EXTINCTION
Chapter 4: Facing the Press
Noontime...on the streets of Megakat City...
"As if this city wasn't weird enough..." Said a pedestrian to another as they watched the breaking news about Commander Feral and Razor on the TV in the window of a store.
"Huh! You got that right!" Said another, shaking his head and walking off.
Outside Enforcer Headquarters...
Crowds of reporters and onlookers clogged the sidewalk in front of Enforcer Headquarters. Patrolkats had to form a phalanx halfway down the steps to prevent the media from charging into the building. One of the officers had already relayed the problem to Commander Feral.
She sighed as she put her coat on and strode briskly for the elevator, 'Won't this be fun...not!' She mused bitterly.
She stepped through the main doors to absolute chaos. Her enforcers were keeping the press and onlookers back but the noise level was impossible. Cringing inwardly, she presented her usual professional mask as she stood before the howling crowd. She said nothing as the crowd became quieter by her commanding demeanor. As soon as they could hear themselves the press began shooting questions rapidly, trying to outdo each other.
Feral raised a paw and got silence then pointed at Ann Gora, since she always managed to win the battle to be heard first anyway.
"Commander Feral, why have you deceived the katizens of this city by concealing your true sex and species?" She demanded.
"If you had listened to Dr. Sinian's lecture on my species, Ann, you would know why we hid ourselves." Feral answered pointedly. Ann blushed at that but before she could say anything more the Commander continued.
"We are taught from a young age to hide what we are from katkind or be killed by your unreasoning hatred and fear of us. That lesson was driven home when your kind killed my family when I was only fourteen. My father was an enforcer and my mother was a teacher. They didn't give away what they were and still they and my brother were murdered when we were on a camping trip in the mountains north of here. I managed to survive by playing dead. I think I have a very good reason to hide don't you?" She said bitterly.
Ann's mouth dropped open in stunned surprise. Commander Feral never spoke about private matters and to learn she had survived the brutal murder of her family was a shock the worst of it being that katkind had been responsible. The crowd was stunned as well and went silent.
"I'm sorry Commander. I guess none of us realized just how badly we've treated the Pantera. After what had happened to your family why did you join the enforcers?" Ann asked in the sudden silence.
"As I said, my father was an enforcer. My parents taught my brother and I that it was our destiny to protect the weak no matter how they felt about us. It was important to them that we never strike out in hatred despite the fear and hatred being directed toward us. I took up my father's mantle and joined the enforcers when I was sixteen because that is what he would have wanted me to do. I hoped by being on the inside I could help protect my kind as well as make changes on how we are treated." She said passionately.
"Then you've succeeded in honoring your father's wishes Commander. You have been a good Chief Enforcer for this city. But I still don't understand why you lied about your sex?" Ann asked, confused.
"I don't look female. If I had admitted to my true sex that would have given away my true species. It was self preservation, Ann. As I said earlier, we are trained young to hide what we are. It's too ingrained to simply stop. Even now it's difficult for me to stand here exposed for what I am without a little distress that I'm betraying my own kind." Feral said uncomfortably.
"Then why do it? Why not continue to pretend you're male and a kat?" Ann pressed.
"Because we are dying! We can no longer afford to hide and survive. Pantera mate for life. Our instincts tell us when we have found the right match but if we cannot find each other we perish as a race." She said bluntly. "Because we did such a good job of hiding our species even from each other, Razor and I simply did not know we were both Pantera. That is why Dr. Sinian has begun this plan of hers to help our kind recover our numbers and for that we are very grateful." Feral said passtionately.
"That still didn't answer the question of why you personally have now revealed yourself when the other Pantera have remained anonymous?" Ann persisted.
"Because Razor and I are very much in the public's eye. We couldn't hide what we are because every time danger threatens either of us we will try to protect the other giving away our relationship. Pantera are very protective of our mates and anyone who tries to come between us like my enforcers or Razor's partner could be harmed accidentally. For everyone's safety, we had to reveal what we are." Feral clarified.
"How have you dealt with the obvious conflict of interest you now have between the enforcers and the SWAT Kats then?" Ann demanded this being the main question everyone wanted to have answered.
"I've instructed my enforcers to allow my mate free access to me at any time but this does not include T-Bone. I will still treat the SWAT Kats the same as before except for not bothering to try and arrest them. Except for Razor's need to be by my side in dangerous situations nothing else will really change so no one should have any real problem accepting the new situation. The SWAT Kats are vigilantes after all but they will be tolerated if not accepted. They have agreed to try not to cross the line where I'll have no choice but to arrest them. The only problem I foresee is being pregnant. My mate will be very protective then and everyone will just have to be on guard around him and me during that time." Feral said in mild amusement.
Blinking in surprise, Ann said, "Are you pregnant?"
Feral shrugged her shoulders. "It's too early to say. After all I've only been mated less than 72 hours for crud sake. Give us a little time!"
