The Nature of Predators - Mallin Follow-Up (Patreon)

This one-shot is a follow-up on our characters from The Sacrifice, as requested by many of you!

Memory transcription subject: Cedric Flynn, UN Space Guard

Date [standardized human time]: May 29, 2137

Not days after I’d left Grenelka on a Leshee ship, an extensive cyberattack decimated their society from top to bottom. There would be no more “luxuries” such as gathering in an arena to watch captive creatures die like it was the Super Bowl. For all Kippe had told me about their religious rituals being necessities, the true requisites for Yulpa survival became clear when their world collapsed. Even after the Treaty of Sol ended the war, the unraveling of their entire infrastructure was still in progress; I’d heard Kippe was uproarious in her cell, watching her people take a one-way trip back to the Stone Age. My incident might’ve persuaded the United Nations not to stay their hand, though I hadn’t advised them to wipe out their entire species.

The primary reason for that—Mallin—was currently tussling with some children we’d picked up from a civilian passenger spaceship left with an inoperable warp drive near Titan’s reopened hotel. Persuading the United Nations to let a full-grown Yulpa, who apparently did know how to fly these things, join me as my co-pilot had been an uphill battle. It was beyond the fact that humans who recognized his species would (reasonably) assume he was out to sacrifice them in brutal fashion; his mental capacity, while being a massive reason his asylum request went through so quickly, left the Space Guard concerned about whether he could fulfill his duties. I didn’t think that was fair, so I vouched for him and rallied for his inclusion.

Mallin’s thinking patterns were sometimes simple, and he had limited ability to see anything outside of what he was directly told. However, with clear instructions and patient redirection, he was more than capable of blooming where he was planted. The Yulpa had internalized simple procedures for capturing predators, and when those assumptions were challenged, he was able to determine that I didn’t fit the bill for an animal—unlike any of his companions. Actually, Kippe seemed to understand I wasn’t a simple beast, but she liked that I, as a thinking creature, could anticipate the delivery of agony. The contrast between her and my friend was striking.

I tried not to think about how, sometimes at night, I laid in bed wishing I’d slit her throat. Some inclinations, trained into me or otherwise, were better off left in the box. Mallin would’ve been damaged, and might not have wanted to come with me, if I gutted her right in front of him—where he could see my hands wrapped around the knife. He was right that I should feel guilty about taking a life; it wasn’t something I’d ever wanted to be forced to do. A taut smile graced my lips, as the Yulpa pranced up the aisle. I should focus on other things, like how Mallin had a way with children. He was an absolute delight to the giggling youngsters.

“Big horsey! Giddyup!” a kid squealed, perched atop the Yulpa’s back. I was glad the United Nations agreed to pair him with me, even if it was likely due to a severe shortage in Space Guard personnel…and a fuck ton of borders to cover. “Faster! Hey, can you neigh, horsey?”

“I sure can!” Mallin sucked in air through a high-pitched noise of his own, having learned that request; though the replication left something to be desired. “Humans like rides, and I have fun giving them. It’s easy to carry you, and it makes everyone happy. It’s way better here than home!”

“Why do you call it home, if you live there and don’t like home?”

“I guess I associate home with bad things. That’s where people are mean to me, and they say I’m stupid. I don’t want to see Earth as home, because then I’d hate it.”

“That’s sad! You’re so big, and fun…and brave! You’re not afraid of us like the other aliens. It was so cool when you boarded—we’ve never met any of the space people. You’re a hero, rescuing us out in the stars like it’s nothing.”

I flashed my teeth jokingly. “Oh, so I get no credit for this?”

“Credit?” Mallin echoed. “We get paid by the Space Guard. We wouldn’t want Federation credits anyway; the Federation is gone. Their money is no good.”

“Sorry for the metaphorical language. I meant credit as in, ‘acknowledgment that I helped with the rescue attempt too.’ It’s an idiom.”

“Nothing to do with loans or money. Just…recognition?”

“Yeah. You got it, buddy. I was just teasing you a little, since it’s obvious it was a team effort.”

“I don’t like being teased. You’re making fun of me?”

“No. I would never. Humans give people a hard time sometimes; I can’t really explain why we do it, but it’s not to make fun of you. It’s more that we’re riling each other up to express affection in a playful, ironic manner. Does that make any sense?”

“It doesn’t, but I don’t understand a lot of things you do. I’m still not certain why none of the loud noises scared you off in the woods.”

I blinked several times, taken aback. “We’ve been over this. Unlike the animals you chased, I’m sapient.”

