Chain Reaction - (Deathclaws x NOP) Chapter 11

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Memory transcription subject: Governor Tarva of the Venlil Republic

Date [standardized human time]: July 29, 2136

There were two reasons I wasn’t being dragged away to a PD facility right this very second: one, most people had been evacuated, and two, the Zurulian doctors that had been an attache of Solvin’s fleet agreed with my plan.  Well “agreed with” was underplaying it, they were the ones to talk me into it.   Dr. Tausen was currently on the way down to the planet to perform the test himself, so I would be dealing with that whole bundle of nervous energy in a moment too.  Again, there wasn’t a shortage of that here.  Kam was shouting into his phone trying to wrangle up some exterminators to oversee the area.  Kam themselves would not be joining me because, and I quote “Someone needs to be in charge of the defense effort once those monsters tear you to pieces.”  So I had that vote of confidence at least.  

Just outside the Governor’s manor, was a large courtyard, complete with gardens and other artistic conversational pieces.  It was ringed with landing pads for VIP’s.  And most of my staff now refused to step foot in it.  In fact the only one to join me in the courtyard was the harchen reporter Cilany, who was getting a much larger scoop than they thought they would, and now refused to do anything but dig further.  Speaking of, I turned to the reporter “Thank you for coming with me.  You’re quite brave.”  

Cilany for their part just cocked their head.  “You’re the one who agreed to meet with them, and you would have done it by yourself if I hadn’t tagged along… what changed?”

I knew what they were getting at.  “Same as what happened to everyone else - I had to deal with the fact that the deathclaws existed.”  I shuddered “I still hate that name.  And the damned eyes, and the teeth!  But they actually talked to us.  They met the Arxur.  They knew that their fumbled first contact was just going to be the first of many, but they came back.  To try… something.  And I had hoped they would.  So, every night for the past week, I just stared at photos we have of them.  And relistened to our conversation.  I have to be able to see them as people.  I might be the only chance they get to do just that.  You saw how Solvin acted - and the fact that the other members of the fleet followed him shows that he’s not an outlier either.  But this… this is something different.  I want to make it be something better.”

I heard a small chuckle from Cilany “An honest answer from a politician.  Glad I got that on camera.” 

I just rolled my eyes.  I could see Dr. Tausen’s small ship as a bright dot in the horizon, and they were scheduled to touch down in just a few minutes.  I bantered with Cilany for a few moments.  None of her hard questions this time.  Just softball after softball.  I wasn’t sure if she was trying to assuage her nerves or mine.  Either way, I was grateful for the distraction.  

Dr. Tausen finally touched down in their ship.  Zurulian medical ships attached to interplanetary defense fleets were equal parts carrier and hospital.  Rather than fighters, the main ship would launch what were effectively flying ambulances to rapidly respond and triage survivors, bringing the most severe cases onto the ship itself which was a state of the art hospital.  That being said, I hoped Dr. Tausen was a better doctor than pilot as he seemed to fall into the “any landing you can walk away from” school of thought; emphasis on fall.  

Dr. Tausen for their part was completely nonchalant about the whole ordeal and came tottering down the ramp with a spring in their step.  Or as much as they could muster while pulling what appeared to be an entire medical center on wheels behind them - though closer inspection revealed it was remote controlled and just following the doctor.  

As Dr. Tausen neared, he called out “Tally ho!  Governor Tarva, I must thank you again for accommodating my scientific indulgence on what is sure to be an auspicious day!”  Not waiting for a response the doctor continued “Oh this takes me back to my misbegotten youth.  Real frontier medicine!  On a predator!”  

The nature of interplanetary politics meant dealing with people that were most assuredly out of their mind, so I could deal with some eccentricities of the doctor “Welcome Dr. Tausen.  You were rather insistent on this course of action.  Are you so convinced of their ability to feel empathy?”

“Oh my dear Governor, after today, we will need to redefine the word!  We’ve already compiled sufficient data to source a veritable bastion of literature on their use of cognitive empathy alone.  And the use of predator threat displays to concoct a rousing musical refrain - it reveals the ability to bridge the gap between predatory instinct and true intelligence.  Remarkable.”

Clearly wanting a headline, Cilany stepped forward “So in your professional opinion Dr. Tausen, these deathclaws are sincere in their efforts to befriend us and don’t want to eat us?”

“Oh don’t be preposterous - they most assuredly want to eat us!  They’ll just choose not to.  It’s fascinating!”

