Lt Katia in Afghanistan

By Gwen Brown

Well, my apologies for the delay in this last episode. The Schwartz was just not with me. So, I will provide a brief synopsis of the first three chapters to spare you reading it all again. I solemnly promise not to publish any more stories unless they are complete at publishing time. Here is a brief recap of the entire story.

Ch1:

Remember, Lt Frank Grace, an English Army Officer fighting in Afghanistan in 2020 is accidentally blown to bits by the automatic protection system on the ship of an adolescent young alien who is out sneaking around our galaxy with his mother completely unaware of his activities. The boy manages to put Frank back together again, but finding some gender conflict in his brain, Malok, in his youthful exuberance, thinks it will be a great idea to fix that, and puts him back together as a 102 lb with astonishingly feminine female dimensions, by Earth standards, because there wasn’t enough left to make her um big. He spent a few seconds, exhaustively studying Earth people and society, so he felt himself to be somewhat expert. He also gives her (now Katia) fearsome fighting ability and frightening weapons systems, you know, like any young teen would do, right, and she goes off to wreak havoc on the enemy. She eventually suffers such combat fatigue that the young alien to takes her home to her Mummy in the UK for a couple of fortnights of vacation. The British Military has no idea where she has gone and places her on the AWOL list. Malok has no idea what PTSD really is in humans or its causation, so in the typical male fashion, he sort of just stumbles through it all.

Ch2:

Katia gets a nice rest with her Mum and Father as they try to adapt to the new presentation of their only offspring, but is forced to try to keep her father out of trouble whilst he plays with her tiny gun. Much rested, she returns to Afghanistan amidst Malok’s (The young teenager from other worlds) suspicion that the war in Afghanistan is caused by otherworldly influence. Along the way, Katia finds out that Malok is the equivalent of an earth 14 year old boy, and potentially in the most fearsome trouble from his mom for making such a mess on a planet with barely sentient life on it (Earth). Katia is quite distressed to find that she is a product of an immature mind.

Ch3:

Returning to Afghanistan, Katia and Malok (the young alien) go about sleuthing the situation out, and quickly discover the outside interference comes from the stupid but large insect like Djinarians, who are seen as the pirates of the known Universe. Amid the ensuing melee, Malok, with Katia, flee for their lives, home to Malok’s parents, chased by the stupid aliens, the Djinn. (The Jinn is actually the Arabic word for what Westerners would call bad angels or daemons.) I’m just having fun with this.

Ch. 4 The Conclusion

In the next months, after getting run off of Earth, Katia’s life actually became routine at times. She rises early and collapses into bed late, because they were all very busy with discussing and making plans about what to do with the Djinarians invasion of Earth. The problem with the Djinn is that their kingdom is huge and while they are not extremely advanced, they are fearsome warriors, often fighting to the death in battle. They have really fragile egos and take insult at the most insignificant slight. Yes, real knuckle draggers. They resemble scorpions, but are quadrupedal, have arms with digits and with their acid blood, and toughness, they can afford to be quite quarrelsome.

One could not work all the time and taking short breaks to various sights in the vicinity of the Palace, Malok showed Katia and Mamadou the woods of Hag Horn not far from the palace; giant trees that had the branch structure of deciduous trees but huge lacy needles like conifers. The scene was vastly different from the white sands of The Ruus, or the towering peaks of Jord, that he’d taken them to on similar short breaks. Well-worn paths wound through the trees, crossing clear mountain streams and circling through lush mountain meadows with gorgeous flowers and innocently wary wild life. The trees, in excess of 500 feet tall, made their own weather, and most did not know what went on in the upper branches. The Thorians had never been particularly interested.

Thorian civilizations were generally very low impact environmentally. Their buildings touched the ground in perhaps 8 or 10 places, got their water from the air, recycled their waste, and were self-contained as far as power. There were few roads and no freeways because their anti-gravity vehicles were powered internally and left no emissions. There was no mining or drilling because they got their minerals from asteroid bodies, and what little oil they needed could easily be processed from plants that were normally housed in orbital green houses.

The trio sat down to rest and talk in a slight clearing where there were some downed branches.

“Oh, Malok, what are we going to do? It has been months since the Djinn invaded Earth in numbers and I am afraid they are wreaking havoc there.”

