. I should not let this pain poison me any longer.¡± Tradiv said firmly, cutting past my self loathing as he ignored my rejection of unwarranted kindness and penitence. ¡°My actions led by anger caused enough problems for my friends.¡± ¡°Problems?¡± I felt my curiosity perk up slightly, even through my emotional stage. Just what woe had I brought to the ex-Predator Disease Facility? Was I still tormenting them with my presence after all this time? ¡°From what I gather the centre''s treatment of you, in that they allowed my attack on yourself, was not viewed well by the UN. I didn¡¯t hear all of it, but there was much shouting regarding their unfriendly approach to someone of your reputation.¡± That¡­ that made sense. Ever since I¡¯d come back to work after learning about the real ¡®truth¡¯ of humanity, I¡¯d been in close contact with UN representatives, to get resources and information where I needed them, to try and make the Exterminators better. From an outside perspective, I could imagine the knowledge that I got beaten up at a human run refuge centre could be bad PR. Not that it changed anything at all. I deserved what I got, and more. I sat silently upon my perch as the seconds turned to minutes, neither of us saying a word as I held back tears of shame and guilt over what I¡¯d done, my wings wrapped around my body as if I could shield myself from the world. We didn¡¯t need to speak to know what had happened, what the status of my actions were. Even though the Venlil was claiming to forgive me for his own reasons, the reality was my action still hurt people to this day. Eventually, Tradiv got up, leaving his drink behind and spurring me on to give one last offer of aid. ¡°Do you want anything at all? I''ll do anything you need.¡± There was a desperation in my voice, anything to calm, the guilt. Anything to make what I did better. He stared at me for a moment, tail movements slow and determined before giving a final thoughtful response. ¡°Keep being better, Estala. Never stop. Your actions have helped a lot of the people at the centre. We can now sleep safe knowing the Stalker will never return. Many of the herd now have a positive opinion of you. Keep doing that for me, keep making things better Estala, and don¡¯t stop doing it.¡± I remained silent as I watched Tradiv leave, as I sat upon the perch thinking of his words. Forgiveness. People were having to do a lot of that nowadays. Thousands and millions of individuals all regretting what they did, and having to live with it. Maybe that was the only way you could live with it, making sure every action you took afterwards made the world a better place. With a forlorn grip on my heart I eventually got up, paying the bill and gradually heading in the direction of the shuttle station to take me home. I wanted to sleep, to think things over, but that was seemingly not in the cards for me right now, as I noticed two familiar Venlil approaching my position. Two Lawyer Venlil that I really didn¡¯t feel like talking to right now. It¡¯s never a breeze, always a storm. I felt too emotionally exhausted to freak out or flee as the smartly dressed Venric and his legal partner approached, just a numb tired feeling leaving me wondering just what exactly did the scary lawyers want. ¡°Greetings Prestige Extermination Officer Estala!¡± Venric strode forward, lightly brushing his vest before giving me a bow, ¡°How fortunate of us to find you here!¡± ¡®Fortunate¡¯ Suuuure. ¡°Interesting that you¡¯re here as well.¡± I responded, trying to push away the despair of my previous meeting to talk with the Lawyer. ¡°I trust everything is going well on your end?¡± I¡¯d not done anything illegal recently¡­ I think. There was no real reason I could think of that Venric wanted to talk with me. Well, unless the famously anti-Exterminator lawyer suddenly wanted to start talking with law enforcement. Zurulians might also start flying! ¡°Honestly, there¡¯s something that might need your assistance with!¡± His tail gave a wide wag. ¡°Assistance as an officer of the law.¡± For a brief moment I glanced in the air to make sure the sky wasn¡¯t filled with airborne Zurulians. Venric was coming to an Exterminator for help. Venric, the most famously antagonistic anti-Exterminator Lawyer, if not Venlil, on the entire planet, nay, the galaxy. I wondered if this was an imposter, or some kind of dream. Maybe it was a legal trick, the start of a lawsuit. ¡°It¡¯s related to the mango orchard in Ipsom Grove. Tangentially anyway.¡± Venrick continued as I stared at him shocked ¡°We were able to come to a mutually acceptable agreement between our clients and the new leadership of the homeowners'' association. The orchard shall allow hosting of events upon their land during the harvest, and further allow children under [8 years old] to harvest a basket of their own free of charge during these events, and the association shall assist with a nominal fee to be paid to the owners every harvest. It was quite generous, and free to tell with the process finalized!