The Nature of Predators - Gress’ Cases (3/?) (Patreon)

First | Prev | Next

Memory Transcription Subject: Gress, Krev Hostage Negotiator

Date [standardized human time]: August 4, 2156

There were many different breeds of obor, some of varying size or facial appearance. Juvre’s was called the Red Obor, and was known for being a family-friendly pet; he was one of the most common. There were also lap obors, such as the Clingobor, who were much tinier and easier to carry. I found it easy enough to strap a Red Obor to my chest, once they were trained to sit still. Any smaller and, to me, they were more like caring for a rodent than a primate. I also wasn’t fond of owning a more aggressive breed, like the Fivral Striders, or a working lineage such as the Fruitpickers. It wasn’t like they all weren’t adorable in their own ways, but it didn’t suit my lifestyle and choice of pet. I wanted a companion that’d match my energy.

Lecca, meanwhile, would keep every obor she found if it were up to her. There was a reason I didn’t like bringing her to the pet store, knowing how she could throw tantrums when I turned down her pleas to scoop up the babies and take them home. It was a problem too, whenever she rode my tail on walks around the neighborhood, and spotted a stray. I hoped that I could keep her focused on getting toys for Juvre, who was happily riding in the chest-carrier. The Red Obor held out of his hands to my daughter, who smacked them as hard as she could. I noticed her claws scratch Juvre, who’d yelped as she drew green blood. Primates roughhoused with each other, sure, but my daughter shouldn’t be crossing that line.

Juvre’s always so gentle with Lecca, and she terrorizes him at times. Yesterday, she laid on her belly and held on to his tail, so that he’d drag her across the house.

I heaved a sigh. “Darling, watch your claws! You made Juvre bleed.”

“It was just a little scratch. You said I could pet the baby obors, Daddy! When are we getting a new one? That’s what I want for my birthday!” Lecca squealed.

“I’ll have to talk to your mother about it. It’s not your birthday yet, but you can look,” I offered a hopefully placating reply.

“Great! Awwww, they’re so adorable. I love them!”

“What do you love about them?”

“The big round eyes, and the circle ears right on the side of their head! The fur just stops by their face…their little fingers, their weird feet. The way their tail curls up right at the tip. They’re so precious!”

I chuckled. “I remember when Juvre was a baby obor. It’s enough to melt a grown man’s heart; he’s still cute to the point where I want to hold him close. For what it’s worth, I like him more now that he’s mellowed out and housebroken.”

“He’s too mellow! I want him to be more fun. I wish he could at least talk to me. Do you think there might be primates out there that are people, Daddy?”

I snorted, expressing my thoughts on the matter. “Well, if life’s chosen a particular path once, odds are it’ll evolve again somewhere else. There probably are other primates. That said…true arboreal species don’t make great ground cities or discover fire. They’re too aggressive to cooperate, and they don’t have much going for them, aside from manipulators.”

“But they’re smart.”

“Compared to lots of other animals, sure. That said, they’d get…harmed by stronger creatures before they got started. A stray breeze could wipe them out, just like the Ice Age almost did with the obors. It’s a nice idea in your music cartoons; I just find it unlikely that it’d ever be real, sweets.”

Lecca flailed her claws. “Why does it matter that the obors don’t live on the ground? What about those yochids those people wanted to free? You know—that was so important that you had to ditch me, two days in a row?”

“I know you don’t understand the amount of paperwork I do, or why I have to go to the office up on the orbital rings for a transcription and board review of my work,” I sighed. “There has to be oversight and documentation. Officers of the law…people like me can’t act with impunity.”

“What’s impunity?”

“It means…knowing you won’t be punished no matter what you do. Like you.”

“You do punish me, for no reason! What was leaving during the cartoons?!”

“It’s called work. A concept that you never seem to understand.”