“Katia, I am sure we will find something, a weakness or a new weapon to fight them with.

Katia was shocked to find foot tall flying mammals inhabiting the forest that looked amazingly human, even wearing rough clothing. They seemed fascinated by her and Mamadou and the tiny mammals observed them from veiled perches in the branches of the trees. As they sat on a moss covered log, in a patch of warming sunlight, one of the little creatures flew in close to Katia and hovered.

“Be careful Katia, they are not friendly” Malok said dourly.

Still, Katia reached out to touch it and the little thing sort of screeched at her, then slashed her finger with a tiny sword.

“Ouch, you little twerp!” Katia quickly jumped to her feet, and pulled her own sword, but did not power it up. She took swatted at the diminutive creature to warn it off but did not try to hit it. At once, several dozen of them surrounded Katia. Sensing something different, and not wanting a fight, Katia simply put her sword away and stood with her hands at her sides. An impasse followed.

“Malok, can they speak?”

“There have been rare cases, but mostly they are just pests. Perhaps if you just stand there, they will calm down and leave. I hate to incinerate them.”

Inaudible to the rest, one of the faeries said to another, “Humph, incinerate, who they think they are?”

“Just calm down, we were not at war with them, its companion said, and we do not want to harm them, so let us see if they are smart?” The young one yielded to the elder Faery and all relaxed.

Katia said, “We have something in our fantasy stories on earth called fairies that look just like them.”

“These are not the fairies of your earth fables.” Malok replied grumpily.

One of the little creatures said to another, “Faeries, what are they talking about?”

“They apparently don’t think that we are real.”

“Wait a minute, in the family memory, there is recollection of a colony we had on a far distant planet. We called it Terra then. There seemed to be something wrong with the inhabitants and we gave up on them and left. I wonder if these are any relation of them?”

Katia could see that if she did not do the right thing with these little creatures, she might have to kill hundreds of them.

“OK, look, I did not intend to harm any of you. I am from Earth and have never seen anyone like you. Could we be friends?”

Katia gradually started feeling a buzzing in her head and in a minute she felt much calmer, and the fairies appeared to soften. She’d later find out that the faeries communicated with mental telepathy, and had a collective memory they called the family memory. The faeries could remember incidents thousands of years in the past.

One of them darted in, landed on her shoulder and sat down. She could not say that they were reading her mind, but they did seem to understand that her intentions were harmless.

The one sitting on her shoulder started talking in a tiny, high pitched voice. She could not understand him at first but her translation implant gradually began making some sense.

“Poor creature, you so big, you cannot fly; so sad, too bad.” It said.

“What is your name?” Katia asked.

“What I call myself?”

“Yes I am Katia Grace, what is your name?”

After several minutes of the little creature saying its name and Katia vainly trying to pronounce it, they finally arrived at what sounded like earth names for the similar creatures in fairy tales on Earth. So it was that Katia began to call the one on her shoulder, Mouselayer.
Katia had lots of questions about who these little folk were and where they came from. They were friendly enough after their initial hostility and they explained that the hairy ones (Malok’s people) never paid them much attention. But they knew that when they saw her, the wingless one, who looked so much like them, they had to know more. After Katia and Mouselayer had talked for a while, one of the young ones, about 2” tall, suddenly flitted in and sat right beside Mouselayer. The little one chittered loudly for a moment until Mouselayer picked it up and began to breast feed the youngster. This was surprising to Katia, and provided welcome feelings that were nothing like she’d ever experienced. She felt so different than she did when she was in the mountains of Afghanistan fighting the Taliban and the Djinn. Though she did not realise it yet, in time the idea of motherhood would greatly appeal to her.

“So, Mouselayer, you are this little one’s Mother?

“What you mean Mother?”

“Well, we humans say that the one who bears the child and gives birth is the Mother, and the one who gets her pregnant is the Father.”

A brief consultation between Mouselayer and the other Faeries followed and at the conclusion, Mouselayer replied, “Oh, we do not do things that way. The one, who wants the child, bears the child. As you would say it, we ‘take turns’.

Katia giggled and thought to herself, “I wonder how that physiology works out?”

