Memoirs of Kitty Siam Ch. 44

There were not many left on the temple plateau when morning came, and the first of the black plague rockets streaked across the sky above us. The survivors from the Shinawatra took cover behind the stone and timber walls that Attu and his men had constructed and the men and women from the village joined the monks in prayer. I knew these missiles for what they were, drones that flew over the planet and dispensed death in the form of a black mist. I knew that they were incapable of targeting an individual so I knew that it would be safe enough for me to leave the temple and look for additional survivors.

With everyone busy taking cover or praying I was able to slip out of the temple and transform to my feline form when I was sure that I was out of sight. I selected my course and made a quick dash to the tree line toward a path that entered the jungle at the edge of the temple clearing. I entered the jungle and followed the overgrown path and as I headed deeper into the jungle I could hear an explosion a few hundred yards away. The explosion toppled a few trees and I could feel the hot remnants of the explosion against my fur as a hot wind passed over me. I knew that these missiles were not set to detonate so I took it that this one had run out of fuel or suffered a malfunction and crashed in the jungle.

The missiles continued to pass overhead to their destination where they would unload their deadly black mist as I made my way deeper into the jungle. The barrage of missiles had ended at least for a while and I found myself moving in silence along the path. My nose sampled the air as I searched for survivors, but it was not my nose that alerted me to the presence of someone else. In the distance I could hear the rustling of branches as someone or something was making its way through the foliage toward the path that I was traveling.

I stopped and remained perfectly still as I let all of my senses work for me in an effort to identify the species of the noisemaker in the bushes before me. I stood my ground and waited and in anticipation, the hair on the back of my neck was bristling and my claws were deployed in preparation for a possible attack. The noise grew louder and I could now see the brush in front of me moving, then suddenly I was almost nose-to-nose with this big beautiful light brown puma. After a few minutes of full on eye contact we both moved closer to each other and began to circle. It did not take long for me to determine that the other cat was female once we got all up close and personal. I tried to let instinct take over, as I did not have any actual experience with rival cats to help me get through this awkward feline situation.

We continued to stare each other down at a close distance until a loud roar overhead drew our attention. As if on cue the two of us looked up at the same time to see a trail of fire following behind a missile as it streaked overhead. We watched the missile as it began to spew a thin black oily mist from nozzles installed in its belly. When the drone had emptied its tanks of the mist it exploded with great force leaving billions of tiny metallic shards no larger than a grain of rice to rain down upon the ground.

We hit the ground together as soon as we saw the explosion. We hugged the ground as several more of the missiles passed overhead and detonated off in the distance. The barrage of missiles went on for several minutes. Most of the explosions were far away but several were close by and even in feline form, the close by explosions caused my lungs to vibrate inside my chest.

Once it seemed that the rockets had passed and all was quiet I lifted myself off the ground to stand on all four paws, and the large brown cat next to me did the same. I looked at her and she looked back. Our eyes met for a few seconds and then in unison we walked the path until it opened up into a large field of tall grasses that led to the temple.

As we made our way to the temple we could see the survivors and the villagers beginning to move about the temple. They were checking on each other and tending to the wounded from the battle that had occurred the day before, and from one of the drones that had exploded really close to the temple. None of them were paying much attention to the big black and brown cats that were moving toward them from the edge of the jungle.

We both looked at each other before proceeding on and for some reason I had a feeling that my new traveling companion knew as I did what had just happened, and what the black missiles meant. I had thoughts of transforming back to human form but was not sure what the other cat would do if I suddenly I became human. I had a feeling that this was the puma from my dream but I had to make sure. The last thing I wanted to do was to make a fatal mistake in font of a startled feline.

We were walking slowly, cautiously as the black mist that was released overhead began to drizzle down around us. Off in the distance several of the black missiles crashed to the ground without deploying their payloads causing panic to break out among the humans gathered around the temple. The mist had no effect on us cats but some of the humans in uniform were screaming loudly as the mist coated their tattered uniforms and exposed skin. These were obviously the survivors that had not yet been scanned and inoculated by the temple's medical beam.

As we heard their howls of pain my companion and I quickened our pace and soon we both broke into a full run toward the temple. The humans now were huddled around under what little shelter partial shield bubble and makeshift roof could provide but there was no safe place for them to hide from the mist as even the slightest breeze blew the black mist about. As we got closer we could see that the uniformed humans were beginning to break out in thick dark sores that oozed thick black pus when they broke open. Those unlucky enough to have come in direct contact with the mist seemed to be suffering the most. Over the next day or so the humans still left alive would begin to show signs and symptoms similar to those that had been directly exposed to the mist.

The villagers were busy tending to the injured and did not pay much attention to us as we ascended the thick stone stairway. Once at the top of the steps I moved toward the altar. My traveling companion just circled the humans looking them over. The villagers and the survivors looked at us now as we moved about the temple complex. Some of the villagers dropped to their knees facing me or facing the puma and began to chant, "Mandira billi, Mandira billi, Mandira billi" before beginning to chant the all too familiar prayer to the Temple Cat.

