Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 11

Sleeping was impossible for me with all the thoughts in my head about what I would find during my up coming journey. I knew nothing about the inhabitants of this world or how they would react to me. The visions of those that had traveled with me in the shuttle and the fate that had fallen upon them gave me pause that the same fate could be waiting for me out in the jungle by those fires that I had watched the previous night. With that in mind I ran though the contents of my wardrobe collar to make sure that it was programmed to provide for me the things I would need to survive in case things got really ugly. I ran though the list of weapons including my trusty Bowie knife, Katana, bow and quiver of arrows, and an assortment of throwing stars and other smaller edged weapons. I checked the condition of my clothing not sure what the native population would be wearing this season but whatever it was, I wanted to make sure that I could whip up something that would allow me to fit in at a moment's notice. I also checked on the condition of the Draxx ground battle suit that had been issued to me upon the completion of my combat training.

Everything seemed to be in order, so all I needed to do now was wait for the sun to rise. I paced around the cave a bit trying to map out where the campfires were located and the shortest route to take to get there. Seeing as how it was a few more hours until sunrise I scampered back up the trail to the plateau, then retraced my steps back to the edge of the cliff where I watched the fires the night before. Sitting on the edge I could see the fires still burning with my cat-like night vision. Closing my eyes I activated the Personal Data Device (PDD) chip that the Draxx Corporation had installed in my head. The heads up display responded immediately showing me a map of where I had been and what I had learned of this planet.

As I turned my head the map panned with my view and I came quickly to the conclusion that the quickest way to get where I needed to go was to take the moon pool, surface near the beach then head North following the shoreline. A quick diagnostic of the PDD told me that the interface with the Universal Translator (UT) was fully functional. I had only tested it out at the academy with known languages so I was not sure how it would react on this planet if my neighbors spoke a language that was not already programmed in. We were taught that this Draxx Corporation device contained an artificial intelligence array that allowed it to learn new languages. It would be a difficult stay here if this did not work as advertised.

Knowing now that I had more time, I decided to stay here on the plateau for a while longer and watch the moons set over the horizon. It would be much more practical and safe to make the swim during the daylight hours than in total darkness. I knew from my studies that some sea life hunted in the darkness. I knew that it was safe during the day and did not want to risk running into some giant night hunting kooba fish.

The wait was well worth it and I was treated to a fantastic show as the moons one after the other slipped below the horizon and the sun began to rise over the trees at the opposite end of the plateau. Walking in the direction of the setting moons I came to the path leading down to my cave. I quickly donned my backpack then tapped out the code that caused my clothing and backpack to transit into the all too familiar micro beads which rolled rapidly up my body to my wardrobe collar leaving me naked and ready for my morning swim.

Feeling a slight chill on my body from the removal of my clothing, I set the solar powered force fields that protected my dwelling then padded down to the moon pool knowing that my meager possessions and home would be safe while I was gone. As I came to the edge of the moon pool I went over the direction that I must swim and the PDD confirmed the time and distance from the exit of the moon pool to just under 40 minutes if the tide and current calculations were correct. I could have made it to shore in under 4 minutes after surfacing but figured that swimming would be preferable to hacking my way through the jungle with a sword for several hours and perhaps running into another plant that wanted me to bear its young.

The water felt warmer than the air inside the cave, which was normal. Living so far inside a rock structure kept the daily heat far from the center of the cave and well away from the moon pool. Holding my breath I made the four minute swim from the moon pool, down the under water lava tube to the bright blue water beyond. Once out of the tube I kicked for the surface as quick as I could. As my head cleared the water I took a deep breath followed by several more. Treading water as I cleared the wet matted black and brown hair from my face and eyes, I set about getting my bearings so that the PDD would show me the direction I needed to go to get to my destination.

Once the direction was clear I set off swimming. My pace was brisk as I began my swim but after 15 minutes or so of swimming I began to slow down and swim silently, stroking softly and swimming under water more often knowing that there was humanoid life ahead and not knowing how well or how harshly I would be received. The last thing I wanted to do was surface to the sound of gunfire aimed in my direction or have to dodge a hundred arrows or poison tipped darts fired at me from angry natives.