Mamadou sat with Malok, a short distance away watching Katia interact with the little creatures. Mamadou watched knowingly while she fawned over the tiny one. She was such a picture as she sat there crooning and laying her hands over her breasts. There seemed to be almost continuous chatter between them for quite a while.

“Ah maybe motherhood will tame little Katia?” Mamadou said jokingly.

“I would not have believed her capable of such feelings after seeing her tearing the live beating hearts out of those who attacked her.” Malok said.

“Yes, how can a woman be so gentle, yet so lethal?”

“You have never been married have you Malok?” Mamadou’s smile could not be hidden.

Katia turned and looked at Malok and Mamadou. Her face had unquestionable happiness painted on it. The men were chuckling as they watched.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me, you stupid men!” she huffed indignantly.

“Careful little one or you will force me to wield the rod of Allah’s SWT correction on your back side.” Mamadou chortled cheerfully.

“Better bring an army big boy.” She was smiling as she said it.

Over the next hour or so, Katia found that they could talk and that since her appearance seemed to be similar to theirs, they were much more relaxed. The conversation went on for quite some time as astonished Malok and Mamadou looked on in amazement. It seemed that in just one afternoon, Katia had accomplished what Malok’s people had not in thousands of years.

It was late in the afternoon when the boys and Katia left the gathering with Mouselayer and his people. They’d talked about many things, and had agreed to meet at the same place the next day. It gave Katia something to do, something else to focus her mind on because they were not finding a solution to a way to deal with the Djinn. They had not yet appreciated the precipitousness of this simple encounter in the woods.

In the gathering dusk the Faeries flitted into the higher branches where their homes were. Overhead, the stars spun on their path through the heavens. Tonight was very different from any other night in the local Universe, though few of the inhabitants knew it.

In the next several days, it transpired that the little people considered themselves to be fearsome warriors, a fact that Katia and the boys at first found ridiculous, but would eventually come to appreciate. Something Katia had observed in their demonstration exercises was that they were so fast that they seemed to wink out of existence at times. Later, she would find out that they were teleporting themselves with extreme utility as easily as humans would scratch an ear and were capable of astonishing distances if pressed; if Katia had only known...

As yet they were unaware of the faeries close connection with what humans would call God. Of course, the God of the humans did not exist, no, the one that did exist was much more awesome than anything a puny human mind could invent. This God took things in stride much more than the invention of the human mind, though when he/she/it did act, there was still a spectacularity to it that boggled one’s mind.

Weeks later, Katia and the boys were busily packing supplies and weapons for a scouting mission to Earth. Mouselayer and several dozen of his people had been working with them right along and had insisted on accompanying them to on the journey, though Katia could not understand how they could possibly be of help. Still they were wonderful companions and often had answers for problems that were much better than anyone could have anticipated.

During that time, Malok’s mum, the Queen came to Katia with disturbing news.

“Child, I have some unsettling news for you.”

“Yes, your grace, what is it?”

“There is a faction that wants Malok to be severely punished, you returned to your old state and returned to Earth. They would like us to abandon your people”.

Shocked almost beyond belief, Katia asked, “Your grace, how much time do we have before they act”?

“It will take them time to gather their allies but I would like to have you, Malok and those who you will take with you off planet in a few days. I will try to put them off track by telling them that I am going to send you back to your planet in one of your months’ time. Hopefully, we will take them by surprise.”

“Thank you for the warning, your grace. We will act as soon as we can.”

“Katia, I have a small gift for you to wish you good providence,” She said. The queen handed her a simple bracelet that moulded its self to her wrist.
“It is of very specially made and you will not want to remove it, nor will it become uncomfortable. This war will end, and it will give you guidance throughout your life.”

“I’m hoping that It will make her more able to find her way in life. It will help her finally adapt to the ways of the women around her.” The queen thought. She had not told Katia that the bracelet also opened up a communication path to her implants, and changes were afoot for her.

Malok knew the real purpose of the bracelet. He and his mother had talked about it at length. The earth girl was in love with him and he knew that nothing could ever come of it. In his youthful exuberance, he had saved her life, where an adult would have had the sense to let her die. In the process, she fell in love with her healer; the most natural thing that could happen, but on earth the infatuation was usually broken in time.*

“I will also send a small contingent of military people who are loyal to me with you to help. I believe the Djinarians to be a huge threat to the peace of this local part of the galaxy, so I need you to make proof available of their intentions if you can.”

