Editing Setting:CATastrophe/Writefaggotry (section)

==A Writefag Moment by That Damn Catfolk Pilot==

Katrina looked around on the beach, she was curious as to why the sand had an odd pattern to it... she had been an expert at finding old, abandoned human settlements by looking at the odd wear and tear. But the color of the sand and rock was black. They weren't near any volcanos as far as she knew. Particularly the yellow specks. She sat there in her wetsuit and life vest, and waited. Thought. Remembering the first time she dived and found her life vest still folded up neatly and still in a vacuum seal under the seat of a abandoned airliner. She wagered it had to be inflated somehow, probably through the red tubes attached to the vest or those odd-red pull tabs. Useful in an emergency she thought. The wetsuit she found in a sporting goods store... well it looked like the description of one from what she was told by her elders, but it felt hotter and water didn't make her wet wearing it. She still loved her finds though.

A friend surfaces near the shore with a odd looking helmet. "Looks like we found another flying machine town! This one has helmets and odder looking stuff."

"That's Airport, Mitsuki. And what sort of odd stuff?"

"Oh... how do you know that?"

Sometimes she wondered how she knew. "I read a book." was her usual excuse.

In fact she wondered why she knew what an airplane was and even how to use it... she brushed those thoughts out of her head as she walks over and eventually swims up to her friend.

"Let me see that... See any of those "flying machines"?"

"Yeah, they had sharp features like an angry bird."

Katrina's eyes lit up... could this be the place of rare military aircraft that her Mother told stories of?

"Katrina... come on!" Mitsuki whined.

Katrina crouched, squeezing out as much trapped air in her suit as she could, then buckling a weight belt around her waist. In moments they dived in. After about 20 feet they saw it... it wasn't an airport, it was a Airbase! A fairly resent one at that. As they swam towards the front gate, Mitsuki stopped, with a look of distress. Katrina looked her over and saw a trail of red coming from her tail and she saw the source... her tail was caught on some rusted out barbed wire. Katrina thanked the maker that she remembered to give Mitsuki a old family preventative that kept Tetanus at bay.

She consoled Mitsuki and started bandaging the tail up with a shred of an old flag that had somehow weathered the passage of time, it's red and blue faded to near white like the white stripes on it.

She decided to help Mitsuki to the surface to catch a breath.

"Owwwww.... I hurt my tail."

Katrina's ears flicked with an agitated awareness.

"What's wrong, Kat?"

"Sharks... they love blood... and we're a good 500 strokes from land."

Katrina always remembered to use the measurements the folk of this island used. She was used to the world that was' Metric system... living near an earless' library helped that education along.

"Sh... Sharks?!?"

"Don't worry... if we start swimming now maybe we'll..."

She sees fins off about a good football pitch away.

"Mitsuki..."

"Ya... yeah..."

"SWIM FOR YOUR LIFE!"

The two catgirls swam as fast as their arms could take them, but Mitsuki wasn't as good at endurance swimming as Katrina was... eventually Katrina had to abandon her weight belt to help carry Mitsuki to shore. Just 100 meters from the shore, Mitsuki let out a scream and is ripped from Katrina's hands!

"MITSUKI!"

Katrina couldn't go under to help her beleagured friend. Then Mitsuki surfaced.

"Haaa... Halp!"

Katrina grabbed her friend and made another mad dash... Mitsuki felt like dead weight, and Katrina didn't want to simply inflate her vest unless it was a dire emergency for her... so with every exhale she blew into her suit for a few breaths as she struggled on with her injured friend, until the swim was a bit easier. Once they got to shore.

"Oh god..."

Katrina saw the extent of Mitsuki's injuries... to both her legs from the knee down, and her tail was amputated already.

Katrina hugged her wounded friend. "I'm heading to our tent to get my first aid gear... hold on!"

Katrina runs off as Mitsuki starts to fade...

Katrina gets back, pulling out clean cloths and rubbing alcohol. But it was of no use as the sand around Mitsuki was turned blood red.

"N.... No!"

Katrina clutshed Mitsuki's hand, then another piece of memory came to her. Katrina clasped both her hands and started compressing into Mitsuki's chest with force.

"Dammit girl! Come back to me!"

She kept going for what felt like an eternity, until she heard a weak... "Kat.... I don't want to go to school today... I... Don't..."

Kat started feverishly working on her friend, binding her wounds after sanitizing them, then wrapping Mitsuki in a blanket.

"Stay with me, Mitsuki!"

Katrina gently moved her friend to the tent they set up on the beach. The nearest medic was miles away, and they didn't have any conveyance. No beasts of burden or even a old vehicle.

Katrina held Mitsuki's hand. "Dammit girl... you always have to keep your wits about you."

Mitsuki was in pain, and Katrina knew it, and the bloodloss... her mind knew the triage code... Black.

She laid with her, still holding Mitsuki's hand. "Please... forgive..."

"Now talking to her like that isn't going to save her, young lady."

A calico pattern catwoman stood at the flap of her tent, wearing a red flightsuit and gear that looked like something from an old book on the "coast guard" of the area.

"How many times have I told you little cats to stay away from here! The waters are dangerous!"

Katrina looks over. "Who... who are you?"

The mysterious calico motions over for a couple more women dressed like her to bring a stretcher.

"Someone who is good at this, that's who. The name is Anne..."