My tail went rigid at the doctor’s proclamation and Cilany’s scales rapidly shifted blue.  Before I could answer further, I jumped as my tablet crackled to life with Cyrus’s voice coming through “Preparations for my departure are complete.  I will arrive momentarily.  I - We -” Cyrus’s voice cracked and he took a shuddering breath.  “This is a momentous occasion for my people.  May I stand on ceremony and say a few words upon my arrival?”

I was in too deep to refuse at this point “Of course.  Do you have an eta?”

“Uh… now…?” 

Without any additional context or preamble, there was a bright flash and crack like thunder at the landing bay where I had instructed the deathclaws to land and there, in the fullness of day, was a whole ass deathclaw.  My heart raced as my mind frantically tried to make sense of the latest cruel joke the universe had in store for me.  These predators could simply appear wherever they pleased!  If they wanted to invade, our orbital defenses would never even have a target to shoot.  

The only saving grace was that Cyrus had yet to lock onto us with their predatory gaze, instead they were fixated on the sky above them.  Sweeping their arms wide they spoke aloud - at a volume I would usually call a shout “We dared to dream.  We dared to brave the void of space to find a better world.  But today, we live the dream of not only finding that world, but being invited by those we would call friend.” 

Whatever lofty thoughts Cyrus wished to impart were immediately undone as they dropped their arms and fixed me with that predatory glare.  There was no escaping it.  They were three times my size if they were a hair taller, their teeth were made for tearing flesh, and I was standing out in the open!   Seized by my survival instincts, I turned tail and ran behind a statue of Sir - whatizfluff.  I had given the speech a hundred times if I had done it once, and now his name had flown out of my mind, as quickly as any other rational thought.  I just pressed my back against the cold marble, and covered my mouth with my paws to stifle the scream that desperately tried to escape while my ears strained to hear the predator.  

Why did I have to listen to that fool Tausen!?  Speaking of, I caught out of the corner of my eye Dr. Tausen in a situation very similar to my own as they were peeking out from behind another statue.  Wait - peeking! - that fool was giving away his position!  I started waving frantically to get Tausen to stop, but he wasn’t looking in my direction.  

“St-Stay back!” called the doctor from his “hiding” spot - any of his jovial tone smothered by fear.  “I-I-I’ll send the-the machine to you.” 

“Acknowledged.” came Cyrus’s reply from far too close as I suppressed a whimper as I shrunk further behind my barrier.  

Tausen used his remote to drive the mobile device over to Cyrus, and walked him through the steps of the procedure, improvising slightly to work around the length of Cryus’s armspan.  The courtyard fell into silence as the test itself began in earnest.  The actual empathy test was straightforward; show the subject a variety of stimuli - usually images or videos - and measure their response.  Dr. Tausen was keeping tabs on the results as they filtered through on his tablet.  And I watched as the doctor’s eyes got wider and wider.  The silence continued to drag as Dr. Tausen began to swipe at his tablet, sifting through the results, even tilting the tablet as if that would make the results more understandable.  

Eventually my curiosity got the better of me “Well?” I asked in a hushed whisper.  Dr. Tausen opened and closed their mouth a few times, gave up and then just shrugged.  

I hissed “I thought you said this would work.” 

“I need more time.”  hissed Tausen back.  

“Take it.” answered Cyrus, causing myself and Tausen to jump.  “I - I would - I’ve never seen a sky like this.” continued Cyrus in a shuddering voice.  

“What’s -” Oh my stars, I forgot about Cilany! I realized with a jolt as the reptilian reporter spoke from some thirty feet away and out of my sightline “- your sky like?”

“... Scarred.” answered Cyrus.  “Storms and ash are all I’ve known.  When I was a child of maybe 4 there was a day where the clouds parted briefly.  I saw the sun unobstructed.  Magnificent.”  There was a sniffle.  “When I next saw the sun, I was aboard a rocket, leaving our atmosphere.”  

I chanced a look from behind my statue.  Cyrus was mostly obstructed by Tausen’s device, but it had come equipped with a bed fit for a mazic, which Cyrus now laid upon, their horrific binocular vision still focused on the sky.  I couldn’t find Cilany’s hiding spot before I ducked back behind cover.  Hopefully she was well hidden, but I doubted that would last as Cilany continued her inquiry.  

“If your planet is as hostile as you claim, how were you able to make it to the stars?”