“Yeah, but I saw this thing where a bunch of humans lined up at some white line, and a gun went off—and they all started sprinting for their lives! They seemed to be terrified by the deafening noise, and we had lots of guns: aimed at you. It should’ve scared you off. Why are you different from them?”

Did Mallin watch a track-and-field event? I guess technically, they do that to shock runners into taking off as quickly as possible.

“I shot too many guns in the military to have sensitive hearing like that,” I decided to answer, not sure how to explain firearms at foot races. “Remember?”

Mallin’s tongue lolled from side-to-side as he thought. “Oh. That’s right. My bad.”

“All cool. Let’s not talk about the military, Grenelka, or dangerous things.”

“Aw!” the kid on Mallin’s back pouted. “Why not? I wanna hear about the alien planet. I can handle grown-up talk.”

“I’m sure you can, but Cedric doesn’t want to talk about what he did in the special forces,” the Yulpa answered, with surprising tact. “He’s trying to do something better that helps people, like you.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s right. Someone has to rescue people who get stranded up here. It’d be real easy to get lost, and any number of things can go wrong. All kinds of debris and natural phenomena up here, from space dust to supernovae.”

“What could you even do about the last one?” the Yulpa-riding child breathed.

“Eh, not much. But if a star explodes too close to another planet or system, it can hurt the atmosphere or endanger people in spaceships like this. The Space Guard keeps tracks of nearby stars and asteroids to Earth, and to all of our territories and travels. Best to be prepared, yeah?”

“I remember the Federation stopped an asteroid from hitting the Drezjin. That was first contact,” Mallin noted. “I think it’d be awesome if we could destroy something that big that was heading for a planet.”

“And I think it would be awesome if no rocks were barreling toward anyone’s world to need saving. Why don’t we stop talking about extinction-level events? That’s for us to worry about, not the kids. We’re just about to drop them back at the Titan hotel so they can catch a ride anyway. Then, we head back out there to find more people to help.”

“You guys are superheroes!” the child on Mallin’s back chimed in. “I got a question, horsey, before you go. Why do your legs not match your body? Your fur is like a horse, but your back legs have white and black stripes.”

“Grenelka is largely a jungle world, so it blends in with partial sunlight and hides our outlines from predators,” the Yulpa replied, pulling that factoid from his memory. “It also helps kids follow their moms.”

“That‘s so cool! I wish humans had stripes like that.”

“Well, according to the Duerten, you do.”

I squinted at Mallin. “What? Do you see any stripes?!”

“No, but they do. Really bright purple ones.”

“You can’t believe everything you hear. They were messing with you.”

“But they said it to other Yulpa too—an entire team of predator catchers! They wouldn’t have lied to everyone. Can you please check?”

“I think I would know if I had stripes. This is some gaslighting bullsh—crap. Let me look this up so it’s unequivocally refuted.”

Struggling to avoid rolling my eyes, I punched “Do humans have stripes?” into a search engine via the local internet. My face contorted into disbelief, as the results pronounced that we did have ultraviolet stripes that were invisible to our vision. Mallin giggled in a way that sounded a bit like a whinny, as he realized he’d been correct; the children gasped in awe, and started gushing about having stripes. I stared at my forearm in skeptical disbelief, trying to glimpse any hint of the invisible pattern…and to envision how I would look to a Duerten. No wonder the Shield didn’t want diplomatic contact with us!

Bright purple stripes, huh? We probably look more jarring than Mallin with his hindlegs.

I shook my head to clear it of this new revelation, as the shuttle latched onto the Titan hotel’s docking port. The children’s father issued his thanks to the both of us, while the mother had her hands full trying to remove the children from Mallin’s back; my partner-in-crime looked disappointed, as the kids offered glum, reluctant goodbyes. Other passengers from the rescued civilian ship unloaded, with several mumbling to themselves about humans having stripes and a Yulpa giving rides to children like a pony. I smiled to myself, knowing in my heart that I’d chosen the right line of work—and the right person to work with, who’d brighten my spirits.

Mallin pranced around the cargo hold. “I was right about the stripes! I taught you something, so I guess that means you don’t know everything.”

“Nobody knows everything,” I chuckled. “Shit, I wouldn’t want to. There’s too many things that you’re better off not knowing.”

“Like our training on how to kill things?”

“Yeah. You think you can tuck it away into a box and forget about it, but it stays with you. It changes you, no matter why you learned it in the first place. Especially when it’s people. You didn’t kill people.”

