Talia sat quietly as shi approached a dock area in Miami. Shi wasn't there to assist with any of the teams getting ready for the possible war. While Casey, Ryles, and David Streight had identified some of the last scientists among refugees that had been attempting to flee Cuba, the Cuban government hadn't backed down at least one of the scientists was cooperating completely. The Cubans had at least three divisions of Kats, all based on the American Crocodile and had more of a blood lust rather than a sexual lust. And given some protective armor, likely steal backed up by padding that would at least give them some protection against bullets and any of the vaccine darts that were being issued. It was likely for this reason that the Cubans had not backed down, despite the blockade of their country. The US didn't want to nuke their next door neighbor, for various reasons and the Cubans had some confidence that they could hold out against any attack. There had been decisions to prepare to send teams to New Orleans and to Korea to support the groups preparing to move forward with the likely war. Talia knew of it, but shi wasn't on the team. Shi was on hir way to Miami to meet with Torrent.
Torrent had originally intended to move the sub around, but it made only a short way through the area known as the Bermuda triangle before it became clear that Torrent, relying on luck to figure out what buttons did which, shi found that the sub wasn't doing well and despite a still active magnets shi'd found that the sub was barely limping along. Shi'd figured that the famous "Nautilus" had been damaged by something, perhaps a rogue torpedo from World War Two when German U-boats had roamed the Atlantic and made it as far as the Caribbean. Torrent even remembered seeing several ships and planes crashed onto the bottom near where the this portion of Talia's Ark had been. Shi guessed that the magnet was the real reason for these disappearances. It was strong enough to pull ships under, at least a little, and the field interfered with navigation and radio systems on aircraft. And when the pilots or ship captains panicked and tried to correct for the magnet's effect, they compounded the issue. But the sub was barely limping and the water was effecting certain aspects of the ship, and thus shi called again on hir cellphone for the change in direction.
And Talia came directly to the end where the sub was limping into a dock point. It slowly drifted to a stop and softly bumped against the wall of the dock and settled to a stop. From there, Talia moved toward a large circular hatch. Shi felt a slight flow of energy go through hir feet as shi landed, and then the hatch slid open. It left a row of stairs that allowed Talia to slowly make hir way into the sub. Shi ultimately came to find hirself facing Torrent as the Sharkat was headed towards a separate portion of the sub, likely to go out from the same way shi went in.
"Hey, Talia," Torrent spoke, "It's good you're here. This thing isn't going to last much longer."
"How...?" Talia wondered.
"I found the sub broken in half and a hole in the outer hull along one of the sides," Torrent answered, "I'm actually surprised Nemo wasn't awoken from the shock alone."
"If I remember correctly, those containment pods are supposed to be able to keep the occupant alive and protected through anything," Talia answered, "but we were all very little when we were sent to Earth."
"I see," Torrent gave a shrug, "though the "sub" did take a lot of damage."
"Probably the result of the Ark's landing," Talia sighed, "let's wake Nemo up and then see if we can get a military engineer to come take a look and figure out a way to move this to where we can work with it."
Torrent slowly nodded and moved along after Talia and made their way back to the room where Torrent had found Nemo. Talia slowly approached the cryogenic pod and instinctively moved hir fingers over several buttons. There then followed a hiss of steam and the walls of the cryo-pod slid back, dropping Nemo to the floor of the pod.
"Will shi be alright?" Torrent asked.
Talia bent down and reached toward Nemo, "Shi should be."
Talia's hand just reached Nemo's shoulder when the Dolphkat's eyes fluttered open. First the furry shape of Talia came into view. Behind hir was what looked like a humanoid shark in a bikini. The humanoid shark was obviously a Kat from what Nemo could see and seemed to having a look of mixed curiosity and awe and concern.
"Talia?" Nemo said weakly.
"Hello, Nemo," Talia answered sounding very relieved, "It's been a long time. And we've all grown up a bit..."
Nemo blinked and looked on with some puzzlement. Shi remembered moving along to map the ocean floor of the planet when hir sensors picked up a human submarine and then the firing of an incoming weapon. Unable to stop the weapon or escape the human sub, shi had gotten hirself into the cryogenic pod just to survive the impact and once in the pod, Nemo had rapidly felt hirself drift to sleep. As shi looked out, shi then noticed a swell in Talia's womb beneath hir wings. Nemo then gasped, Talia was pregnant! Shi was going to be a mother! Shi had had to have found a mate in the human population.
