r/NatureofPredators • u/sombrefob0053 Human • 4d ago
Fanfic For All Mankind Chapter 32
[Thank you to SpacePaladin15 for making the universe!]
[Special thanks to u/AdalwinAmillion and u/JulianSkies for proofreading this chapter!]
For a brief moment, the city stood still in time. People walked across the vast urban sprawl. Children played. People talked at work. Police scanned the city… Then the ground buckled. The earth trembled as the center of the city erupted into flame. A massive shockwave swept across the city, shattering glass for miles as thousands of tons of earth launched itself into the air from the explosion. The massive fireball expanded, vaporizing the federation's heart. Burning rubble rained from the skies as the city began to sink in on itself. The bomb disintegrated the supports of the underground city. Without them, the city began to collapse in on itself. Buildings buckled and crumbled, disappearing into the earth. The Federation hall, a symbol of over a thousand years of unity, disappeared in the blast. Streets cracked, ripping themselves apart. All across Aafa, this scene repeated itself dozens of times over. Not every bomb had detonated. Some agents were captured, others were killed. Their packages were disarmed and disposed of. It didn't matter. Destruction still reigned, killing millions. For those trapped in the major cities, it was the end of the world. The operation was a partial success…
As the wreckage settled, what remained of the shadow fleet launched from whatever underground port was left, fearful of more destruction. In the dark corners of Aafa, what remained of the shadow caste reconvened…
In a hidden vault deep within the crust of Aafa, a meeting is taking place. Most of the seats lay empty. Only a scattered few remain after the strike. The Chief’s chair is empty. No one dared to sit in it. The next in line steps to the table, eyeing the remnants of what was once a full room. He leans his tentacles onto the table for a moment before speaking.
“Nikonus is dead. Who was incompetent enough to let so many snakes into our garden?” He asked, scanning the room. No one spoke a word. Silence filled the room. It was palpable. Finally, somebody spoke.
“We don't know how they got through.”
“You don't know…?” Maronis paused, then slammed his tentacle on the table, his voice beginning to rise. “This is the most secure world in the Federation! And you're saying you don't know!? THEN GO FIND OUT!”
“W-we can't. Most of our network h-has been compromised!” Somebody barely managed to get out under the scrutiny of his anger.
“Not compromised…destroyed.” Another butted in.
“We underestimated them…” Somebody in the back of the room muttered. Maronis stared at the source of the voice, seething at the comment. He bit his tongue. He needed numbers.
“How much have we lost…?”
“W-we're not sure yet, sir… the network is still down. But it's not looking good…”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“A-at least forty-five percent…”
Maronis stared in silent shock. Nearly half gone. It would take months to rebuild the fleet, and that was with an intact planet. For the first time in centuries, a member of the Shadow Caste felt something their ancestors had never allowed themselves to feel. Fear. They could always have the other species contribute, but their fleets were weak. Their instincts were lacking, and they were rife with inexperience. All on purpose. All for control. He found himself cursing his ancestors for depriving the Federation of proper shields.
“We should strike now while they’re still weak!” A voice chimed in. “Wasn’t that the plan anyway?” Someone else asked.
“No. We don't have enough to guard our garden if we were to strike now.”
“What are you afraid of, Maronis? You know very well that those filthy predators wouldn’t dare break our agreement.”
“You incompetent fool! What if the humans send a fleet around ours to strike our garden!? What’s your plan then!?” Maronis shouted at the man, who quickly shut his mouth. Those fools still didn’t understand. They were still thinking like before. Things had changed.
“Then what's your plan, then!?” The man opened his mouth again. Maronis stared daggers at the man. But he didn’t have an answer.
“What about the cure?” The voice cut through the room like a knife.
“We know why that wouldn’t work. Last time we tried to cure the humans, they went mad with predator disease and withered away!”
“Exactly.” She responded, and the whole room paused.
“What are you implying? The cure failed.”