This elicited a ripple of laughter from the crowd and eased the tension significantly. Feral was relieved and used that to bring the impromptu press conference to a close. Returning to her office she felt the odd press conference was successful and maybe helped gain the sympathy of the public for the Pantera's plight. As she was removing her coat, it was suddenly plucked from her paws. She whirled around and stared at her mate in surprise.
"You sounded great out there. I think the public has a better idea of why we've hidden ourselves. At least one can hope so." Razor said warmly as he hung his mate's coat up.
She blushed at his compliment and asked, "You really liked it...I mean I didn't have a speech planned obviously but I hoped to get katkind to understand what we face as a species and what our lives have been like. Though the conflict of interest thing was a little hairy and may still bite us later." She sighed. "And why are you here?"
He snorted and wrapped his arms around his mate's waist. "You were wonderful and the problem with the enforcers and us...well we are just going to have to play it by ear and hope for the best and as for why I'm here...I heard about the commotion and wanted to be here if you needed me." He said warmly and before she could say anything else he pulled her head down to his for a passionate kiss.
A hesitant throat clearing made the pair jerk apart and put Razor into a defensive mode. He placed himself in front of his mate and hissed at the intruder.
Lt Commander Steele had been a bit put out to see a SWAT Kat kissing the Commander right there in Feral's office but immediately lost his annoyance at Razor's sudden deadly response to his interruption. Swallowing hard, Steele froze and didn't move. He'd faced the SWAT Kat before but now it was like facing a wild and dangerous predator. The Pantera's eyes were glowing through his mask and long talons extended from his fingers. Long, sharp, extended canines flashed into view as he hissed.
"Shuu, love. It's okay. He may be a twit but he definitely isn't a threat." Feral soothed her mate as she carefully lowered her face close and nuzzled his neck to calm him. It took Razor a moment more to gradually relax his guard. Eyeing Steele narrowly, he turned away and rubbed his face against his mates. He could feel her tremble a little. He felt a bit shaken too.
'So this is what it feels like to be in protective mode.' Razor thought worriedly. 'This could be much more dangerous than either of us ever dreamed.' He looked up into his mate's eyes and saw the same concern in them.
"I think we need to talk later, Razor." She said softly. He nodded in agreement.
"Walk me out, Ulera." He said still a little tense. She nodded and walked with him out of her office and to the elevator. Many eyes followed them. On the ground floor, he led the way toward a back entrance to where he'd hidden his cyclotron. He kissed her discreetly, climbed aboard his bike and roared off. Sighing, making sure her professional mask was in place, she walked back to the elevator not looking at anyone as she returned to her office.
To her displeasure, Steele was still waiting in her office when she walked in. Giving him a look of annoyance, she brushed past him to her desk. "What do you need, Steele?" She asked irritably.
"Sorry sir, but I had that report you wanted... Uh, I didn't mean to upset your mate, Commander. Is that what you meant by 'acting protective'?'" Steele asked seriously as he moved to the desk to deposit the file.
"Yes! He only did that because you startled him. Our mating is still new which could make us a little more sensitive to perceived threats. You did the right thing by freezing...running would have gotten you killed...umm...rather messily." She said grimly.
Steele shuddered. He nodded his understanding and took his leave. Outside the Commander's office he quickly vacated the area. Being around Feral was going to be a lot more dangerous than just his...uh...her losing her temper.
Sighing, she raised the report and tried to read it. Steele always wrote a book instead of a concise report. Her thoughts flicked away from the report to his question. She'd been pleased that despite being a complete twit he did have excellent self preservation instincts. It would have been very bad if he'd been killed. She shivered at the thought of the near disaster. Neither of them dreamed they would be that sensitive. They really had to work on their self control or the katizens of this city would finish exterminating them with good reason.
Megakat City Salvage Yard...
Razor zoomed into the hangar. He leaped off his bike in a very disturbed state of mind and was glad Chance was not down here at this moment. Their lives would have been forfeit if he had killed Steele. Somehow he had to learn to control his instincts. They couldn't risk another near miss like that one. Steele hadn't done anything and that's what made it worse.
To try and calm himself he stripped his Razor persona off and put on some workout clothes. He would spend some time with the punching bag to rid himself of some of the aggressive energy he was harboring before joining his partner above in the garage. After a half hour workout, he felt much calmer. He changed into his work coveralls and went up top.
Chance had his head under the hood of an old chevy trying to change the plugs when Jake joined him.
"Hi buddy, need any help?" Jake asked as he checked to see what else needed to be done.
"Where'd you go this morning?" Chance asked pulling his head out and looking at his partner.
"I heard on the news of a major crowd and press congregating on the steps of Enforcer Headquarters. I needed to see if Ulera was alright. She put on a real good impromptu press conference that may end up helping our kind. I just saw her for a few minutes then left." Jake said not mentioning the near disaster with Steele.
"Glad everything went alright then." Chance said with a smile. "As to what needs doing, there's an enforcer sedan that needs it's oil changed."
"I'm on it!" Jake said grinning and grabbing his tools made for the car in question.