"You're pregnant!" Nemo gasped.
"Yes," Talia smiled, "and mated to a beautiful Wolfkat..."
"Wolfkat..."
"The world has changed," Talia spoke, "human science has grown greatly. They know more about genetics and a pair of scientists figured out a retrovirus that has enabled them to become like us... to become Kats. My mate is a Wolfkat... and this is Torrent, shi is a Sharkat, and I may venture to say shi is a fan of yours."
"Hello Captain Nemo, it's... it's an honor to meet you," Torrent said politely, half sounding like a school-girl meeting her hero, "I've read all the stories about you."
Nemo remembered a kindly Frenchmen that shi had met once and had told him of hir adventures. Shi believed the man's name was Jules Verne. He must have shared hir story with others, or created a story in which shi played a role in.
"I hope they were good stories," Nemo managed.
"They were, I can't wait to introduce you to my mate Aqua, shi's also a Dolphkat like you," Torrent said with a smile. "but we need to move... I'm afraid your sub is badly damaged and I don't think it'll last long. The magnets may be still holding the thing together, but I've heard a LOT of groaning and creaking and dripping as water has seeped in... even through areas that the torpedo didn't damage. I'd think that the ship's magnets have been fighting with the Earth's natural magnetic field..."
"That's partially what brought the Ark down and separated it's parts," Nemo commented, "I've been unable to find the other half of the Nautilus, but I last saw it falling toward another sea..."
Talia nodded. Nemo was one of the very few adults that had been on the Ark when it came to Earth. Nemo had some knowledge of engineering, but much of Nemo's knowledge was to work with things shi already knew. It wasn't likely that shi could design a new ship, but shi would be able to provide some help, and Talia knew this. Shi accepted Casey's report that NASA wanted access to the ship's technology to further human exploration of space. Given how many Kats had family that couldn't go with them on a permanent basis, sharing the technology would enable them to still talk to each other, to journey between the worlds and visit each other. While the Retrovirus Vaccine would mean that they might have more time to stay on Earth as outbreak victims became human again, they would still need find a world where they weren't combating humanity for resources eventually, and since humanity was rapidly reaching the point where they might be able to duplicate the Ark on their own, sharing their technology wasn't entirely a bad idea. Their engineers might even be able to improve it, and they still had a few years before things would likely become desperate, even without the Retrovirus Vaccine.
"We still need to get off and see if we can find a way to get your sub onto a transport of some kind," Torrent answered.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sammy sat quietly on the side of the aircraft carrier as shi stretched hir legs while they waited to arrive at their spot in the blockade of North Korea. Hir father was presently talking with the admiral and Timothy and Casey Jones were eating for the moment. Shi had heard word that Danna and Mikkie would be joining hir when they reached South Korea. There they would be assigned to confront any Kats the North Koreans had in their service or participate in whatever cleanup. Even if the war ended without really starting, Sammy knew that the labs that Li Sang's followers had operated would need to be closed down and destroyed by the teams that were assigned. They couldn't let any more of these outbreaks come again, which would essentially mean complete surrender, even if there wasn't a war.
Hir thoughts were interrupted by the rising of a tubular object off of the bow of the ship. It looked as though it was broken in half and there were several sort of energy jets that seemed to ring it. Parts of its hull were also fractured and scarred and scorched, as though the sub had crashed from space and survived. The carrier's crewmen gave some some calls of surprise at this and Sammy heard the carrier's Vulcan anti-aircraft mini-guns whirl to face the sub that had just bobbed to the surface. However, a hatch opened and Aqua appeared.
"Hold your fire!" Sammy called to the other crewmen and let the call relay back to the ship's bridge.
Aqua's appearance was surprising, but once brought aboard the carrier, shi explained why shi was there and what shi had found. Some of it raised some questions in Sammy. Talia had stated that shi and hir friends had originally from another world. A world other than Earth, and shi came to Earth well before English even developed as a language. As such, it was likely that the submarine's controls were not written in English or arranged the way a Earth submarine would be. It would likely be written in an alien language, yet Aqua stated that shi hadn't just pressed buttons and responded to things as they happened. Shi seemed to understand things and could at least understand the language. That made Sammy wonder... they'd all accepted being Kats, and Sammy would never go back, if only to be a mother to the hatchlings that shi had sired and the hatchlings that hatched from the eggs shi laid... but were they now truly becoming alien? Or did the craft have some sort of program in them that allowed them to learn new languages even when they weren't active, and the ship learned from Aqua and altered its language to suit Aqua? That was a lot for Sammy to wonder over.