'''-- 1 Day Later --'''

Mitsuki's legs were bandaged up and what looked like hoses led from the casts, draining off fluids, while Mitsuki almost needed daily blood transfusions for a few hours. But the stitches now were holding.

Katrina kept a vigil next to her friend when Anne showed herself again.

"Mitsuki will be okay, we can save her legs but she is going to lose a couple toes."

"T... Thank you."

"You owe me one, kid..."

"Then... perhaps... I want to join your group."

Anne smiled. "It's hard work."

"I... I think I know what that is, Anne..."

Anne smiled. "We'll talk about that when Mitsuki is better."

'''-- One Month Later --'''

Katrina pushed Mitsuki around in her wheelchair. She had gotten better from her attack, but her legs still needed to heal. Katrina was now wearing a full flight vest with her suit. Seems that Anne has found working aircraft to help in watching over the area.

"So... save anyone recently?"

"Yeah there were a couple girls that got caught under a tipped boat and their air was running out... so we sent a experienced rescue diver in and brought them back to shore."

"That was... pretty cool."

Katrina smiled, putting on her old vest over Mizuki's head. "This is yours... I sorta don't need it anymore."

Mizuki smiled. "I'll try not to get you into trouble again."

Katrina smiled. "Sure. I like being bored." she said with a toothy grin.

----

"But... I hate these uniforms..." Mitsuki complained. Katrina had the most experience with scuba gear and rescue swimming, Mitsuki... she was nothing more than an enlisted trainee in the OSAR. Mitsuki was more embarrased by her naval sailor uniform, the only thing that gave her pride about it was the medic armband on her left arm.

Katrina smiled. "You look good in it. It suits you."

The commander of the watch for Katrina and Mitsuki's shift was a gruff Inumi named Grumif. He was a stocky, muscular individual. Strong jaws and a razorsharp temper compared to the normal stereotype of the happy, loyal Inumi.

"Alright Lieutenant. You have rescue swimmer duty, report to helicopter #3, and take the nugget with ya." He said with a snarl. He was only a captain, but he was the XO on their ship.

The USS Noble Endeavor was a aircraft carrier that somehow stayed well maintained right to the Fall. She was a good ship, and had the latest ZPG technology. But she always had a target on her hull because of that advanced technology.

"You... you mean I'm taking station with Katrina?"

"Did I stutter, Nugget! Now get your gear on and get ready, lives'll depend on ya bein' on call and fully ready!"

Mitsuki put on a red drysuit stored near the helicopter pads and a helmet before putting on her medic's vest which was nothing more than a over-glorified pilot's survival vest with pouches for first aid kits.

Katrina sat on the floor of Helicopter #3, called "Angel 3", waiting for the call to action. She had her drysuit, life preserver and goggles on with a snorkel if needed. She adjusted her helmet and looked over at her nervous friend. "Mitsuki... there's nothing to really worry about."

"I've... I've just never been on anything that's flown." Mitsuki said, taking her station on the helicopter... thus began that long wait...

It didn't take long. The warning klaxon went off, and the pilot, a Usami, and a hoist operator, a odd looking black-furred Neko with one blue eye and one green.

He smiled and nodded to Katrina. "Alright... time for the business..."

Katrina put her swim fins on as the helicopter went airborn. The pilot briefs everyone. "Okay gang, here's the deal. Just recieved a report that a diver boat hasn't made it back at the allotted time, and the next of kin reported in to their village constable. 4 souls on board."

Katrina nodded. "Alright... time to do what we do."

Down below, things were dire. the fore Usami were barely treading water, huddled next to each other wearing naught but their padded wetsuits and holding to the wreckage of their boat. They had foundered on a reef and the boat broke up immediately. One of the four had gashed her leg very bad, and the breached suit and exposed leg lowered her body temperature faster than the others.

"Rigel, how is Stella?"

"Not good, she seems pale on the lips."

The injured one, Stella barely clung on to consciousness. She called out to her brother. "Altair... Don't let go of... me..."

They had been prospecting in the area and they had a good haul, until they found an odd, oblong object made of a black metal. When they took it on board, they thought it was a chest, until a wrench hit the tip of it, and it exploded. Stella was the closest to it.

"I don't think anyone knows we're out here, guys." Altair said, losing hope.

A searchlight broke the dark... Katrina's sharp eyes saw the white fur of the 4 Usamis. "I think I see them, pilot! Take us down so I can get down there... Mitsuki, get ready. I think someone is injured among them!

Mitsuki took attention and held on to the side of the aircraft as Katrina looked down and at the proper height, she jumped into the night after turning on a flashlight on her vest.

The Usami heard the splash as the searchlight shone on the location where Katrina landed.

"Okay get the injured one ready for transport! That one'll be first!"

The hoist operator was already lowering down the stretcher. "Thank you, thank you... what is your name?"

"I'm Katrina... you're safe now, we're the OSAR."

The other Usami's eyes went wide. Among the Kemomomimi, those that serve in the OSAR were held in the highest regard.

Eventually everyone were aboard. Mitsuki stabilized and warmed the injured Stella, and the rest huddled under blankets until the helicopter arrived back to the Noble Endeavor.

The Captain and CO of the ship, Anne, greeted Angel #3. "Good work!" She shouted, getting the medics to the helicopter and picking up the injured girl.

"Another successful mission... thank the maker."