My holopad buzzed, and I heaved a sigh of exasperation at the timing. Headquarters had transmitted the coordinates to an emergent situation, during the brief window that I had requested to only be summoned as a last resort; it just had to be when I was out with Lecca. My daughter was going to be insufferable if I went back on my promise, so I sprinted to grab a rattlestick for Juvre and pay for it with the augmented reality lens. Even if she wanted a different toy, I hoped I could get by on the technicality that I did get something for Juvre. The sole upside was that this location was passing straight by home, because I couldn’t just leave my little girl; she and my obor needed to be returned.

It’s not like I’d endanger Lecca or Juvre by bringing them to an active crime scene, no matter who else’s life was at stake.

“Okay, you got to see the baby obors, and I grabbed a toy. There’s a work emergency, so we have to go,” I said. “If you don’t complain, I’ll talk to your mother about getting an infant obor for your birthday.”

“Fine.” Lecca sulked, but trailed after me without throwing herself on the ground: that was victory. Nevi and I really did need to discipline her more, because she did act with impunity. “It’s not like I’m surprised anyway.”

“No more comments. Not one more.”

My daughter huffed, as I herded her into the nearest emergency transit pod; I switched the coordinates to be to my home, and hopped inside with Juvre. Lecca did keep her mouth shut, though she began shaking the rattlestick as loud as she could—perhaps to annoy me on purpose. I didn’t show that it affected me, instead checking that Juvre’s palm had stopped bleeding; a dark green scab had sealed over where her claws nicked him. The obor pried the toy away from my child when she got bored of it, holding it up to his own ear with interest. He screeched with enthusiasm, while I ran my claws down his spine.

The pod’s breakneck pace deposited me back at my abode in no time. I scooped Lecca up in my arms, all but busting down the door in haste to throw her inside; next, I unclipped Juvre, set him down, and raced back out before the entryway had even sealed shut. By Plessa, if there wasn’t a good reason for calling me in, I intended to chew out my superiors. The transport zipped off toward its true destination, a park about [one thousand feet] up on a Tonvos Pyramid truss. I vaguely remembered hearing that this park was closed for remodeling, to add more kid-friendly features. Without Lecca to distract me, I turned my focus to skimming the details of the new case.

Police had been called after bystanders witnessed a Resket duel taking place; the avians’ method of resolving bitter disputes was a brutal affair, often where they’d bludgeon and lacerate the other to death, with nothing more than their bare talons and beaks. On Tanet, their home world, such uncivilized methods were legal, but that didn’t fly on Avor. I sighed in irritation, not understanding why the stubborn birds didn’t have the sense to take their dispute back to their homeworld and duke it out there. Our law enforcement had to intervene, though it seemed their attempts at breaking up the contest had worsened the problem. One of the Reskets had gained the upper paw, and after being threatened with murder charges, had demanded passage to Tanet to finish the duel legally.

All of this fanfare could’ve been avoided with the forethought to head to their homeworld in the beginning. It’s my job to try to talk them down, but their customs are heavily in conflict with ours. We condemn violence and unnecessary loss of life.

This time, police officers were able to cordon off and approach the site, positioning snipers who had sightlines covered from every angle. I studied the Resket suspect huddling against the wall, wing-talon pressed by the loser’s throat; I walked past the familiar faces of Rameki’s underlings, disgruntled to be seeing them again so soon. Of course it couldn’t be a different tactical unit. The Resket commander would likely be less trigger-happy since this case wasn’t endangering uninvolved parties. Then again, I figured she was still chafed by the fact I outsmarted her on the Ulchid operation a few days prior. Perhaps I could talk her into at least discussing nonlethal options, especially since she was biased toward her own kinsmen and honor-based customs.

I flung open the door to the hovertruck, a type of vehicle used for emergency services within Tonvos Pyramid. “Commander Rameki; we meet again. Get me up to speed, please. Have we ID’d the suspects? Do we know what caused them to initiate a duel?”