According to the display on my PDD I had gone past the coordinates that I had set for my target which was ok. I had decided during my swim to keep going past a short spit of land that jutted out to form a fairly large lagoon on the other side. As I broke the surface of the water I thought I could detect voices off in the distance, so taking a deep breath I slipped below the surface quietly to move in a little closer. I swam as long as I could under water then when I came up for air I made a quick assessment of the shoreline. Still being far out to sea I could make out humanoid movement along the beach. This time before I went below the waves I decided it was time to swim in a straight line toward the shore.

Once under the water I went as far as I could with as much air as I could hold in my lungs, and this time before coming to the surface I tapped out instructions to my wardrobe collar and deployed my backpack filled with basic necessities. When I broke the surface I gasped for air and pulled my backpack in front of my chest to make it appear to those on shore that I was using it as a flotation device. During my swim I had come to the conclusion that I would play the shipwreck victim that had been washed ashore should I need to explain how I had come to this very spot.

I had made it close enough to the shore that my gasp for air had been heard and two very burly men in some sort of military tunics who's attention was now devoted to me as their heads turned and their eyes searched for the cause of the noise they had heard. My first assumption was that they were guards for the 15 or so others enjoying the day at the beach. As I clutched the backpack and kicked for the shore the two guards turned toward me and started moving toward the water. I figured that they would not come out too far as they were wearing what appeared to be iron ringed chainmail that covered from their necks to the middle of their thighs. Both had very impressive looking swords, which appeared to be made in the Roman Gladius style. Their legs were clad in a brown wool-like material that went up under the chainmail armor. They were both wearing over the calf length leather boots, so given the boots and the armor they were wearing, I would be making most of the trek to the shore unescorted.

My swim toward the shore gained me more attention the closer I got, but when I was able to touch my feet to the sand and I stand up, most of the eyes on shore were focused on me... especially those belonging to the males. As I stood up the water cascaded off my honey colored skin, my long black and brown hair hung down the front of my body to nearly my hips and was matted and sticking to my wet torso, sort of forming a natural mono-kini that coved my small firm breasts and the sides of my toned tummy. I clutched my backpack in my right hand and started making my way to the shore. The two guards that were the closest to me just stood there and stared like they had never seen a nude girl before. I just stared back at them for a few seconds while determining that they would do no harm to me in the near future as neither of them had removed their armor and boots and had not reached for their weapons.

I looked past the guard to see the reaction of those on the shore. I it appeared that some were having a picnic, as there was food to be eaten, some of which was being prepared over open pit fires. There were blankets spread about and on two of the blankets at opposite ends of the beach out of sight from each other and the other members of the group, were two couples in the throws of passion. I could see the girls on all fours with the men mounting them from behind. One of the men just kept drilling his girl, while the other had stopped in mid thrust to cast his eyes upon me. The excitement of being watched did cause my small brown nipples to harden to their fullest.

My legs moved slowly in the water and I did my best to put one foot directly in front of the other to give my hips that little feline wiggle, of course that was just before my hips came above the water. I could already see that my appearance was a bit of a curiosity for some and a concern for others. Those others being the females as the males had mostly turned their attention to me. When my feet touched dry sand the guard who were closest to me took me by the arm gently, and guided me to a near by blanket. One was even so kind as to take my backpack and carry it to the blanket and set it next to me.

I settled down onto my back as the hands of the older guard guided me. It appeared that he showed genuine concern for my wellbeing as he checked me over for injuries. Well, he was probably also checking out my breasts, nipples, and hairless little kitty between my legs though he was a gentleman about it, or he seemed so anyway, and at one point in his examination he called to an older woman by the cooking pit and she made her way to me quickly. I'm guessing she at this point that she was the medicine woman, or whatever they called them in their village. She was kind and assisted the guard in looking me over. I felt rather safe but I knew that I needed to keep my wits about me as the two men close to me were armed with swords and daggers that were about a foot in length.