But hir thoughts eventually ended when they made it to the bridge, where they found the carrier's captain, the admiral, and hir father standing there and looking toward the submarine that Aqua had brought.
"Is this a friend of yours?" the Admiral asked to Aqua.
"Yes, shi is Aqua," Sammy answered, "Shi's the first aquatic Kat we've found. Shi helped us in Brazil six years ago and caught the first of the scientists in Miami."
"And I found something that might help," Aqua added, "the submarine I found is held together by magnetism and I found what would be some sort of projection unit... like they can use it to project that magnetism outward..."
"How do you know this?" the carrier's captain asked.
"I don't rightly know," Aqua admitted, "the buttons aren't like anything I've ever seen, and they looked like they were written in an odd language... I looked at it... cursed and muttered a few things to myself... and then like they were liquid, the language changed... into English..."
"It changed?" Sammy asked.
"Like it could either read my mind or could translate our language just by hearing it," Aqua answered, "but it did... some things still looked a little "weird" but I could read a lot more... and that included the piloting controls and controls for this magnetism projection device."
That settled Sammy's earlier wondered. Despite the crash, the sub's computers were not only still active but so advanced that they might as well be alive.
"And you plan to disrupt the North Koreans with the magnet?" the admiral asked.
"Yes," Aqua answered, "I think I can set its range to run from the border with South Korea to the northern border with Russia. Any plane or any missile would be disrupted by the magnetic field and would fail to do any damage to the fleet blockading North Korea on the eastern side toward Japan."
"It can't reach across the peninsula?" Sammy's father wondered.
"Not that I could see," Aqua answered.
"China's fleet on the western side of North Korea is much larger," the admiral commented, "our expected escorts have reported that nearly the entire Chinese surface fleet is there... and it's possible that most of their their submarines are also there. They should be able to shoot down any missile before it becomes a threat... our ships can do the same, but since we have fewer ships and are further spread out, there is the potential one could slip through... I'd think this could help..."
"I should warn you that erecting a large magnetic field could interfere with OUR technology as well," Sammy's father warned, "While they can't attack out, would wouldn't be able to attack in."
"We can attack from other angles," the admiral sighed, "It may make things tricky, but we can still attack from other angles and the North Koreans may not initially know of the field."
"So you'll agree to it?" Aqua asked.
"Yes," the admiral answered, "we'll also give you a radio so that you can talk to us. That way we can have some advantage."
The admiral than turned to Sammy, "In the meantime, we've received an update that the main scientists have been in Pyongyang... the North Korean capital. We'll try to fly you and your other two friends to Seoul when we get within range. You'll then be able to help the American and South Korean army units there."
"Okay then," Sammy said slowly.
"Be careful, Sammy," hir father said firmly.
"I will, daddy," Sammy answered.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the Pentagon, Raul and Jake found themselves in another main meeting as things continued to progress. No shooting had begun yet, but both the Taur and the Kat were beginning to get the sense that things were moving toward a fight. The capture of the scientists had not broadcast to the world yet, but that didn't help beyond getting some ideas on getting plans on how to capture the last scientist.
"I don't think we're going to be able to avoid any shooting," the President said slowly, "Neither Cuba nor North Korea are giving in..."
"On the plus side, we might get the overwhelming force needed," the Secretary of Defense commented, "through NATO, Italy has committed two divisions, Germany has committed two armored divisions, the British are sending three divisions, and the French will send another three. Poland is sending one division, Spain is sending a division...and that's with Cuba..."
"And the Secretary of State has reported that the Russians and Chinese have been massing much of their armies along North Korea's border," the President sighed, "I think this is a first that we've ever gotten so much support from either with regard to stunts they've pulled."
"Likely because in the past they weren't either supporting or encouraging terrorists trying to turn everyone into Kats... for who knows what reasons," Jake commented, "our predecessors prosecuted Maurice Chakat and Catherine Snow for their involvement in the Fee City Outbreak and they only did it because they'd thought they'd be able end things like this..."
"You're changing my mind on what you wish to be?" the President questioned.
"I haven't formalized any decision on whether or not I remain a Kat," Jake answered, "I am merely pointing out events. Maurice and Catherine Snow did take people's choices away when started all this. Their intentions were good, but the loss of choices was wrong. Li Sang furthered it to commit robberies... unfortunately we don't yet know what Li Sang's followers really want. Is this a revenge plot Li Sang left behind? Or are they trying to do something else?"