¡± Ah yes, the mango farm. One of the few bright spots uncovered during my recent investigations. I¡¯d been gladly following the progress of the fledgling business, desperately awaiting the first harvest, even contacting them every waking claw to make sure nothing had changed. The savings of not having to import them and the fact that freshly grown mangos had to be tastier than ones shipped from earth. Frankly it was one of the most exciting things to happen to Skalga. I wonder if a human would know the difference between a adult Krakolt, and one that¡¯s [8 years] old. Free mangos whooo! ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re here for,¡± the other lawyer, the lady, stated with her ears remaining flat. ¡°It was discovered that the president and treasurer of the association had been embezzling a significant sum of money, and after our actions triggered a financial audit, they fled with the funds.¡± That was¡­ something. Sure, it wasn¡¯t a serial killer, but most problems weren¡¯t. Most of an Exterminators job was mundane: Complaints, breaking up arguments, talking with people. Tracking down some rich embezzler wouldn¡¯t be that difficult either, since chances were they¡¯d still be using their registered payment pads. ¡°Well financial crime is more of a Police matter, but I imagine they¡¯re not the best at actually tracking the person down for arrest. I can ask a few people, they couldn¡¯t have got far, probably can just find them from their train usage.¡± I paused for a second, staring curiously at the Venlil. While I was more than happy to help, Venric being the one asking for help was¡­ unexpected. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind the question, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re asking an Exterminator for help.¡± Venric looked at me straight on, his eyes firm. ¡°Frankly, in terms of actual criminal investigation, your actions with The Stalker marks a high point in our abilities beyond humanity. If anyone is going to be genuinely capable of tracking those two down in an official capacity, it would be you.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel smug, a great feeling after the emotional turmoil of the meeting previously. It had been the sign of a new, better Exterminators, an investigation that used what humanity had taught us to solve our own problems. Of course, I couldn¡¯t act too mighty about the crime I¡¯d solved. Let¡¯s add a little touch of modesty to this conversation! ¡°I just did my job, as any Exterminator would. Is a single case really the reason for this new vote of confidence?¡± He, to my surprise, looked nervous at my question. ¡°It¡­ admittedly isn¡¯t. When you¡­ provided us those recordings, it was a¡­ surprise. It was not something just any Exterminator would do.¡± Of course. The bodycam recordings from ¡°Tree Tree Hill¡±. I¡¯d heard about the lawsuit, pushing forwards the progress of their unpaid suspension and probable firing. I was also happy that Venric had taken my hint and sued them privately, leaving the district with enough funds to actually hire replacements¡­ eventually. As soon as we found some. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean. I merely provided potential mango customers. Then you found they were being illegally harassed by Exterminators outside their official duties completely without my help. I was then legally required to provide the footage you asked for.¡± Well, maybe a fully timestamped and highlighted video file with every single stupid Maltos damned action those idiots had taken wasn¡¯t technically required by law, but nobody could tell me that I wasn¡¯t normally an overachiever. Nobody could prove anything. The assistant jumped in. ¡°Which is something that many other offices would rather have buried and forgotten. Something other offices have buried and forgotten.¡± ¡°Frankly, Estala,¡± Venric straightened his vest, ¡°you''re one of the few officers on this planet I trust to do things right without lazy shortcuts. The people of the association have no business with me, they actually have a lawyer of their own, but they still had a lot of money stolen from them. So I am asking this as a citizen to an officer of the law: please track down these criminals and take them down.¡± It was a vote of confidence, I knew just how much convincing it would take to get someone like Venric to come to an Exterminator for help. Sure, it was mostly confidence in myself, but it was a start. That¡¯s what we needed to do, to show the world we weren¡¯t just a Federation creation, we were thousands of people who wanted to help the herd. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do, put out a call to track them down. I¡¯m sure something will come up.¡± Venric nodded, a very human action. ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s one more thing.¡± I tilted my head in confusion as his assistant held up a case she had been carrying. Venric popped it open and pulled out a set of actual papers and passed it over to me. ¡°Our clients at the mango orchard have filed harassment charges for you calling them every claw on the claw about their mangoes. You are not to be in contact with them in any way for the minimum duration of [6 months] and may not approach more than [500 yards] from the ground, and as a Krakotl, are fully banned from the townships'' airspace. You have been officially served!