The woman and the guard had spoken to each other for a few minutes, none of which the universal translator recognized, but on a good note, the UT was indicating that it had picked up 1% of the conversations going on around me but was not giving me any results yet as it was way too early in its learning process to allow me to communicate. As the conversation went on I heard a dull buzz around me and turned my attention past the guards to the crowd that has gathered. I looked around from face to face, and watched them staring at me. Most were in an age group between 15 and 30 by Earth standards, all of them were fair skinned, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not an Asian looking humanoid could be seen, and now I knew why I had drawn such a crowd. I suspected that no one here had ever seen another being with my skin color, almond shaped eyes, and black hair. Oh joy, I have been marooned on the Planet of the Blondes!

I could see as I lay on my back that the crowd was parting, and through the opening a blonde buxom young woman in her early twenties made her way toward me. As she stood on the blanket next to me she spoke to the old medicine woman then extended her hand toward me, and I responded in kind. Her hand gripped mine and she helped me to my feet. As I got to my feet I took a good look at her, hoping that I could do it on the sly without making it appear obvious. She was blonde, with big blue eyes, a bit more tanned than the rest of the women I had observed and she had a figure that most of the men would fight to get close to. She was dressed in a white linen dress that came down past her knees, and it was wet in several places where the fabric was clinging to her skin. My guess was that she had been in the water before being called over to me. One thing that I quickly noticed was that she was wearing a gold collar similar to mine and it appeared to have some sort of crest on it with lettering that I could not make out. And yes, the UT was still stuck on 1% and was no use, but my human ears was detecting a Nordic sound to her words.

As I stood before her, her hand reached out and smoothed back my still wet hair, and pushed it back off my shoulders, baring my breasts and torso to the world around me. Her hand moved from my hair to my shoulder, then to my wardrobe collar. Her fingers danced over it lightly and then moved to touch her collar. She took my right hand in hers and moved it to my collar, then to hers. From there she turned me to look toward another of the women standing near us. She moved my hand to a black leather collar that another tall blonde girl was wearing.

My eyes followed her hand and I nodded to her. The collars appeared to be a sign of possession and those made of gold were a sign that the wearer was possessed by someone of high standing. Perhaps by royalty or nobility while those made of leather were of a lesser caste. This must have been important to her and possibly my survival here I thought as it was brought up right away. The girl with the gold collar once again touched my hand to my collar then to hers, which I took to mean that she and I were similar even though as she spoke through the whole series of motions, I did not understand a word of what she was saying but I think I understood what she was trying to teach me.

With my hand still in her grasp and my fingers intertwined with hers she took my hand and placed on her chest between her ample breasts, looked me in the eye and said, "Shilka", which she then repeated several times. I took that to mean that her name was "Shilka" and the UT agreed and jumped up to a whopping 2%. It was my turn so I gently pulled my hand away from her chest and placed her hand on mine, all the while not breaking eye contacts with her as I said three times, "Kitty" to which she nodded each time. Communication had occurred and we smiled too each other.

Shilka kept her hand in mine as she turned to lead me out of the ring formed by the gathered blonde people. The youngest of the two guards picked up my backpack then both of the guards followed us as Shilka lead us to what could best be described as a teepee. The tent contained a straw mat thrown down on the floor, a cot and a pair of folding chairs that were nothing more than a few pieces of wood holding a canvas hammock. It was not big enough for two people to spend the night in unless they wanted to sleep in the chairs. Once we were inside the guards took up a position outside the opening with one on either side and were standing in a manner that suggested that this tent was closed for business.

Shilka looked my backpack over but could not figure out how to work the many zippered and Velcro openings. She handed the backpack to me then touched my chest, then moved her hand to her dress to give it a slight tug. Along with her hand motions she said several things verbally that I still did not understand but took her hand gestures to mean that I should put on some clothing. I did recall that except for the few people having sex outside the sightline of the group, none were naked and even those swimming were covered from neck to knee, well at least the women were. The men , except for the guards were wearing loin cloths. My host exited the tent after patting the cot, which I took to mean that she wanted me to put on some clothing and get some rest. I knew that she had a thousand or so questions that she would like answered, and well, so did I but that would have to wait. I was a bit tired from fighting the currents during my morning swim and thought that a nap was a good idea. The time alone would allow me to ponder on everything that I had observed on the beach, so as I replayed the morning's events over in my head, I settled myself naked down on the cot for a nap.