"We probably won't know that until the last of them are captured and Chakat Industries can confiscate and destroy whatever forms of the virus that they have," Raul commented.
"Do you have any teams ready?" the Secretary of Defense asked, "the scientist you guys took prisoner did say the Cubans had a large number of Kats and armor... which could negate this secret weapon of yours and the Wise Vaccine."
"As I said, the Retrovirus Vaccine will probably do more to protect our side than affect theirs," Raul answered, "You will likely have to use lethal force with them..."
"But do you have teams arranged?" the Secretary of Defense asked.
"I believe there was some idea for that... but some personal matters sort of "exploded" at home and they never left Janace," Raul answered, "but at the same time we don't have enough of the Wise or Retrovirus Vaccines ready. We're getting close, but we still need time."
"Time is fast running out," the President warned him.
"We may need to do this quickly," Jake commented, "the sooner we force an end to this, the sooner we can all go home to our families."
Raul sighed, thought of his wife and their daughter. Anna was a Taur like Raul was, but whether she was a Kat or a Taur was unimportant to Raul or Maria. Both of them loved her dearly, and she was why Raul had decided to fully resign his commission and had urged Maria to resign or retire from the FBI. Outbreaks and conferences had long taken up too much of their time, and Raul who had, as a human, gotten well into his fifties without ever considering having children, found that as a Taur and with his youth largely restored, that Anna was the most important thing in his life. He didn't want to miss seeing her grow up.
"You're right," Raul sighed and pulled his phone from a pocket that hung from the belt he wore. He dialed a number and ultimately got Maurice who was in hir lab.
"Hello Raul... you can tell that we've gotten the last of the Wise and Retrovirus Vaccines finished," Maurice spoke before Raul answered, "we've finally gotten them ready and they should be ready to ship..."
"That's good, but this is more to making sure we have teams ready to gather intelligence and clean up the labs and things that Li Sang's followers created," Raul stated, "the armies will deal with the governments and each other... we need to be ready to make sure that this does put an end to the Virus and the outbreaks."
Raul heard a sigh on the other end.
"Quite right," Maurice sighed, "Unfortunately some numbers may be tough to come by... as I told you, Snowflake and Janice did something EXTREMELY stupid... Talia, Aqua, and Torrent are out with things related to the Ark... about the only team we have in the field would be Sammy, Casey Jones, and my father."
Raul only sighed back, "and given Sally, Charlie, Midnight, and Talia's pregnancies, I don't want to put them in a war zone..."
"And I'm likely pregnant now, as well," Maurice answered.
"WHAT?!" Raul gasped.
"Snowflake's only just started puberty, Ronnie and Mina have assured us that there should be no serious complications, but since hir breasts are only just starting to develop, they won't be capable of lactation when shi gives birth... or when Ronnie or Mina perform the c-section," Maurice explained, "However, I am capable of lactating, and while I'd still have a month or two before I'm ready to deliver, I would be lactating and thus could care for my grandchild... or at least that was Snowy's and my plan. Talia and Midnight also offered to take custody of them when they're born this morning before Talia left... but by then Snowy and I had already done the deed..."
Raul could only sigh, "Is there anyone in Janace not presently pregnant?"
"Snowy isn't, Angel and Demon aren't, Danna and Mikkie aren't, Alexis and Flake aren't, Casey and Ryles aren't, Ronnie and Mina aren't, but given that we need them to treat those of us who are pregnant they might not be the right ones to send, Janace and Anubis aren't, Nikole and Jess aren't, Trigger and Sarah aren't, Elise, Kathy, and Brent aren't, but they're raising twenty one infant Scorpkats at present..." Maurice began.
"No more," Raul said with a sigh, "Tell Gloria, Danna, and Mikkie that they're to join with Sammy, Timothy, and Casey Jones in Seoul."
"Right," Maurice answered.
"Tell Nikole, Jess, Janace, Anubis, and Trigger that they are join up with the Marines in New Orleans," Raul instructed, "tell them to meet with whichever Amphibious Assault Ship the Americans have there."
"Things are counting down..." Maurice gave a depressed sigh.
"Yes," Raul sighed back, "either they'll surrender and we'll go in and clean up in a peaceful way... or the world will blow them up and clean up the mess afterward."