**When the Queen returned to her rooms, her advisor and Mouselayer were waiting for her.
Mouselayer said to the queen, “Your precocious son has forced our hand now. We knew the Djinn were raiding Earth for small amounts of minerals and when he exposed them, it triggered a full scale invasion and now we will be forced to deal with them with terminal finality.”

“So, it has come to that, has it?” the Queen said.

“Yes, and in a way, this act of youthful exuberance and foolish enthusiasm has saved us a great deal of sacrifice, and many lives. Because of our increased travels through the space between our home world and Earth, we have happened upon a troubling concentration of Djinn massing about 25 spectrons from here. It has taken us a considerable amount of time to understand all this, but we strongly suspect that the Djinn are planning a massive attack on Thorian space.” The Advisor, Kalok said.

“So, we really cannot get too incensed at my son because his disruptive romping in the outlands has uncovered a deeper plot.”

“The matter still remains that he has altered a sentient being in an unacceptable manner and she cannot be expected to live that way in the future, so I have placed a neutralisation bracelet on her so that over a period of time, her mind and eventually her body will slowly change to more closely conform to human norms. It will not directly change her but it will send us periodic reports on a side channel, and we can send commands back to her body to slowly make the changes. She will accompany Malok and a small task force of our Navy on their return to Earth.”

“The guardians will return with her and Malok. We had hoped that in time the Djinn would become part of the galactic communities but it seems there is little hope for that. We may be forced to regress them a million or so years, so that by the time they regain space travel again, they will have mended their ways.” Mouselayer said.

“Mouselayer, as guardians of the galactic community, I thank you for your assistance, and I humbly apologise that your intervention is required.” The Queen said.

“My Queen, you do us a great service by your willingness to cooperate. I must say that encountering Katia in the woods the way we did, and seeing her peaceful reaction to us, provides us with great hope for the future of sentient life in her part of the Galaxy. I wish it were so throughout the Universe. I’m going to ask that you not restrain her abilities as much as you are thinking. Yes, she has the ability to be quite lethal but has such loving and submissive character that she may well develop into an admirable representative from Earth.”

“Well, we best get them sent on their way. I will leave Katia’s fate in your hands Mouselayer. In the meantime, we need to marshal our forces to repel an attack from the Djinn should it become necessary”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The “small contingent” was 9 vessels, including two of their largest vessels. Of the two large ones, one appeared as a passenger vessel, and the other looked like a lethal fighting ship. In all, there were 11,691 occupants in the task force. The queen’s soldiers had been quietly converting both of the ships to have the most advanced and lethal weaponry on board including some particle cannon that only a even few new of.

The rest of the vessels were obviously military and smaller but still quite fast and dangerous. The small fleet could approach Earth’s solar system to just outside the Oort cloud without much risk of Djinarian snooping. There has been an observing post on a moon of Saturn since just after Katia left, so using tight beam communication they could communicate with it. It was also decided that once the battle was joined, the fleet would move to the vicinity of Mars orbit and would only be minutes from earth that way.

The Thorian lead element, scouting Probes were at first detected and destroyed by the Djinn as the Thorians were doing recognisance prior to the invasion, but by making a polar approach to Earth and then completing the journey to the sites they wanted to monitor under water, they’d been successful. These were tiny craft, smaller than a human arm.

Probes returning from Earth revealed that it had become a prison planet. The Djinn knew that their time on Earth unchallenged was limited so rather than continue in their stealthy ways, they simply landed huge ore carriers in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Canada, and the US. They openly began ruthlessly mining the minerals they wanted without regard for human objections. B-52s were swatted down like annoying gnats. Even Atomic weapons were ineffective. There were only a half dozen Neutron Bombs in existence and even those could only damage the Djinn slightly. The Djinn made no effort to occupy any city. They simply elbowed aside, lethally if necessary, anyone who opposed them and went about their robbery. The Djinn did not bother imprisoning anyone. Humans either stayed out of the way or they were killed.

None of this had been concealed from Katia and she was alternately feeling rage and crying. “What are we going to do about this? If the Djinarians are allowed to continue, they will drive humanity back to the stone age,” she said to both Malok and Mamadou with great feeling. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

Mouselayer seemed concerned by Katia’s nearly hysterical emoting.