“Well, since you asked so politely, I suppose I will. Cabani and Kamae, early twenties, according to a facial recognition scan. We found their socials, and it seems that the two were happily engaged. That’s until a few days ago, where Kamae began posting all sorts of awful things and deeply personal secrets about Cabani.” That’s how Reskets try to ruin each other, shaming the dishonest and hoping it catches on like wildfire. “Her behavior might’ve caused him to initiate the duel—to defend his honor, since she was bringing his name into disrepute.”

“I see. Zero clues what sent Kamae off the rails?”

“None whatsoever. Look, Gress, it’s your call what you want to do, but this is a case where the hostage doesn’t want to be saved. They’re unarmed, and both agreed to this by our custom. I mean, c’mon; it’s not like any Resket would press charges for an honest duel! If it was up to me, I’d let them settle it between them; it’s a lot less messy than all of this.”

“Rameki, you do know that dueling is illegal on Avor, right?”

“Obviously. Just because something is the law doesn’t mean it’s right. Everyone is entitled to have proper, straightforward recourse for their grievances, and to defend their dignity. Of course, I’m sure you don’t think that.”

“I think that people shouldn’t die over single disagreements or matters of pride. If that’s all life is worth to Resket culture, then at least keep those values confined to Tanet. No wonder you were so eager to gun down those Ulchids.”

“That was a mob, willing to hurt innocent workers to get their way! They still haven’t left Tonvos Aquarium, and the perpetrators are lost in the wind.”

I sighed. “Vinior, Baciek, and their pals…they didn’t deserve to die for one situation getting out of paw. It’s the same here. I’m going to try to approach, since they have no guns, and you Reskets value directness. I should hear what Cabani and Kamae each have to say—not what was posted on social media. People don’t just go from sworn together forever to being crazy exes, without cause.”

“It isn’t that they didn’t get approval for the marriage. Both families approved of the coupling; Cabani sparred at the martial arts studio with Kamae’s father, each time they went home to Tanet. He seemed to have his in-laws’ respect for that. Conversely, Kamae was described as ‘willing to listen’ and ‘dutiful’ by his family—”

“Again, that is what they say on social media, Rameki. Leave this to me.”

I grabbed a megaphone, before strolling out of the mobile control center back onto the sidewalk. With most species, I wouldn’t walk directly up to them as they held a hostage, but Reskets appreciated a head-on approach. It was impressive that Kamae had managed to subdue Cabani, especially since it sounded like he was skilled at martial arts. Whatever Rameki might’ve thought, I wasn’t so convinced that it was Cabani that initiated the duel; it seemed strange that there was hardly a ruffle in Kamae’s feathers, as if he was pulling his punches. I doubted she was a slouch in the fighting department either, with a father that frequented sparring contests. However, there should be a lot more pink blood painting the floor if both wanted to kill each other.

Kamae wants to kill Cabani, but he doesn’t want to kill her…because he still loves her? Those are bold assumptions, granted, yet that is what I see. What did he do that placed the two on opposite ends?

“Hi, Kamae and Cabani. My name is Gress. I’m with law enforcement,” I stated through the megaphone. “I’m not armed; I just want to talk and understand the facts. I’ve been told you asked for passage to Tanet?”

Kamae wriggled her talon closer against his throat. “That’s right. I’m finishing this duel; take me home, so I can do this legally. This doesn’t have to involve you or any of the Krev.”

“If you really meant that, you would’ve had the sense to deal with your issues on Tanet in the first place. But you didn’t, so here we all are.”

“You have some audacity, police talonlicker.”

“I just speak what’s on my mind—especially when it’s the truth. It’s quite apparent to me that you’re angry, and that you didn’t think this through. Was the duel your idea? And Cabani begrudgingly went along with it?”

“Yes!” the male Resket squawked, gasping as her arm cinched tighter around his throat. “I didn’t want to hurt Kamae. I thought she’d get over her anger with a few swipes, and we’d talk it out. That’s why I agreed to come here.”

Kamae scowled. “You signed the dueling papers, you lying puddle of shit! You made a fool of me for years.”