Once again the dream was coming true as I noticed the puma moving toward the DNA scanning rectangle, I changed to human form and as I did I heard several humans gasp, and one of them called my name. I turned to look to see Major Jarro huddled with the rest of the black sore covered survivors. He stared at my naked form for several seconds and I returned his gaze but did not speak. The flight Lieutenant that I had worked with on Mars now had the appearance of a refugee as he did his best to look after his people. His uniform was burned and tattered, and the puss filled sores of the plague were beginning to show on the exposed skin of his hands and forearms.

There was so much that I wanted to say and explain to him but I knew that talking now would be less important than getting these people treated and out of this mist. I nodded to the Major then turned and walked toward the wall. When I reached the wall I pressed the palm of my hand against the flat surface inside the rectangle but nothing happened other than a slight tingle against the palm of my hand and the typical "Welcome Princess Maew" greeting. This was the reaction that I had expected, but what I intended was to show the other feline what needed to be done. She looked at me and once again I repeated the process of placing my hand to the DNA reader and again there was the familiar tingle and the verbal greeting but no other reaction from the temple's systems.

One of the monks had returned to the altar and did his best to call the survivors to him so that he could begin treating their wounds and plague symptoms. A few of them understood what he wanted without being able to understand his words and made their way to him. In all the excitement I failed to consider that I was standing naked before a temple full of villagers and victims. I could feel the black mist coating my body as the soft wind blew the mist sideways under the shield dome that I had deployed the day before. I gave myself a looking over and was just about to deploy some clothing from my wardrobe device when my attention was drawn to the puma that was slowly circling the wounded. As she completed her circle she turned and walked toward me. In mid stride she transformed herself from feline to human just as I had done earlier.

She was tall and slender, her body looked to be an exact duplicate of mine right down to the hairless naughty bits. Her hair was long, straight and black and mirrored mine in style and length. Her facial features were definitely Earth human, and her complexion was similar to mine but her facial features were clearly Japanese.

She too was naked as I was and with a confident smile she walked toward me and pressed her right hand against the stone rectangle next to mine and whispered in modern Earth English, "To journey forward from here, it takes both of us." These were the words from my dream, and she knew them just as well as I did.

Shortly after her hand made contact with the scanner I heard the sound of heavy stones moving apart as the Annu words for, "Greeting Princess Neko" emanated from the identification device.

I knew now that I had full access to the temple systems below. I knew that there was so much more that I had wanted to say to Neko but first I had to look to the survivors. I made my way to the altar and opened the keyboard drawer then deployed the monitor. Neko and the monks watched me as I quickly used my new found access to the temple's systems to change the obelisk from single patient mode to group mode.

Once the system accepted my commands the obelisk emitted a broad blue pulse that scanned the humans on the temple's plateau en masse and with in seconds the a series of teal beams lanced out an touched each of the sick and injured. The mode that the system was in now would only look for life threatening injuries and diseases and tend to them immediately by placing the person in stasis while treatment took place. The walking wounded would be taken care of later in order of the severity of their injuries. Treating the plague and its pus filled sores was a top priority.

As the survivors were treated and released from stasis I instructed the villagers to begin moving them down the stairs to the facility below where they could rest and be in a safe location incase the rockets returned. Neko watched me then pitched in to help the villagers. I knew that she understood the Annu systems as I did and that she would most likely take them to the infirmary. There was no telling what the facility was like under the temple but even though I did not know Neko well, I had a feeling that she would do what she could to help.

As I monitored the healing system and made a few minor adjustments in my programming I noticed several medical bots coming up from the stairs from the facility below. The bots were moving amongst the humans assessing the level of their infection and the nature of their injuries. Those that could not walk to the stone stairs were placed on litters and carried below by the bots to the infirmary for advanced treatment.

When several of the black mist spewing missiles roared over head, the medical bots were transporting the last of those that could not walk on their own to the medical bay below. Attu and I began escorting the last few walking wounded below, and as soon as my bare feet made contact with the floor of the complex at the bottom of the stone steps, I felt the Central Core of the complex establish connection to my internal data port and issue a prerecorded greeting in an ancient form of the Annu language, "Welcome to Anora Prime Princess Maew."

Once the connection was established I sent out a wireless request for the visitors guide to the complex, and what I received was the standard tourist package complete with planetary data, personnel roster, and a detailed map of the complex. A quick scan of the personnel roster told me that there was no one assigned here, and by the looks of the place, it had been a very long time since anyone was here.

At the same time I connected to the complex, a second wireless connection was made with my new traveling companion, and as she noticed the connection between us activate, she privately introduced herself as "Neko", which I already knew but I was so happy to hear from her directly. We were out of sight from each other so she could not see the smile on my face, as I was so happy to have finally found her. I quickly followed up her introduction with my own and as I thought about what to say I just went on instinct and introduced myself as "Maew" the name that all of the Annunaki systems seemed to know me by.

After our wireless introduction we finally met up in the medical bay and once our eyes met we quickly moved closer together and hugged each other tightly as if we had both found our long lost sister. As our naked bodies pressed tightly together she whispered in my ear, "I think we should put some clothes on before one of these flyboys get the wrong idea about us."