In his squeaky voice he said, “Don’t you worry princess Katia, we will help you rid your planet of the troublesome Djinn. We should have done away with them a long time ago”.
Katia, thinking to humour them; quite sure that they were barking mad, and very certain that the Faeries could not “take care” of the Djinn alone, simply thanked them in the most gracious way possible. Lillytumpet, Twighatcher, and Philbertie seemed to lead their group with Mouselayer as the supreme commander.

Later, Katia quietly explained the exchange to Malok and Mamadou. “They seemed so confident Malok, how can that be”?

“I don’t know Katia, I barely knew of their existence until you met them. They seemed to take an immediate liking to you, though.”

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

None of them knew that the Faeries were telepathically linked and were spread on hundreds of planets in small secluded groups. There was no way that the humans could suspect the true capabilities of the Faeries or their link to the creator of the Universe.

Katia:
We had decided to build a whale like artificial creatures to carry us from beneath the Antarctic ice to the UK, where the Djinn were busily stealing petroleum from the North Sea. Malok and Mamadou both knew that would give me a chance to check on Mum and Daddy. I protested that it was too much to give me as a single participant in the war, but the two men had decided and I could quickly see that any objection I might have was futile. Three other “Whales” were dispatched to the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic.

I was so amazed at Malok’s piloting, because he was able to keep us fully cloaked until just before we hit the ice. The control station on the whale looked vaguely reminiscent of the keyboard of a large pipe organ, but with several displays. He looked like a master organist as he piloted us stealthily in past the Moon and down to the surface of the Earth on the polar axis. We’d thought that it would take us about a month to get to the UK, by imitating the Blue Whale’s 12 Knot cruising speed, and staying as deep as possible, and swimming in the canyons of the Mid Oceanic ridge to conceal our progress as far as possible. Much to our surprise, about a week into our journey, Malok told me that he’d been talking to other Whales for a few days and had found them to be sentient beings. The Whales were quite friendly and agreeable to helping them defeat the Djinn because they had started destructively mining minerals off the floor of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America. We all understood that the Djinn could do huge damage to the oceanic systems of the world.

Twice we had to come to a complete stop and lay on the bottom as suspicious Djinn ships investigated the area but eventually moved on to other things. On the 31st day, we slipped to the bottom in the bay near Swansea, Wales. Malok was going to try to keep in contact with us by using several tight beam laser like probes that would relay our signals as we made our land approach to Worcester. It would be non-radio, so rain and fog could interrupt it. Malok stayed in our “Whale”, and Mamadou and I secured a vacant pickup truck to take cross country to Mum’s house once we swam ashore near Gower. The streets were nearly vacant, and men were almost totally absent. We’d not had contact with my parents in over 6 months now, and had no idea how they were. Mamadou could tell that I was crazy with worry about them.

There was some difficulty in securing petrol for the little truck, an aging Mitsubishi, but once we talked with the wife of the owner of a repair shop, she gave us a full fuel tank and all the extra cans we could hold for the 350 mile trip.

“Please do all you can to run those creatures off? My Harry and most of the other men in Gower have gone mad and run off to do battle with them.

Surprisingly, we were able to slip over to Worchester without incident but we did see several over flights of Djinn. By now, Mamadou had a little pistol like mine and had consented to an implant to help him target the little, but lethal gun. He also now had a sword similar to mine, but its power was limited because he would not allow the implant of a power cell.

A dozen of the Fairies had come along, sometimes flying beside us and sometimes perching on the vehicle as we made our way. One of them swept in through the window and perched on the back of my seat along with Mouselayer who’d been riding all along. During their chattering, I was able to make out that the local mice were quite tasty, though there were some other little creatures that just curled up and slept this time of the year. At the time I wondered if they were the little things that a local woman, who is the wife of a prominent banker and a biologist herself, was so bent on protecting. I was about to question them further about what I later learned were Dormice when one of them said that they did not taste good.

“Yes, please leave them alone as they are an endangered species and we are trying to preserve them. The woman who is advocating for them will be quite cross if you bother them.

