The sedative that I had injected myself with was meant to keep your average 230-pound man unconscious for twenty-four hours, and it was enough to keep this slender woman out for over fifty hours. The time that I was out gave my genetically enhanced regeneration system just enough time to heal my internal injuries and my broken bones. I still have several major lacerations and puncture wounds that were in the process of healing, but the pain from these remaining injuries was minor compared to the internal injuries I had sustained as I fell through the tree branches on my way to the ground.
After the sedative wore off I was able to pull myself to my feet with the assistance of a nearby tree trunk. I stood on wobbly legs and removed the parachute harness from my torso, then gathered up my chute to perhaps use as a shelter later on. There were more survival supplies available on the Orion depending on what was left of it after it impacted with the ground. There is always the chance that there was some fuel left onboard and the ship exploded on impact. I would hope that this was not the case as I would at least like to give my crew a proper burial, and I really would love to have the survival gear that the Orion carried.
The climate on the surface was hot and humid, just as you would expect in a jungle. It was much too hot for my black battle suit, and since I had slept for two days without being attacked, I changed into something a bit more comfortable like my tan rip-stop hiking shorts, a white t-shirt and over the ankle-hiking boots. But just to be on the safe side, I slung my katana over my shoulder and strapped my bowie knife to my right upper thigh. I knew that the katana would at least come in handy for hacking my way through the jungle.
I found a fallen branch that made a good sturdy cane that I could use for support while the nerve damage in my legs were repaired. Each step was painful but rewarding as the pain was a reminder of what the other alternatives could have been after being shot down over an unknown planet. As I cautiously scanned the area for threats I realized that my vision was slightly impaired. It was as if I were looking at everything through a grey colored filter. My brain was still under the influence of the sedatives and it took me a few minutes to realize that my eyes had defaulted back to their black on black state. A few seconds after this realization I had them changed back to my preferred brown and white color scheme.
I did not know which way to go as I started walking I set my sights on the rising sun and just kept walking. The jungle was thick with trees and the undergrowth was sparse so there was not much need to cut my own trail as I went. Around mid day I had come to a clearing and for the first time I could see the sky, and beyond the tree line on the other side of the clearing I could see a thin plume of smoke rising up in the distance. My hopes were that this was the remains of my Orion, so with that in mind I altered course toward the smoke.
Several hours later I had made my way through the trees and was very close to the crash site when overhead I heard a high pitch whine then several explosions off in the distance. I dropped my crutch and did my best to run in the direction of the explosions. Though I was hobbled, I was just able to make it to a small clearing, and in the center of the clearing was a pile of burning debris that at one time appeared to have been an Orion class squadron command ship.
Whether it was mine or not I would never know as any means of identifying the ship was obliterated by the explosions. I heard the whining sound again and knew that the craft that destroyed the remains of the Orion was returning, and as I looked up a shimmering black Saloof class fighter streaked over the smoldering rubble and went into a steep power climb. Not only did the Zeta destroy the Shinawatra, they were now searching the planet below and exterminating the survivors from the air. I did not know if they had seen me or not, or had possibly picked me up on their scanners, but in case they did I used my wardrobe device to store my clothing and other effects before changing to feline form knowing that the Zeta would be looking for humans, not panthers.
I came upon a cobblestone path that perhaps long ago was a paved road, but due to the absence of maintenance and use narrowed to a path barley wide enough to two people walk side by side. I did not know where the path would lead but I did follow it, as it was much easier to take the road than to make my way through the thick plant life of the jungle.
This planet had no moon so when the sun set there was nothing but darkness to be seen by the human eye, but being in my feline form I saw everything and was able to keep moving. I was beginning to tire from the day's travels and from my injuries but I wanted to press on as long as I could in the hope of coming across survivors from the Shinawatra. I continued to scan the trees visually and kept my nose to the wind in the hope of detecting human life. I was beginning to have thoughts that I was the only survivor on this planet until a blue flair rising up in to the night sky from directly in front of me drew my attention. I knew then that I was not alone and that I must press on and fight the fatigue.
I went on a few more hours and without the aid of a scanner or map, I reckoned that I was very close to the source of the flare. The blue flair was a signal that someone was alive and was showing the other survivors the way to a meeting point, but unfortunately I was not going to make it to that meeting tonight. I barely had the strength left to climb into a tree that I chose as my safe spot to take a little. As I curled up on a sturdy branch I could see a second flair rising up before me and in the light of the flair I could see several humanoid shapes gathered around in front of a sturdy stone structure.
At first light I left the safety of my tree and returned to the path and headed toward the stone structure. It took me about an hour to get to the clearing that surrounded the structure. I was just about to enter the clearing when a rustling of brush near by caught my ear and as I turned in the direction of the noise, my nose caught a whiff of another feline in the area. My first thought was that I had attracted some local tomcat that was just out looking for a quickie. I knew I did not have time for a jungle meet and greet with the locals but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat... so I waited and waited. A few minutes later a brown feline head poked out of the brush on the side of the path opposite me.
Seconds later this big beautiful light brown jungle cat joined me on the path for a stare down. 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 made the mistake of getting too close too fast as she hunched her back, hissed and batted at me with her front right paw. Even though she did not deploy her claws, I let out a loud growl as I backed off a bit. I tried to let instinct take over, as I did not have any actual experience 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 mist from nozzles installed in its belly. When the missile had emptied its tanks of the mist it exploded with great force leaving only billions of tiny metallic shards no larger than a grain of rice to rain down upon the ground.
We both hit the ground as soon as we saw and heard the explosion. We hugged the ground as several more of the missiles passed overhead and detonated off in the distance after spreading their black mist. 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.
When the noise stopped 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 final few steps of the path until it opened up into a large field of tall grasses. In the distance was the stone structure that I had seen the night before from my tree and standing before it was a group of humans, perhaps fifteen or twenty... perhaps more. Off to the right of the path leading toward the structure stood one of the black mist missiles, its nose buried in the ground and its nozzles still secured within its belly. This one perhaps was a dud and failed to deploy its payload and self-destruct as the others did.
I knew what was in the belly of the missile and I knew what the mist was that was now circulating and multiplying through the planet's atmosphere. I also knew that the humans gathered around the stone structure in the clearing in front of us would be dead in the next three days.
