The Pirate and The Prisoner (A Nature of Predators Fanfiction) - [Chapter 1]

Memory Transcription: Ilkam, Krakotl Pirate, Captain of "The Scarlet Drake" Date [standardized human time]: October 17th, 2097

I stare lazily at the large viewscreen mounted at the front of the bridge, as I have for the past 4 hours, and I feel the weight of boredom tug at my eyelids. The screen displayed a field of black, nearly endless void, interrupted only by the occasional speck of light of distant stars. Save of course, for the singular, pale gray vessel set in the center, the very same that we have been silently following for the past week.

I rub my beak with a wing, cursing my lack of sleep the night prior, and lean forwards slightly in my chair, attempting to shift my thoughts away from the crushing monotony of all this waiting around. Focus on the job, Ilkam. This could be the big break we've been waiting for! A catch like this, a Federation research vessel no less, could net us all the credits and goods we've been aching to get for so long. Inatala knows that the crew has been getting antsy about some real money for once, after all those half-rate Venlil cargo raids over the past rotation.

And this has to be one of the easiest smash-and-grabs one could even imagine. Stars above, it doesn't even have an escort! It's as if Inatala herself is just handing us a paycheck!

...Hmm...

I return my focus to the screen again, yet my mind continues to wander. Why is a ship out here all alone like this? This sector has been hit multiple times by those Arxur raiding fleets over the past few rotations, and they don't even have so much as a fighter protecting them. Hell, with how erratic their flight plan has been, it's as if they're trying to avoid other federation contact more than anything

In fact, What's a ship like this even doing out here to begin with? That's very distinctly a Farsul design. What are they doing all the way out here in Venlil territory? What could possibly be out here that-

"Captain!"

I am jerked from my musings as the sensors officer calls out, turning to face me. "Yes? Has something come up?" I respond, praying for anything to break this stagnation. I’d rather fight through an Arxur cattle ship with nothing but my talons than sit here staring at this damned screen for another hour.

"Aye sir. Looks like our 'friends' here are dropping out of FTL." That certainly sounds like something pretty damned worthy of my attention.

"Oh?" I tilt my head, interest piqued, as my feathers puff out excitedly. I turn to the helmsman to my left. "Helm, match their speed, and bring us in closer. I want us within range, see what they're up to." A quick "Aye Sir!" meets my order, and I return my gaze to the viewscreen. Feeling my back press into my seat as we begin slowing down from FTL speeds, I watch as our target grows to fill the screen, giving a more detailed view of the vessel.

It's quite the old design, in all honesty. The Federation all but completely phased out this class of research ship over 100 rotations ago, replaced by newer, more robust designs. And this one certainly looked old. A collage of flat gray-brown panels, a large triple engine block at the rear, and a massive, cylindrical fuel tank offset to the side, taking up half of the ship’s profile. It looks more like a flying brick more than anything I’d consider ‘space-worthy’

Why are they flying a relic like this? The more we track these Farsul, the more questions I have, and the less answers I get.

One question, however, is a lot more pressing than any of the others.

Why have they stopped?

"Something on your mind, Captain?" I turn to see a weathered Gojid standing at my side, an amused look in his eye. Terlid, and his unyielding sense of humor. I huffed, looked away, trying and failing to hide a smirk. My first officer always could tell when I got too lost in my thoughts. I suppose after serving with someone for over 20 rotations, you start to notice a few things about them. I certainly have.

"There's a lot on my mind, Terlid, you know that better than anyone, no doubt.” I retort, amused. “But for the moment..." Pulling back to a more serious tone, I turn back towards the sensor station. "Do you see anything else out here? Any ships heading this way, or any indication that this area has something they'd want?"

"Negative sir, this area's all dead space, and there isn't another ship for over 3 lightyears. It's just us out here." the officer replies, looking over his control console. Yet more unanswered questions.

"So they're not looking for something..." I mutter, looking away for a moment. There must be something that they’re trying to do out here, there's no other explanation."...What of the target, what's their status? Anything notable?"

"Well," he begins. "Their comm signal is completely radio dark, but that's nothing new, considering they haven't so much as sent a text communication in the week we’ve tailed them. It looks like they've completely cut their engines after coming to a stop. If i didn't see the reactor still running, I'd say they've gone completely dead in the water. And there's nothing to indicate that they even know we're out here either, sir."

What the hell are they doing?

I turn back towards the Gojid. "What're your thoughts, Terlid?"

"I think we couldn't ask for a better opening if we were blessed by Ki-ra!" He exclaims, waving one of his arms at the screen.

I give him an incredulous look. “Aren’t you at all concerned about what’s going on here? A ship like that, going around unprotected? Why’d it just decide to stop in the middle of space like this? Why it’s flying all over the place as if they're being chased by someone?”

“To be fair, they have been getting followed the past few days.” He retorts, a mischievous gleam in his eye, waggling his brow.

I rub my eyes. “...Shut up, Terlid, you know what I mean.”

He lets out a quick, barking laugh at my expense. “If you want my honest opinion…” I watch as Terlid leans in closer, lowering his voice a bit, so only he and I could hear. “I think you’re overthinking things again, Ilkam.”

He stands straight again, voice returning to normal. “We have a quarry right in our clutches, basically dead to rights all the way out here in the black. So what if these scientists have been acting shady? We’re not detectives, our job isn’t to investigate them, it’s to take what’s ours. I don’t see a mystery…” He leans back over “I see the biggest payout we’ve seen in months.”

Terlid walks between me and the view of that ship, facing me directly. “So whaddya say, Captain? Should we make a move, now that we got ‘em right where we want them?” He says, pointing his claws at the screen once more, anticipation dancing in his eyes.

I pause for a moment, returning my gaze to the large gray vessel in front of me. Handing us a paycheck, indeed... I sit up straighter, laughing for a moment. My feathers stand on end in excitement once more, and with a steely, almost predatory tone to my voice, I answer.

"Yes."

---

[Next]

And thus, the story begins.

Anyways, Hi everyone! This is the first time I've ever attempted writing something proper like this, especially something long-form. The overall concept of this fic has been floating around in my brain case since way before I ever found Nature of Predators, and writing it out so far has been a blast!

Obligatory shoutout to Space Paladin for the fantastic universe, and an extra shoutout to every single one of the other writers on this sub for inspiring me to take this plunge. And a tertiary thank you to all of you, I hope you enjoy!