"Welcome To The New World"
[Previous post: "Sunrise", written by the relaxing Sabrina Jones]
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Setting: BLACK PANTHER, Main Deck
Everyone had been summoned onto the main deck by Katt. Apparently she
had wanted for their *guests* to see something amazing. At first Lea
and Susan had been cautious, but Maya's enthusiasm soon took over. As the
four officers headed up to the main deck, the Cns giggled to herself.
"What's so funny?" Lea asked of her friend.
"I just get a kick out of Maya. Here we are stranded on a planet were
there is no *power*. Despite this she still manages to be thrilled with
the possibility of a new discovery. I'm not sure if I should be envious
or sickened by it." Susan explained all in good humour. As hard as it
might have been to see the CSciO having such a joyous time, it had been
impossible to be angry at her. That Maya had made the best of their
situation had truly been to her credit.
The CSciO's enthusiasm quickly spread to the other members of the team
as they saw what Katt had called them up to see. Less than a kilometre
away on the right side of the ship an amazing sight had appeared. Many
members of the BLACK PANTHER's crew had spoken about their destination.
That though had not prepared Lea and the others for what they could now
see. Like a mystical city out of someone's dream, the port of Xian-Fer
stretched out before them. Its numerous lighthouses and towers seemed
to invite all travellers to visit the city's many treasures.
"You weren't kidding," Pravat gasped. "This city looks very
impressive," the MCO said.
"Xian-Fer is the gem of the eastern trading route," Gatito said with a
touch of pride. It had been easy to see that the BLACK PANTHER's First
Mate had been happy to be back here.
"Thanks to its location along numerous trade routes, this city can
provide anyone with anything that they may need. If you know where to
go and who to speak to, it can also grant a person their wildest desires,"
Katt added. The way the CO had said this though caught Susan off guard.
There had been something ominous about the way that the words 'wildest
desires' had been spoken.
The members of the ANUBIS' crew watch with increasing interest as the
ship approached port. The closer the BLACK PANTHER came to docking, the
more magnificent the city because. That was until the Marine pointed
something out to his companions. "Did you notice? The main docks are
becoming emptier the closer we get."
"It is as if the presence of the BLACK PANTHER has sent a wave of fear through the population," Maya said. The CSciO had noticed the same thing but had initially dismissed the observation as having been a coincidence.
Since the crew around them seemed untroubled by this development, Lea and the others decided not to mention anything. If the population of Xian-Fer had indeed been scared of this ship, silence had been best for the time being.
Everyone watched in silence as the BLACK PANTHER came into dock. By the time the ship had arrived, the only people waiting on the dock had been other cat-people. The rest of the population of the city had seemingly gone into hiding.
"Is this city only populated by members of your race?" Maya asked of
Katt. Susan and Lea waited with interest to hear the answer. Both of
them knew that the question asked by the CSciO had been a trap to see what
kind of situation they had found themselves in.
"Far from it," the BLACK PANTHER's CO replied. "The city of Xian-Fer is
populated by more races than you can imagine. The only problem is that
the majority of them are shy."
"Shy?" Pravat whispered to Maya. "More like terrified, look to your
left next to the building with the pillars in front."
Maya quickly did as she had been told and noticed a group scrambling to
escape being seen. As Pravat had pointed out, this had been a distinct
display of fear and not shyness.
"Welcome back Katty," a muscular looking cat-like humanoid called out.
"Hope you brought something better than last time."
"Broot, you old sea-dog," the BLACK PANTHER's CO shot back. There had
been no doubt in anyone's mind that the greeting had also been meant as
in insult. "We need to talk," Katt added as she jumped off the ship and
landed on the dock with ease and grace. As the two spoke, the muscular
cat began to scrutinize the members of the ANUBIS' crew.
At first Lea thought that this had meant nothing, but in time the CMO
soon changed her opinion. "Why do I have the feeling that this is not
going to be good?"
"Because it's not going to be," Pravat huffed as he wished that his
usual weapons had been operational.
When Katt ended her conversation with Broot the BLACK PANTHER's CO
turned back to look at her ship and crew. All that Susan, Maya, Pravat
and Lea saw was the woman smile before all four were swarmed by the crew
and knocked unconscious.
=-=
Lea woke up with a splitting headache. Whatever she had been hit with had been big and heavy. The bruise on the back of her head had been proof enough of this. As the CMO continued to gain an increased awareness of her situation, Lea noticed that she had been placed inside of a small cage.
"Oh no. Not again," Lea whimpered. She had actually hoped to see this
mission come and go without her being captured in some way.
"Don't worry Lea," Susan said from behind the CMO, "you are not alone
this time."
Lea quickly turned around to see her friend locked in a similar cage a
few meters away from hers. Behind the Cns the CMO had been able to see
the CSciO and MCO in the same predicament. All four of them had been
captured and placed inside a small cage, far away from one another so
that they could not reach for one another.
"Are you alright Lea?" Pravat asked from the other end of the line of cages.
"I have been better," the CMO replied as she felt the lump on her head.
Lea turned and noticed other captives, these one chained to a nearby
wall. The size of these chains had seemed large enough to hold an angry
rhino. But on the end of these chains Lea found battered dog-like
humanoids instead. It had been easy to see that all of them had been
tortured and brought to near death more than once. After closer inspection Lea
noticed that one amongst them had actually stop breathing. The sight
sent a chill through the CMO's soul. How could any living creature
treat another with such hatred? "How is everyone else?" Lea asked as she
looked away from the corpse.
No one had been able to answer as Broot appeared, a large smile gracing
his face. "I have to hand it to Katt, she's one shifty kitten," the
muscular half-cat man said as he approached the cage where the CSciO
was. "All three of you will fetch a magnificent price. I just hope that Katt
will be able to bring more of your kind back. We will then be able to
show the rest of these inferior slimes who the master race is."
"Keep your hands off of her you mangy cat!" Pravat bellowed like an
enraged caged beast.
"Are they all your mates? You should really learn to share such
beauty," Broot growled playfully. The way the half-cat glared at Maya
made everyone's skin crawl.
"Touch a single hair on their heads and I will rip your arms out," the Marine added. Pravat had wanted to divert the beast's attention onto himself. That way Maya, Susan and Lea would be safe, at least for a little while longer.
"Big words from such a small creature," Broot hissed as he approached the Marine's cage. "You are far from your home little man. You are here and alone, do you truly think that you can affect the fate that awaits the four of you?"
Pravat wondered as to the meaning of Broot's words, but more important matters had been at hand. The MCO had been given a chance to act and he would have to take full advantage of it. No matter what the possible outcome might be.
"You don't have what it takes to deal anyone a fate other than the one
they have set for themselves," Pravat spat. "It wasn't even you who
captured us. It took Katt to show you how it's done," the MCO
continued. He had wanted to anger Broot so that he would forget about the girls. If lucky the male cat might even let Pravat out of his cage to fight. The Marine had not been sure if he could win such a fight, but he had been
more than willing to try. "Face it Broot, you are no better than those
chained dogs over there."
That last line sealed it for the fuming Broot. No Human could speak to
him in this manner.
=-=
Lt. Lea Summers 2006 post #268
Stardate: 61037.1100
Setting: Xian-Fer, Market Place of some sort
Stardate: 61037.1230
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