¡± My feeling of confidence dissipated in an instant as the restraining order was pressed into my hands. Not the mango farm! How could they betray me like this! I¡¯d only contacted them around 400 times to see if there was an update on their first harvest¡¯s sales. That wasn¡¯t too much, especially when snacks were involved! If I couldn¡¯t contact the farm, how would I know when the delicious Inatala blessed fruits were available! ¡°But how am I going to know when the mangos are ready! I just want to know if the cheap supply is there yet! It wasn¡¯t harassment, I just wanna buy them as soon as I can!¡± ¡°They have a Net page for their orchard,¡± the assistant woman deadpanned. ¡°It will update.¡± But small businesses were well known for not updating their websites. What if they forget? What if the first harvest happens and I can¡¯t buy any?! There would be competition, at least one other Krakotl was on the planet. What if they got the information first, and I was left mangoless and destitute!? ¡°But what if it¡¯s not updated in time, or other Krakotl find out first and buy them all! How long do Mangos even take to grow!¡± ¡°Guess you will have to do some investigating there!¡± Venric¡¯s ears were flicking in way too much amusement at my predicament. ¡°I am sure if you¡¯re lucky you¡¯ll be able to snag a shipment come harvest! Well, I hope you have a good paw!¡± He waved his tail goodbye as he practically skipped down the street, assistant walking behind as I dropped to the floor in despair, wings outstretched to the sky in defiance of a god that had forsaken me. This had to be the worst thing to ever happen to me, unable to find out information about the glorious snacks, forced to wait in ignorance displaced from the nectar of Inatala. Well¡­ maybe in retrospect it wasn¡¯t that bad. Chapter 19 - A Beginning of an end of a beginning of an end. Memory transcription subject: Estala, Prestige Extermination Officer, Krakotl to Venlil Extermination training leader. Date [standardized human time]: October 29, 2136 I walked along the soft Foamcrete walkway, my slow footfalls making little sound as I continued my patrol around the park. The fully fireproof suit I wore gleamed silver in the never ending Venlil Prime sun, a literal bright beacon of safety and stability in these uncertain times. I looked around the park, glancing about for any threats amongst the well maintained flowerbeds and bushes, other Federation members going about their day and enjoying the beauty on offer. It almost looked¡­ normal. It was strange, no matter how much danger the people were in, with the predators on our planet, life had to go on. The streets were filled once again with herds of Venlil going about their business, only occasionally punctuated with one of those cursed mirrored face masks the predators wore, reminding us all that they were always sulking around, waiting for any weakness. I guess that even with the never ending threat of being eaten by the humans, you could only cower in place awaiting the end for so long, before it becomes¡­ normal. People still needed to go to work, buy their groceries, drop their pups off at school. Or at least as normal as it could ever get. Venlil and herd members alike gave happy flicks of their ears and tails as I passed by, the silver suit, while uncomfortable, was a sign that someone would protect them, no matter what idiots like Tarva might do. That as soon as the danger made itself apparent, someone would be there to help them, no matter how forlorn such aid might be. This was why I was at the park. Someone had reported a human here, so I¡¯d rolled on by to check it out. A predator in such a place can only mean bad tidings: hunting? Trying to isolate an innocent Flowerbird? Or did the lack of buildings and other civilized structures remind it of home? Whatever the reason, I was here to make sure it didn¡¯t do anything. Or¡­ well¡­ had done nothing, I guess, since wherever the predator was or had been, it wasn¡¯t here now: the entire park was quiet and peaceful, away from the piercing eyes of the flesh eaters. I wandered around aimlessly for a moment, not really seeing any reason to stick around. I had the rest of my shift to finish and¡­ I spotted a glint in the bushes. Something metallic catching my avian eye. It was well known that Krakotl¡¯s had a natural affinity for spotting shiny items, a carry-over from when we¡¯d have to look out for predators while foraging for algae, so the¡­ thing stood out amongst its resting place in the soil. Slowly I ambled over and picked it up, whatever it was. A small metallic rectangular object, a primitive screen of some kind embedded into it, showing text in a language I didn¡¯t recognize. Based on how low tech it looked, I assumed¡­ Yotul? The item had a handful of buttons, very vintage to have a physical thing to press. I held the thing within my hands for a moment, tilting my head in confusion at