Humans are weird

aastrand1:

Again, I had a thought.

So, Human protectiveness. Sure, we can be aggressive when protecting our friends but not always. We can have different levels of it.

If some nasty Alien is disrespecting your crew member Nala by telling bad jokes and stabbing at her species you just grab Nala’s slim form and turn her around.
“Ignore that idiot, you and I are having Ice Cream with Netflix. Did I tell you your tentacles look sooo shiny today?”
Like, we make them forget the bad and remind them they have nice friends anyways.

Then we have verbal abuse. Very clever and mean ways to break spirit.
“What did you say to our Captain? You with your [insert word] and your [insert word] are so awful you should never have left home you [bleeep] [bleep]! Don’t even get me started on that tail.”
Our crew is silent because they never thought we had that vocabulary. That we could nail down another creatures faults and flaws and ultimately break someone’s spirit. The other Aliens leave with their tail behind their legs, devastated.

But don’t threaten us. Because there is no turning back from a human who has been disrespected and threatened.

War’lac had known it was a bad idea to bring two humans along to the negotiation. But the Pleets had insisted, wanting to see what the humans were like up close. The Pleets, fat and gross beings with four black eyes and bio blades along their forearms, enjoyed war and pillage. The humans had declined working with their kind and for good reason.
Human Jenna had been calm the entire meeting but Human Becca had silently been fuming as the Pleets stated their requests.
“You have entered a zone that we conquered 6 clicks ago. Comply or perish.” The Pleet leader said and Wer’lac shrunk back.
“We won’t last to the next solar system without our rations! And we only have a defensive weapon to use against stray asteroids. To pick it apart and hand it over…”
They laughed and Wer’lac knew it was useless. Their own crew were not species of fighting or war. They were explorers and scientists.
“And also, if you do not comply quickly, we will start by taking your humans.” Their leader said and pointed at Jenna with a green finger. Human Jenna looked genuinely surprised and Human Becca… she had that infamous stare in her eyes.
“What?” Human Becca asked, her voice ice cold. Wer’lac flinched and tried to calm their human.
“We’ll grab the cute one, and destroy her before your very eyes. Skin her alive and tie her up agains the cockpit glass. ”
The Pleets laughed and Wer’lac looked at them with horror. He glanced at Human Jenna, who was barely breathing. No, she was staring just as Human Becca was. Human Becca stood slowly and leaned across the table on her hands. Her voice lowered without breaking the stare.
“What did you say?” She asked, a calm wrath in her voice. Wer’lac looked between them, helplessly.
“Don’t worry, we can do the same to you too.” The Pleets leader said, showing teeth. That was the last thing he said.
Human Jenna and Human Becca never shared at word or look but still sprung at the same time. Across the table they jumped one Pleet each and then chaos broke loose.
Bones were broken. Skin was torn open by scratching. It was a dance of legs and arms inflicting damage with every hit. Eyes were dug out of their skulls with clawed fingers.

Wer’lac had assumed that Human Jenna had sharpened her finger nails that morning for aesthetic purposes. That’s what she had told him. Now he felt uncertain of it.

Human Becca had dislocated an arm and torn it from its owners body. She inspected it closely and then dumped it on the floor. Three were dead, two moaned in pain and the last one limped away. Human Jenna looked after him but shrugged.
“Let him tell the others. They’ll learn to not cross us again.” She said. Human Becca looked at her stained clothes and sniffed the blood.
“It smells spicy. You think we can eat them?” She asked. Jenna shrugged.
“Only one way to find out.”

Wer’lac sat frozen in his seat. He had forgotten the tales of human encounters and the warnings they came with. The humans in his crew had been so nice and docile and protective he had forgotten their true nature.
Apex omnivorous predators. Stalkers and killers. Intelligent and creative.
He was happy to have them on his side and not the other way around.