I told Mouselayer about the woman and he decided to put his companions off them in deference to her tender heartedness toward wood folk. “You know there are some creatures that look like these mice but are quite large; we call them rats; you can have all of those you wish, I should think.

Along the way, we got lost and a woman named Beverly got us back on track again. She said it was a pity that Google was off line.
“Oh, when you come back through, after this present nastiness, I’ll take you clubbing and we’ll have a grand time with the other girls.” She said.

When we got home, the house seemed deserted, until I got the key from under the plant outside and unlocking the door walked cautiously into the house. “Mummy, are you here?” I was quite worried and had lapsed into a child’s vocabulary in calling for her, though now as I think of it, as a young boy, I had never called Mum by that form of address. Hmmm. All the stress and tension musta been gettin’ to me.

I heard a shriek and Mum came pounding down the staircase as if the devil himself were after her. She threw herself into my arms in complete hysteria. “Frank, Frank, my darling, I never thought I would see you again”.

“Mum, it’s OK I am here now and we hope to put a stop to this bloody business with the Djinarians. We hope to kick them out”. Mum looked at me confused for a few seconds. I had chosen to ignore her calling me by my old name, Frank, as I knew that she was under a horrendous amount of stress. Her eyes seemed to roll like the wheels in a slot machine and then they steadied.

“Oh, good heavens Katia, I was so worried that I completely lost my mind there for a moment.”

“Never mind Mum, how are you and where is Daddy?”

“Oh, Katia my dear, he and some of the other blokes have run off with a tank to attack the Aliens. I am dreadfully sure that they are going to be killed doing it.” With that Mum began to sob and her legs slowly sagged.”

I picked Mum up and sat her in a chair. “Alright Mum, please try to remain calm and tell me everything you know about where they went.”

“Well, I do not know precisely where they went but they met with some other men that had somehow gotten military equipment from one of the depots and were heading north to Scotland, near Thurso, I think. They were going to try to get a boat and go up to the Shetlands, near a place called Sulom Voe”.

“How long have they been gone?”

“Oh, not quite a fortnight, I think.”

“Malok, those fools are in great danger if not already dead. One thing that might save them is that a Tank uses a frightful amount of fuel, so hopefully they’ve simply run it out before they got there. My God Malok, driving around in a great hulking tank will surely attract the attention of the enemy, won’t it?”

“Katia my habibti, we must keep our focus on the fact that the enemy mean to end the whole of humanity, so we cannot allow our search for your father to jeopardise our mission. We’ll find him if we can, however.”

One of the faeries said,“ Katia, we need to see a picture of your Father. We will locate him for you.” One of the faeries said to me. He seemed so absolutely positive that I just gave him what he wanted. Mamadou showed him on a map where her father likely was. A group of the Faeries moved out of sight so fast that it felt suspicious to me.

“Were they transporting themselves?” I asked myself. We did not see that two of the faeries stayed behind at my parent’s home.

It took us about a half hour to ascertain that Mum had enough food and felt safe before we headed off again toward Northern Scotland. It being about 350 miles distant, we knew that it might take more than a day to get there, depending upon conditions. I fervently hoped that the Djinn would not bother us. The roads were mostly deserted, but once in a while we’d pass huge columns of smoke or burned out vehicles.

Along the way, we ran into a local woman named Sue Brown, who seemed to know the roads up through Scotland quite well. She’d once driven through with several of her friends in an ancient bus.

Malok decided to move the Whale around the isles and go slowly up the coast to the vicinity of Thurso. He thought it would take a few days. It seemed maddening that we could not transport and use some of the other devices that the Thorians used, but all that could be detected. As it was, the risk to the whale was great, but Malok had talked with the other whales enough to have begun to understand their movement patterns somewhat. So, he programmed an evasive pattern into the navigation system that would eventually take him to where he needed to go.

The Western coast of the UK between the main Island and Ireland was quite rough and there were many places of concealment, though while proceeding up an inlet near Askaig, he’d had to slow considerably because his wake was visible on the surface.

Meanwhile, in a matter of hours, the Faeries were in the vicinity of where Katia’s father was thought to be and began searching. They were at first stumped but after a day’s searching, then found that he was captive and in poor health aboard one of the alien vessels that was floating not far from Sullom Voe.

