Know the enemies

[Enaluxeme]

Just a little thing I quickly wrote after the idea popped in my mind. I didn't make a spellcheck, so there might me an error or two. Enjoy.

The door behind us closed, and soon after we could hear the engines starting working, just before the ship started moving.

"Rest. We are about to charge. When we reach the ground I want you all to be the most organized squad there is. For the time being, however, talk like we are all old friends, it will help relieve the tension."

Having said that, the lieutenant casually sat.

"Uhm... I have a question, sir."

Private Aschnagorf was the first to break the silence.

"We have been told the enemies are not particularly strong, but we should avoid engaging them when possible, why is it?"

The lieutenant sighed.

"Is this all they told you?"

The following silence answered in behalf of the soldiers. The lieutenant shifted his gaze to someone else.

"Private, what's your name? I can't read it from here."

"Private Howepin, sir."

"Tell me Howepin, if a piece of metal entered your body in a random place, what would happen to you?"

The private was visibly confused.

"You mean... Like a shoot, sir?"

"That is a possibility, yes."

"I would... Die."

"Be more descriptive."

"I would feel pain and go in shock. The impact would crush my skeleton and break my bloodvessels. Once a big enough part of my bodily fluids leaves my body, it will not be able to function anymore, and I would die."

"For the most part, the same would happen to one of them. For the most part. The problem is, they would not stop until dead. Shoot one and if you are lucky you will have to deal with the others. If you are unlucky, he isn't dead yet and you'll have to deal with him too. We know they feel pain, and yet in that situation they would keep fighting as if nothing happened. If you didn't shoot him in a vital organ, he would keep chasing you, only getting medical attention after you are dead. They just won't get tired either. Moreover, they heal at a surprising rate, even near-fatal wounds. Their sheer survivability is a threat."

The soldiers started to feel uneasy, but the lieutenant had not finished yet.

"However, that was not the only situation to which I was referring. You see, they invented systems to not feel pain for limitated periods of time. Even before that, they used to cut their skin and stuff pieces of metal inside their flesh in order to relocate, remove or add things inside their bodies. They even started doing that for purely cosmetic reasons."

"What!? What's wrong with them?"

I was so smitten by the speech that I can't tell which of us asked that.

"I'll tell you: they have an history of being at war with themself. It's safe to assume they just like to fight. They even have sports in which two or more of them fight in a confined space until one can't fight anymore or the time limit is reached. Honestly, they freak me out."

Again, silence came back. Again, private Aschnagorf broke it.

"But what about their weapons? Surely they lose their advantages when fighting at a distance, right?"

"Ah, I wouldn't say that. They had weapons strong enough to destroy their planet long before we met them. You don't want to mess with them."

This time, no one broke the silence. Everyone just stood quiet until landing. We passed the following days adjusting to the local gravity. Days there are also much shorter than the ones we are accostumed too. Despite the efforts of our diplomats, we had to fight from time to time. Each of those times, my claw would grip my gun tightly, as I tought that I could not make it home.

Those fucking humans.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Enaluxeme

[Moblin Major General]

Honestly, our ability to destroy our entire race would probably scare the shit out of most aliens. It almost sounds like the prologue to a Mass Effect fanfiction about Relay 314 from the Turian perspective. Where did the inspiration for this come from?

[Enaluxeme]

A screenshot of tumblr posted on imgur. Someone asked why in every sci-fi we are the basic race or even the weaker, others pointed out our extreme durability even compared to other animals.