whatever it was, before pressing the largest button. I practically jumped out of my feathers as sound erupted from the device, music playing out as a few eyes of the surrounding herd looked at my position with shock. The item slipped from my grasp, bouncing from hand to hand as I tried to catch it again, before tumbling to the ground. The sound continued to play as I reached over to pick up the offending intrusion. It was clearly a primitive Yotul music player, dropped by one of the recent uplifts. I was about to simply put it in my uniform¡¯s pocket, in order to later see if I could find the owner, before I realized the sound being output was¡­ like nothing I¡¯d heard before. It was soft and delicate, tones playing powerfully but with purpose, filling my chest with emotion as the notes originated from an unknown instrument. Possibly a stringed device, but with the number of notes being played by the single source it was unlike anything I¡¯d heard before. It was beautiful. I pressed another button and the song changed, this time some form of orchestra, like a Krakotl Choir, but more¡­ everything. What must have been over thirty instruments worked together in harmony to create a feeling of¡­ endurance, as if I was at the centre of a tornado, but still standing strong against the winds of danger. The crescendos of noise empowering me as I stood still. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I stood there, listening to this strange Yotul music, others in the park gathering as they were attracted to the amazing sounds. The breadth of music was larger than I could ever expect, from soft sombre tones that made me want to weep, to strong powerful sounds that practically made me want to stampede. I didn¡¯t know much about Yotul culture, but if this could create¡­ this, I should pay more attention to them. ¡°What is that officer?¡± A Venlil asked the question, breaking me from the trance and being a reminder that I was still on duty. I cleared my throat and straightened out my uniform, turning to the member of the herd and trying to retrieve a little bit of professionality. ¡°It¡¯s a Yotul music device. I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s returned to its owner.¡± ¡°Yotul eh? Wouldn¡¯t have thought the primitives could create music like that.¡± I¡¯d be lying if I wasn¡¯t surprised myself, taking a few moments to chastise myself for stopping my patrol before going back to my job. The first task was to learn who owned this device, which would mean translating the text. I pulled out my pad and used the visual translator to decrypt the meaningless squiggles on the primitive screen. I felt my chest rise with worry and fear once more, not from the words, but the language from which it was being translated. ¡°Human (English)¡± No, that couldn¡¯t be right, that wasn¡¯t possible. How could this device be made by a predator? That was impossible, why would a predator have made such music, or even taken the time to make a device to play them on? I furiously fiddled around with the item, trying to work out which Federation species had actually made these melodies, but all I found were song names and composers written in the human tongue. Maybe it was a trick, maybe it was a method to attract prey. It had clearly worked on me, I¡¯d been distracted and entranced by the music. Maybe a predator could put together enough trickery to copy one song needed to attract prey to their foul needs. Yes, that made sense, that was possible. But it wasn¡¯t just one song. There were hundreds in this device. I desperately played the start of each one in turn, hoping to find anything new, something soaked in blood and violence. Something that made sense, something that I¡¯d expect a predator to make. But each one was the same as the other: Unlike anything I¡¯d heard before, beautiful and¡­ wondrous. ¡°They¡¯ve been here nearly [a month] and we have no reports of any wrongdoing Estala, at no point have the humans been shown to be distrustful. How long can predator deception really last?¡± The words spoke by Dashnek reemerged in my mind as I stood there, holding the impossible item in my hands: a music player created by predators. My searching for the human¡¯s real intentions had felt like trying to catch ghosts who knew my every move, who knew exactly how to hide their evil and always seemed to be doing the right thing. What if¡­ what if they weren¡¯t lying? It was impossible. It went against everything scientifically known about the universe. But they haven¡¯t done anything yet. How much evidence could a predator realistically fake? I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know. Human predators were everywhere, but nobody was dying, surely they were planning on attacking, but they were making no visible moves to do so. They¡¯d saved Venlil when the Arxur attacked the space station, but logic dictated they must be planning to work with the Arxur to eat us all at some point? Right?... Right? None of it made any sense. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I stared at the music player in my hands, a music player that broke every known rule in the universe, an overwhelming tiredness taking over my body as I looked at it. All the stress, the unknowns, the worry of what was happening in the universe hitting me all at once. I should go home, I should get some rest, thinking this over after a good claw¡¯s sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day, a calmer day. ¡ª----------------- Memory transcription subject: Estala, Human Methods Advisor to the Exterminators. Date [standardized human time]: April 27th, 2137 I sat on the seat, the quick train ride seeming to drag on as the seconds and minutes ticked by, this paws commuters shoved in tight around me while I struggled to get any amount of personal space: Venlil, Gojid, human, all members of the herd together, heading towards their individual end locations wherever they may be. There was no space to worry about being too close to the many humans that now called Skalga home, not that most people in the capital cared. Everything was different; not just over the near year since the humans had first arrived, but simply the time I¡¯d spent on medical leave had seen the universe change so much. The war was nearly over, only the remnants of the federation being left behind, the Farsul and Kolshian governments I¡¯d once called allies now nothing more than shattered husks. Veln had won the Skalga elections, ousting governor Tarva, which would be its own set of challenges considering he was already giving contradictory statements about the role of the Exterminator¡¯s guild. That would be a problem for another day. The guild itself had also gone through changes. Jkob in particular had been heavily impacted by what he¡¯d seen while helping me track down the Heartbreak Killer: during the last [month] the Letian launched a campaign based around the human idea of ¡®mental health¡¯, especially for the Exterminators hit the hardest by the series of changes and revelations. Even I¡¯d been required to attend therapy, the Zurulians having taken the new medical science of the mind fully on board, quickly providing a new wave of much-needed therapists for a broken universe. My capture of the heartbreak killer had also brought their own changes, showing humans and ex-federation members alike that the Exterminators could take on these new challenges thrown at them. The testimony from the interviews and documentaries from the ex-Predator Disease facility, at their relief of finally seeing ¡®The Stalker¡¯ locked up forever, had gained some of the public¡¯s trust back for the Exterminators. While not a ¡®barrage¡¯, human applications for the many roles we still needed to fill had increased, and public perception of our organization was starting to return to a positive one. Then there was me, head fully healed, ¡®rested¡¯ this time, and feeling a little better about the uniform I currently wore. I felt the train finally stop at my station, giving me the chance to shove and push my way out of the crowd and allowing me to take to the air in flight once more: the final leg of my commute towards the head offices for the Exterminator Guild. The building looked exactly as I left it, all 12 stories pushing higher and larger than the other offices surrounding it, a monument to strength and safety. For all the changes that had happened in the last year, some things would always remain the same. The doors slid open in the same way as before, Veralic greeted me as I entered as he always did, the Venlil¡¯s short fur dyed yet another colour as he continually changed his look: A light pink this time. As I walked towards my office, I was greeted by the same coworkers I¡¯d been greeted by so many times before, the same sounds of people busy at work. The smell was different, the unique scent of flamer fuel missing, the once standard piece of Exterminator equipment now stored en mass in a safe somewhere, replaced with a variety of human made less-than-lethal options. I sat down at my own desk, giving a small sigh as I turned on my computer to find the mass of work that had piled up in my absence. That 100% hadn¡¯t changed. While I was never light on work, taking on the role of general ¡°Human solutions'' problem solver¡± had caused me to be a single point of contact for practically all Exterminator interactions with anything that could even vaguely be considered ¡®Human related¡¯. Training, reform proposals, complaints about humans interactions with Exterminators, complaints about Exterminator interactions with humans, new tactics, complaints about new tactics, calls for help¡­ I scrolled through the list, tens items I¡¯d either have to delegate or deal with myself. A deluge of work to drown in. ¡°Situation in Twilight valley¡± I gave a frown, my mind picking this request out of the pile and noting that it came from both the UN and Exterminators at the same time: very strange. I briefly opened the document and started skimming the details. Exterminator abuse¡­ human criminal element¡­ shootouts¡­ missing people¡­ drugs, murder, kidnapping¡­ need backup¡­ ¡°How dare you sully the Exterminators you predator! I want to speak to a manager!