What happened next is one of the most unbelievable incidents of the Djinarian invasion. The number of Faeries involved in the search had grown to a dozen, and they set about killing the enemy and disabling the vessel without damaging it enough to leak oil. Those little swords they carried, about the size of the ones in a drink, could cut through almost any substance known to man. Despite their diminutive size of the faeries, the enemy were an easy mark unless they were in their battle suits.

Meanwhile, Mamadou had driven me very close to the Thurso area. Malok had yet to contact us, but we suspected that we would hear from him soon. Later, just at dusk, Malok contacted us, having learned that there was a pitched battle going on up in the Shetlands, but he had no idea what was going on aside from it was causing lots of traffic on Djinn communication channels.

The faeries were keeping far better track of our progress than we had any reason to suspect, and just before we rendezvoused with Malok, two of them popped out of the clear air right by our lorry. It was such a shock to me that I screamed and jumped into the arms of Mamadou.

“Habibti, I like this new affection you are showing me, but in public?” I could hear the humour in his voice.

I could not figure out where my new squeamishness came from and was very confused until I thought of Malok or His Mother. “Malok what in the bloody hell have you done to me?” I said as venomously as I could.

“Katia, I swear it, I have done nothing to you at all.” With a little instrument, he began to check my body over and then his face went ashen.”

He explained to me that someone had slipped an almost microscopic probe into my body and it had attached its self to the base of my brain It was talking to my bracelet. “Oh, this looks like the work of Mother! From what I can tell from looking at its programming, Mom is helping you become more feminine, according to human standards. I don’t know how she did it, though it does look like there is an override for combat situations.” I had no idea at all that Malok was dissembling to avoid my wrath.

“Oh, God Malok, this cannot be done to me right in the middle of a war!” I cried with dismay.

“I very much like this woman, your mother. She will make it easier for you to be protected.” Mamadou said with an idiot smile on his face.

“What do you mean you big lummox, who saved your ass, how many times back in Afghanistan?” I was fuming mad.

“Um, Katia, I think that Mum was concerned that you liked ripping hearts out of living beings with your bare hands was a bit over the top, um perhaps.” Malok said nervously.

“Enough”, shouted one of the Faeries. “We must save your father and he is miles away in an enemy vessel.

“You found Daddy? Oh, thank you, thank you, and thank you.” I was doing my new found happy dance, and wondering why. “Oh, your Mum is going to pay for this.” I was fighting my new emotions, and knowing that I was losing.

Katia, Mamadou, and Malok quickly got into the Whale and started across the channel to the West side of the Shetland Islands. As they travelled under water, Malok pushed the speed of the Whale to just under 60 kts, hoping that the Djinn were too busy dealing with the distant battle to notice their approach. He piloted the craft into an inlet near Islesburgh and into what seemed to be a dead end inlet, when he lifted the whale clear of the water and shot across several 100 meters of dry land and into the Loch containing the terminal at Sullom Voe. The last several miles to the side of the Alien oil vessel was taken at 150 Knots, just clear of the surface.

By now there was a huge battle in the sky over the terminal with Alien ships plunging into the island and into the sea with regularity. The only ships firing seemed to be the Aliens’ ships and their shots seemed at random, most often aimed into the air.
There were a few of the Aliens on the deck of the mile long vessel, but they seemed to be swatting at clear air, and firing their hand weapons indiscriminately.

That is when it became abundantly clear that the Faeries were indeed formidable warriors, winking in and out of visibility rapidly, their tiny, swords slashing precisely but not giving lethal wounds.

Mouselayer said to Katia as he swooped in from what seemed like nowhere, “Princess Katia, go below and rescue your father, Nicknuk will show you to him. We have most of the Djinarian crew inoculated, so we must take your father out of here before they try to lift their ship. Then, we will attack in Europe, Asia, and everywhere we can before they all flee before us, the cowards. We will inoculate them all.”

“Inoculate, what are they talking about?” I thought.
The Faeries had not told us that while their little swords produced painful but not lethal wounds, they also implanted a virus that would eventually spread to the entire population of Djinn and it would have the effect of retrogressing them nearly to the stage of primitive hill ants. It was surprising to find out that their goal had never been to directly kill the Djinn

The unbridled condescension of his statement astonished me, but I was sure he believed what he was saying, so I followed his diminutive guide down into the bowels of the ship. The passage ways were larger than humans use.