“I’m glad I don’t know how to do that. I’m glad I didn’t learn with you, because I almost did.”

“The fact that it wasn’t what you wanted to do makes you a better person than me, buddy. I’m a lot happier helping people, but I just hope this is something you want to do.”

“It is, Cedric! I don’t think just giving kids rides is a job, and that’s pretty much the only thing that could be better.”

I leaned back in contemplation. “To be honest, you probably could. You’re five feet tall on four legs; since you enjoy it, who doesn’t want a giant alien to ride around at their kid’s birthday party? I don’t want to be selfish, but I couldn’t do that. I enjoy your company, and I’m real glad I brought you back to Earth with me.”

“I don’t want to leave you. You’re my friend. You don’t want me gone! Everyone always wants me gone, so if you don’t, I wouldn’t leave. It’s nice to feel like I’m worth something.”

“Hey, of course you’re worth something. Having you around brings so much happiness to me, and to people around us like those kiddos. Grenelka didn’t deserve you. You’re an amazing, kind person, and anyone who’d judge you for other things that are out of your control is a fucking jackass.”

“Like Kippe? I heard she’s getting executed.”

I paused, considering what Mallin just blurted out; I hadn’t followed the expedited proceedings for the predator catcher who reeled me in, not caring to know what happened to her unless an execution date was set. My promise to be there as the light faded from her eyes still stuck in my head, as deep down, I wanted revenge. Granted, Kippe was miserable under UN custody, but I couldn’t rid myself of that adrenaline-infused, eye for an eye mentality. It wasn’t in my capacity to forgive and forget for a slight against my species and against the laws of decency. With her cruelty toward me, along with her abuse of my attempts at compassionate deeds, that was the only justice I could perceive.

It’ll take awhile before she actually gets the chair, or however they’re going to do that. Sparing Kippe got us information that helped inform the Space Guard’s procedures and precautions; it might’ve helped with the cyberattack keeping Grenelka neutralized too. Their entire Spirit of Life cult needs to go before we can take our eyes off them.

Mallin tilted his head. “Did I say something wrong, Cedric?”

“Of course not. Maybe now that I know…what happened on Grenelka won’t stay with me that much,” I answered. “I can truly be here with you, and enjoy all the rescues and Yulpaback rides we can give out patrolling the stars together.”

“We should go back out there, and see if there’s anyone else to help. It feels good to be working with you! The kid said we’re heroes.”

“I’m no hero; I sure as shit know that. You’re the hero, Mallin…you brought out the best in me. You reminded me of my human side just by being yourself.”

“I didn’t do anything. I just want friends, and to meet more nice people.”

“I know. That’s why you have a heart of gold.”

“My heart isn’t gold. It’s skin and veins that pump blood.”

“That’s on me; I shouldn’t have used a figurative term. It means that your heart should be treasured, because it’s so pure, special, and precious. You’re a rare find.”

“Heart of gold! I like that. You have one too.”

“I don’t know about that…but you know what, I’ll take the compliment. Let’s get this ship back into gear.”

The Yulpa’s ears swiveled with happiness, as he clopped up to the copilot’s seat and watched me engage the autopilot. The stars beckoned to us both, the unending void replete with complex threats and celestial bodies to monitor; that was where my focus belonged. With Mallin to help me on my missions out in the Great Beyond, I didn’t care about whether I attended Kippe’s execution. Day by day, he was helping me close that box a bit further, and put my ordeal on Grenelka out of my mind. For all of the misfortune that’d been bestowed on me because of my abduction, I was grateful circumstances caused our paths to meet. There wasn’t a more loyal and innocent alien that I could’ve found in the Federation.

My hands tightened around the control column, and the two of us hurtled away from Saturn in our Space Guard patroller—vigilant for whatever might wait ahead. What happened to me after my infamous attempt to rescue Kippe wouldn’t prevent me from returning to my true calling with my new best friend. 

A/N - A follow-up for our characters from the Yulpa series! Cedric and Mallin are working together in the newly-minted UN Space Guard, with Mallin finding life among humans much happier than on Grenelka, which has been ravaged by ongoing cyberattacks. Mallin brings out the best in Cedric, and also shares some info on who the Yulpa are beyond sacrifices...as well as something a Duerten noticed about "stripy" humans. Are you happy with how Cedric has been able to return to a more peaceful life, and how Mallin has settled in? What do you think of Kippe getting the death penalty?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! By the time you're reading this, we are officially one week from the launch of the series about Noah and Tarva's children!