¡± The shouting of a Venlil was enough to break my concentration, causing me to leave behind my office and its pile of work and investigate the commotion happening in the lobby. It wasn¡¯t hard to spot the source of the noise, a Venlil screaming at the top of her lungs in the reception area, standing next to the largest human I¡¯d ever seen. Tall and muscular, wearing an Exterminator uniform, standing awkwardly while the Venlil continued shouting at him. For a moment I forgot all about the civilian causing a commotion, staring at the absolute¡­ unit of a person who was being berated. While humans were nothing when compared with the Arxur, if I was to imagine a ¡®predatory¡¯ human, this would be the closest approximation I would come up while still being within realistic parameters. ¡°I don¡¯t know what predatory tricks you used, but I need to report a predator family living next door, report it to a real Exterminator, one not tainted by your tricks, so get me whoever is in charge!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry maam, Estala is currently on medical leave. I can help you with your-¡± The human was cut off when the Venlil, of all the stupid things to do, took a swing at the officer, missing the Exterminator wildly, but still screaming with hate and rage. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your predator lies, get me your-¡± Taking a swing at an Exterminator while stood in the middle of an Exterminator¡¯s guild office, was a bad idea, no matter if the Exterminator was a human or not. The Venlil was tackled to the ground by Jkob in record time, the blur of a Letian figure colliding into the rude and annoying person, the struggles of the Venlil hardly registering as the attacker was subdued in an instant. Whoever the Venlil was, their shouts about ¡°predators¡± and ¡°do you know who they are¡± were ignored as they were bundled off to be arrested for assaulting an Extermination officer. That¡¯s how you can tell the difference between someone still scared by humans, or just a bad person. People filled with hate are just angry. I didn¡¯t have any energy or mentality to deal with stupid backwards thinking people, besides, I had a new employee to greet, one that particularly interested me: I didn¡¯t know we¡¯d managed to hire any humans at the head office. It was probably announced to me in unread email number 1380 of 1770. ¡°Hi there! Didn¡¯t know we¡¯d hired someone new! I¡¯m Prestige Exterminator Estala, I imagine we¡¯ll be working closely together as you go through your training.¡± The human jumped as I approached them, yet another case of someone sneaking up on the narrow ¡®predatory¡¯ view of the primates, scrambling awkwardly as I held out my wing in a standard human greeting. He stared at my arm for a few moments, seeming to struggle with what part of my anatomy to grab, before lightly grasping the tip of my feathers and wiggling them slightly up and down in the cutest attempt at a handshake I¡¯d seen. ¡°Thank you sir¡­ maam? Boss? I¡¯m Carlos, I just started a few days - err I mean paws, ago.¡± Being this close to Carlos made it clear how ¡®huge¡¯ this person was, those ¡®oh so scary eyes¡¯ baring down upon me, the orbs within his face a brilliant blue as deep as my own feathers, muscles rippling under his skin. Damn, he looks like he could tear people in half with his bare hands¡­ ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. How are you enjoying it, crazy Venlil not withstanding?¡± ¡°Ummm, better than expected. Everyone¡¯s been¡­ surprisingly friendly.¡± Well, not that surprisingly, considering that this was an office in the capital city. While your experience would vary depending on how rural you were, any Exterminator working this close to the major cities by this point were either fully on board with the new normal we found ourselves in, or was doing a very good job at hiding their actual feelings. ¡°Yeah, we know Estala is super pro-human, and would be piiissed if we treated a human hire badly.¡± A voice sounded out behind me as a Venlil officer walked by and interrupted our conversation, mirth and glee in her voice as she spoke. ¡°If I had to choose between facing a rampaging Shadestalker with nothing but a damp match, or Estala¡¯s famous ire, I¡¯d pick the Shadestalker any day!¡± I gave the officer a glare as they scurried away, rolling my eyes at the comment before focusing on the new hire once again. It really was a sign of the times. If you''d have told me a year ago, that not only would a ¡®predator¡¯ be working in the Exterminators guild, but people would be happy and joking about it, then I''d have suggested you needed to get your head checked. Less than a year¡­ Since then, we¡¯d learned that everything we held dear was a lie, that the distinction of predator didn''t matter, the eternal Federation had crumbled and a new way of doing things had been put in its place. It was exciting, saddening, tiring and terrifying, all at the same time. All one could really do was hold on as the winds of change steered your flight. ¡°Well I''m sure you''ll enjoy working here Carlos, we''re very glad to have you on board!¡±