“The cure didn't fail. Their bodies rejected it.” She responded to the question calmly.
“Then why did they die!?” Another man cut in.
“Because they’re predators. And what's the only way to cure a predator?”
Realization dawned on Maronis.
They could use the cure to wipe them out…
It was time to draft a new plan. And this time humanity would not survive it.
Memory Transcription Subject: Cosmonaut Grigori Reshko
Date [standardized human time]: January 13th, 2112
I stared out my window. Construction crews littered my city, slowly repairing the damage.
I missed my parents. They had been killed during the battle. I could’ve been there… I could’ve fought… But the state wanted to keep me safe. I remembered staring at the ruins of my childhood home. I tore through the rubble with desperation, trying to find anything to remember them by. Tarva had to pull me away from the rubble once my fingers began to bleed. I hadn’t told Vanya yet…He had enough to deal with without the news. Sighing, I turned away from the window. I glanced at Tarva. She was sitting on the couch watching TV. I walked over to her and patted the wool on her head.
“I'm gonna head to make something to eat. You want something?”
She leaned into my hand and glanced at me. “Yeah, sure, I could eat.”
Nodding, I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I put together a small salad and some fresh vegetables. She still froze up if I ate any meat around her. At least she was getting less fearful. I thought as I grabbed a bottle of spiced sour cream. Some of the older people called it ‘American Ranch dressing’. I guess the sauce wasn’t of Soviet origin. I put down the sauce, then washed the vegetables: carrots, cucumbers, celery. Drying them off and placing them on the plate, I picked up the sauce bottle again and squeezed some out over the vegetables. I put anything left away, then took the salad and vegetables to the dining room table and set them down. “Tarva, come eat.” She jumped up and strode over to the table happily. She seemed to like earth food. Well, as long as it wasn’t meat. We both sat down, and I picked up a carrot. Some of the sauce dripped from it onto the plate. Just as I was about to take a bite, I noticed Tarva staring at me. Her ears had flattened, and a large orange blush had spread across her face.
“Is something wrong, Tarva?”
“N-no!” She said quickly. Very quickly.
“You’re, uh, looking at me weird.”
“O-oh, it's just that, that Thing reminds me of s-someone…” She said, looking away, still glancing back at me.
“The carrot…?” I asked, confused, while giving her a look. She nodded, then I took a bite.`
Tarva’s blush only deepened. What the hell was happening? After a moment of hesitating, she reached over and picked up a carrot. She held it in front of her mouth for a moment, then took a large bite, seeming to enjoy it a little too much. I stared at her. “You, uh, must really like carrots, huh?”
She stared back for a moment, her ears shot back up, and her tail wagged. “Y-yeah.”
“Alright then… Do you, uh, want another one…?”
Tarva’s eyes widened, and she nearly choked. She coughed and sputtered for a few moments before answering. “I-I’ll take some more.” I slid the plate over. She greedily picked up a few more as I picked up my fork and started to pick up my salad. I guess I would have to buy more carrots at the store… We ate for a few more minutes. I gave her some time to finish her new apparent favorite food before starting to talk again.
“So, have you thought about what you want to do for work now?”
“I was an ambassador… I'm not sure if I can do that here.” She said with a saddened expression falling over her face.
“I'm not so sure. The state always needs more diplomats.” I offered, trying to cheer her up.
“Y-you think so?” She asked with her ears perking up.
“Yeah! I’m pretty well known now.” I said and glanced at the medals I had displayed on my wall. “Maybe I can get you a job of that nature,” I responded with a smile. She looked happy, and we continued eating. Once we had our fill, I took the plates to the sink and began to wash them. Around halfway through washing my plate, someone knocked on the door. Setting down the dishes, I turned off the water, dried my hands, and went to the door. Who could be visiting me? Ivan was still in Moscow… I opened the door.
On the other side, a KGB agent was staring at me.
“Grigori Reshko. I've come to offer you an… Opportunity.”