Cyrus thought for a moment before taking on the affections of someone he was quoting “More radiation means more mutations among the survivors.  Mutations lead to rapid adaptations in the population.  The prior mass casualty event enriched the soil with nutrients, both radioactive and non.  Said casualties also created vacant niches in the ecosystem, which when exploited lead to an explosive growth in the population, which in turn created more opportunities for mutation and continued evolution.” 

Cyrus paused a moment to consider his next words, and I chanced another peek.  Despite the broad gesture from when he first arrived, Cyrus was keeping his arms still and close to his chest as he spoke.  “And as for technology, the old world was on the brink of war.  Anything important was meant to be bombed and survived.  The best designed did.  We copied anything that wasn’t a ruin or scrap - made the switch from flimsy primate hands to death claws easier.”  

Cyrus’s head suddenly snapped to stare at a nearby staryu bush “A question of my own then: are reptilians common among the Federation?” 

The bush slowly answered using Cilany’s voice “We’re uncommon.  There’s a few species that fit the mold.  My own the Harchen, and the Trombil for instance, but mammals have the majority.”  

“Good.” replied Cyrus, turning his head to the sky again.  “I was worried that the Arxur and the Deathclaw would draw a worrying pattern.”  

I swallowed “How did you arrive on the planet?” I finally asked. I managed to keep my head from out behind my hiding place, even as Cyrus turned his attention to me. 

“The teleportation? Is that not a technology known to you?” 

I shook my head in the negative.

“I can’t say much about it truthfully. It’s bleeding - err, cutting, nope uhh - very advanced technology, a recent invention from our friends in the Institute.” 

“The Institute?” I asked. 

“Oh right, we never did get a chance to explain our government. The Committee's constituent parts are the three factions that arose after the Scouring: The Enclave, The House and The Institute.”

Cyrus seemed to be about to elaborate before Tausen’s device suddenly sprang to life again, and I heard the sounds of an Arxur raid.  Thankfully, the sight of it was obscured to me.  I rounded on the doctor, about to tell him off, only for the doctor to be holding his tablet aloft as their legs tapped the ground like a pup that had just gotten the biggest treat of their life.  

“Splendiferous!” exclaimed the doctor as the sounds of the raid were suddenly silenced.  “Oh the absurdity of it all!  Cyrus my boy!  It is my professional opinion that you do exhibit empathy!”

“Thank you for your diagnosis doctor.” said Cyrus flatly as they slowly began to remove diodes from their body. 

“What caused the delay?” I asked stepping out slightly from behind my statue.  

“Modification of the prescribed tolerances for the subject’s heightened emotional state from this magnificent view.  Superb work on creating the ideal control environment with your academic inquires Cilany!  But, the true inspiration was the fear response.  Or more precisely the lack there of!  He’s not afraid of the Arxur!” exclaimed Dr. Tausen giggling.  

Cyrus sat up on the bed, swinging their legs over to get a better look at where I and Tausen were standing.  I may or may not have gripped the statue tighter.  “I’m not suicidal. Guns and teeth demand respect.” replied the predator.  

It made a strange amount of sense I nodded, saying “You see danger, but not something to run from.”  I stared up at the deathclaw, wishing I could shove those instincts down.  There was one question that still needed to be asked.  “And the prey that the Arxur attacked.  What do you see when you look at them?”

“Pain.” answered Cyrus flatly.  “Sorrow.  Fear.  Same things you see.” he cocked his head and considered for a moment.  “Maybe not quite.  On the arxur, I also see their relief that for this day they won’t starve.” 

I let out the most disgusted bleat I had ever used in my life before stalking closer to Cyrus.  “After everything I’ve risked to bring you here, you’re going to take those monsters' side!?”

Cyrus just snorted.  “When I first encountered the Arxur, I knew nothing of their history, nor yours.  But I recognized them as sentient living beings capable of the full range of emotion I was.  I tore them apart with my own claws.”  

The sudden coldness of Cyrus’ statement made me shudder.  He cackled “Now who’s sympathizing with the Arxur?  The truth of the matter is that they very well may be people just like you.  But they’re trying to kill you, so you get to kill them right back.  Them’s the rules.” 

I made up my mind, and did something very, very stupid.  I walked right up to the deathclaw, well within arm’s reach.  “Cyrus, the arxur are trying to kill us.  The Venlil Republic formally requests your assistance in killing them right back.”

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So real life if about to get complicated for me. Without going into details the next six weeks will be very odd for me. That will either be very good or very bad for my upload schedule.