I laughed softly as I heard Neko's suggestion coming through the data stream. I took a step back and looked her over then looked around to see that it was true that we had become the center of attention. The villagers that were with us paid us little attention as nudity to them was not a problem, but the military folks from the Shinawatra were checking us out even through we were just on the receiving end of a Zeta Reticulan biological attack.

I noticed, as I looked Neko over that she was still using a wardrobe collar similar to the gold one that I once had worn, but hers was a dark brown metal. Hers was much thinner than mine and I suspected that there had been some advancements in wardrobe collar technology back on Earth since I had last visited before the Zeta's attack. The one she wore looked a bit more delicate than mine as well and as I visually inspected the collar I could see that it had sustained a bit of damage.

She touched her collar as I once had to do to activate it and make my selection but nothing was happening. I suspected that the crack running through the center of the collar might have had something to do with it. It was my turn now and with a quick thought my wardrobe device was activated and as quick as those watching me could blink I was dressed in my seamless and skintight Annunaki black battle suit. I also added my katana, which was slung across my back as usual, then finished off my outfit with my favorite Bowie knife strapped to my right thigh. I thought about my bow and quiver of arrows but since we had a small compliment of Marines about with pulse rifles I thought they could handle any sort of firefight that came our way.

Neko tried once again to activate her collar but once again nothing happened. I took her hand from her collar and interlinked her fingers with mine. I winked at her then activated my wardrobe device and in less than a second I had her dressed in an outfit that was the mirror image of mine, including the sword and the knife. I was not sure if she knew how to use either of the blades, but just in case she did she had them close by if needed. The villagers had seen me dress this way often and were used to the "magic" that their Priestess was capable of, but some of the military folks were not quite sure how I dressed myself and Neko without the aid of a wardrobe collar.

Just as we were getting dressed the lights in the underground facility came up to full intensity and at the end of the hallway were the survivors were huddled in we could see several maintenance bots moving about. Neko confirmed by our shared data link that she had found the controls for the maintenance bots and set them in motion. Now that the lights were on Neko gave directions to several of the Shinawatra's survivors so that they could begin escorting those that needed care to the medical bay. Those that were not in need of additional medical attention were to be sent to a large storage area she had found to await further instructions.

I could tell that Neko had things well in hand here and by data link I let her know that I was going back up to the temple to assist the monks. I figured that during an attack my battle suit would provide more protection for me than the monk's robes would for them. When I emerged from the stone steps onto the temple grounds the only signs of life in the temple were the two monks standing by the altar. I thanked them for all that they had done and asked them to go below where it was safe. They bowed as was their custom and went below.

The missiles were no longer buzzing by overhead nor had any new survivors arrived at the temple since the stone hatch cover was opened that led to the stairs below the temple. Through out the afternoon and evening a few stragglers made their way to the temple. Their injuries were not so severe but their infection with the plague was advanced and life threatening. The temple's scanner treated them easily enough, and once they had been cured of the plague they were sent below to safety. When the sun was about to set for the evening Neko informed me that she had conducted a scan of the space above the planet and determined that the Zeta ships had jumped out of the system several hours ago and that there was no longer a threat of attack.

She theorized that since they had contaminated the planet's atmosphere with enough plague virus to devastate sixteen planets the size of Anora that there was no longer any reason to hang around. I had many questions to ask her and she had just as many for me, but we both decided that our questions would wait for another day as we still had work to do here at the temple.

Since there was no longer a threat of attack from the Zetas we decided that it was time to get our people out of the caves and out from below the temple and tend to any non-life threatening injuries or wounds that they might have. We had saved their lives earlier, now it was time to end their suffering by completing the healing process. Runners were sent to the caves to spread the word that the attacks were over and that everyone should meet at the temple. Raku sent word that he would have the villagers bring whatever food they could find on short noticed to the temple figuring that by now everyone would be getting a bit hungry.

After the sun set the villagers set about lighting torches and small pots of oil to illuminate the temple. We still did not have the large cauldrons like the Pa'u village had at their shrine, but the women of the village had that on the list of things to make as soon as the men built them a kiln large enough to fire the clay cauldrons properly. The villagers were the first to emerge from the corridors below the temple, but the crew of the Shinawatra were not so eager to come out. Their experience and training told them that there was a biological agent in the air and their people did not have the proper equipment to ensure that it was safe to come out.

Neko asked me to help her get changed into a proper grey fight suit like the one that she had worn when her Orion crashed to the planet. Her wardrobe collar was still in need of repair so I assisted her with a quick clothing change. I was able to fashion her a set of lieutenant bars with my wardrobe device, but I was not able to exactly duplicate her nametag but I got close enough given what I had to work with. I was tempted to just put her in my sexy white flight suit and then change the color to a drab grey but I figured that her superior officers would not appreciate that unauthorized uniform modification. I thought that a change of clothing for myself was in order as well, so given that there was no longer a threat of attack I changed into my nice comfy silk saffron colored Priestess robes.