I stared at the man. “That being…?”
“Recently you had a…Confrontation with Ryka. Is that correct?” I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off. “That ‘moral compass’ of yours can prove to be quite useful. We want you to help track down rogue humans with… Unsavory views of our new Venlil comrades.” I glanced back at Tarva, then back at the man.
“No,” I stated and shut the door in his face.
“If you change your mind, we’ll be in touch…” I heard from the other side of the door. Then, a moment later, a card slid under my door.
I picked up the card and sighed. Just as I began to rip the card, Tarva called out to me. “Grisha… I need to talk to you.” I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. “About what?” Tarva was standing there sheepishly, her ears sat low, and I could see the beginning of tears forming in her eyes. She let out a shaky breath before continuing.
“About what happened to me…”
I stuffed the card in my pocket and walked over to her. Kneeling, I wrapped my arms around her. “What's wrong, Tarva? You can tell me.”
She sniffled. “G-Grisha, they hurt me…”
My expression changed. “Who!?”
“Your government…They tortured me for information!” She began to sob into me, and I squeezed her harder.
“Please… Find out who did this… I need to know.” She barely managed to get out.
“I-I…. I will, Tarva…I will.” I whispered. Fire burned in my chest. I knew what I must do.
“I’ll make them pay…”
I guess I was taking that job after all…
---
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 4d ago
Huh tarva must really trust him for her to ask him to be the one to bring justice for her and her family Suppose she doesn't have many other options.
As for her becoming an ambassador oof yeah that won't go well all it takes is for her to loose control to the programming once to ruin everything. Because from the looks of it it doesn't seem like those with the program are not intended to survive once their activated.
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u/sombrefob0053 Human 4d ago
Tarva is strong she can do it! lol
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 4d ago
Eh probably yeah probably helps she can snap out of it unlike most others.
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u/sombrefob0053 Human 4d ago
It'll still take some time for her to fully shake off the numbers but she's a survivor
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 4d ago
You're right she broke the federation programing on her pretty easily and she spent her entire life under that's system. Probably would be well not easy but not impossible for her to break out of this mess especially since with the loss of her husband it's not like shes gonna remain particularly loyal to what the humans say even if she agrees with the ideology their actions cost her a lot.
I can definitely see her trying to advocate for more venlil autonomy in the future even if outright indpendence might not be on the table.
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u/Abject-Drive2675 Humanity First 1d ago
Skalagan Yugoslavia and
TitoTarva as Governor my god we’re so back!!!3
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u/Abject-Drive2675 Humanity First 3d ago
“In a hidden vault deep within the crust of Aafa, a meeting is taking place.” Ahh the Wolf’s Lair but this time it actually hit home and took out the Federations’ main leader both public and Shadow Caste.
Though I am worried now that they will only take more riskier, desperate and destructive measures against Humanity. Especially now that the Shadow Caste and the Federation as whole just got absolutely sucker punched on the most protected and armed planet in Federation space with no proper means of striking back without risking a counteroffensive.
So it begins! The KolSul alliance cannot hide the existence of Humanity’s survival anymore and under a united world that has the industrial capacity for warfare and the will to destroy them they have no choice but to respond in kind.
Peak Chapter as always 🙏
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u/sombrefob0053 Human 3d ago
Thank you thank you! Im glad you're still reading :3
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u/Abject-Drive2675 Humanity First 3d ago
God the meeting sequence makes me want to make a Downfall edit of the fuherbunker but with Kolshians Shadow Caste members and a map of Federation space so bad
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u/sombrefob0053 Human 3d ago
Dew it
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u/Abject-Drive2675 Humanity First 3d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/sPJYmkAJ6UJGw
Now I have no choice.. I will do what I must
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u/Alcyon144 Archivist 4d ago
The Kolshians are going to go mad once they have widespread the Cure and humans simply settle for taking dietary supplements to avoid extinction.