“It just happened, Kamae, I swear! I wanted to end it, but when I was there—”

“Fuck the cops! I don’t give a flying fuck that they’re here. I’m gonna slit your disloyal, dishonest throat right now.”

I angled my claws toward her in the “Stop” gesture. “Whoa! You don’t want to throw away your life if he’s that disreputable, right? Tell me what happened.”

“It’s none of your business, talonlicker.”

“It’s my business if you want to talk about going to Tanet. I’m the one who can speak to the right people.”

“Then speak to them. Right the fuck now!”

I took a step back. “Okay. I’ll go make some calls, all the way up to Delegates Tower if I need to. If you think it’s your right to claim Cabani’s life, then we should try to do this the right way. Because you fucked up your time and place, and you know it.”

“My time and place were fucked up the moment I agreed to marry this asshole, and to move to this forsaken planet. You’re something, Gress. I certainly didn’t expect the police to escalate the situation, and hurl vulgarity right back at me.”

“I give what I get. Like you, I imagine.” Please tell me I judged her correctly. If this is aggravating her in sincerity, not building rapport, I’m way out of step. “You mentioned dueling papers. That’s binding; it’d bring great shame on any Resket. You could always let Cabani go, and have him meet you back at Tanet to accept his fate, so that we’re not slicing our claws through our own legal statutes.”

“Cabani is already known to be dishonorable, so what would he have to lose? I wouldn’t trust him to show his face. Besides…I don’t intend for him to live one more second as a free man. The fact he still draws air grates me.”

“I made one mistake! I’m sorry!” Cabani choked out. “You can’t hate me that much. I thought you loved me.”

“That’s the problem. I loved you. Get a move on it, Gress. I won’t be waiting much longer.”

“I need time to make a few calls. Please be patient for just a little while,” I said.

With a newfound sense of urgency, I scampered off; Kamae seemed quite antsy to be done with Cabani, and unwilling to accept any outcome where he walked away. This had the exact vibe of a murder-suicide, which deterred me from making any statements to the effect of both of them winding up dead if she went through with it. I could read through the lines well enough to see the problem, though I wished I heard it from her beak. The disloyalty insult, and especially his response to it, suggested that Cabani had been with another Resket. His fiance intended for the price of his infidelity to be his life; the lying and furtiveness that entailed was even more damning on Tanet than most worlds.

While I could sympathize with heartbreak and enduring a partner’s betrayal, nothing about the situation would be made better by Cabani’s death. Kamae had other options: smearing his name, cutting him out of her life, or trying to find closure by understanding why. This was the exact reason the Resket practice of dueling was a danger to civilized society, in my opinion. It all but endorsed slaughtering anyone who’d wronged a person, as if bloodshed helped at all. I knew who my calls needed to go to, and it wasn’t Delegates Tower. 

My goal was to find out who Cabani had an affair with, so I could have the full story. It was also to locate someone who might be able to get through to Kamae: her family. Resket culture demanded that they listen to their elders, and consult them for any decisions; her relatives might be the only people that could get through to her. I just needed to make sure that whoever I enlisted to help would try to talk her down, rather than agree with her objective to take his head as recompense.

First | Prev | Next

A/N - Part 3! Gress takes Lecca to the pet store as promised, but is called in to handle a Resket duel taking place in the middle Tonvos Pyramid—with Kamae demanding to return to Tanet where it’s legal to take out her cheating fiance, Cabani. Cabani wasn’t truly trying to kill Kamae, but his words only enrage her more. Gress tries to buy time to get the full story of Cabani’s affair, and disagrees with what he perceives as needless bloodshed in Resket customs.

Do you think that Kamae is justified in wanting Cabani dead by her customs? Does Gress have a hope of talking her down…and what kind of shame would cheating bring on Cabani’s head in a culture where honesty is paramount?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! I hope you enjoy the showcase of various aspects of Consortium cultures through this story.