“Katia, how fast can you run?”

“Just tell me where to turn.” She shot off down the passage and had gone about  ¼ mile when, Nicknuk told her to turn down another passage. A short run and down some stairs and then into a room, where her Father lay on a table.

“Daddy, you look awful. What have they been doing to you?”

“Oh, they have been doing all sorts of dreadful things, but the worst was their shocking me, the bloody fools.”

“Can you walk at all?”

“ Oh, I can walk but I’ll be slow.”

Beneath her feet Katia could feel a low vibration, so swiftly she turned to her Father. “Remember the piggy back rides you gave me as a child?”

He nodded, and then eased himself off the table onto her back.

“Malok, we are coming but it feels like the ship is getting ready to lift. I’m not planning on going with them so, be ready to catch us, OK?”

Katia was not sure that Malok would hear her but she hoped he would. The extra weight of her father slowed her a little but her ample power packs could stand the strain. As she ran, the increasing rumble became a roar, and by the time they arrived on the deck, the ship was lifting out of the water, making it several hundred feet to the floating dock alongside.

“Malok, where are you?” She did not get an answer.

“Daddy, I love you. Hang on.” She stepped off the deck and began falling down the side of the ship. The rounded pressure hull came close to them as they fell. Convinced she and her father were going to die in this plunge, Katia began to get angry, and she thought about her time in Afghanistan fighting and how much she cared for her family. She could see the whale lifting to meet her but it would be too late, and that made her pissed. “How could this be happening? “ She thought. With the Water just seconds away, she felt outrage take over. Her body began to get fuzzy, and lightning began to fly all around her. Just before they hit the water, their fall began to slow and completely stop. Seemingly transfigured, Katia and her father began to rise and travel toward the dock, finally settling there amid a white cloud.

Unnoticed by anyone but Malok, the Whale lost power and settled back into the water. It was obvious that Katia was somehow tapping into the power supply of the Whale. There was more than ample power from the Whale to lift her and her father, but apparently her instinctual way of drawing the power was too disruptive and inefficient.

As soon as Katia and her father settled to the dock, Katia let go of him and he collapsed. It took Katia a minute to come to her senses and when she turned to check on him, he was unconscious and ashen faced.

“Oh my God, Daddy, are you OK?” She was almost shrieking with hysteria and knelt at his side immediately. His clothes seemed to be steaming but not burning. She wiped at his face and discovered that the ashen colour was like a dusting he’d collected. Beneath, his complexion was a little red and his skin was warm. Nearly in tears, she leaned close to him.

“Daddy, daddy, please wake up, I’ve gone through too much to lose you now damn you. Please, please wake up, you old fool! I promise not to be mad at you ever again.”

Nearly frenetic with worry, Katia began to weep so hard that she thought her heart would break. She wept and wept. “Daddy, please come back to me!” Completely distraught, Katia did not at first notice a hand on her back.

“Promise not to tell your Mum about all this, she will be bloody worried, she will.”

Katia screamed at the sound of his voice, and cried all the louder!

“Daddy, you’ve come back to me! Please never leave me again, promise?”

When Malok finally managed to restore power to the Whale and lift it to dockside, they found Katia and her father sitting and holding one another; quietly talking in the most endearing tones.

In the skies over Scotland, thousands of Faeries had gathered and more were arriving as time passed. It was a migration that no one on earth or any other planet for that matter had ever witnessed. That evening, as the sun set, under threatening skies, little encampment sprung up in the fields for miles around. Word spread quickly about the young human princess who had been the first to show them courtesy in a very long time. Mouselayer had Katia ensconced on a chair at his encampment with Mamadou and Malok on either side of her. There were little fires all around her and a seemingly endless procession of Faeries slowly flew past her. They were extremely courteous to her, almost apologetic.

Mouselayer, after chatting with the other gathered faeries through telepathy, explained to Katia.

“We still inhabit many planets but we used to call many more home to our kind. We once had a colony here on your earth, but you humans were such dullards that we eventually left. At one time, we despaired of ever finding really sentient life other than ours. Even the Djinarians were not a bother to us, because we’d just run them off if they bothered us. We just paid no attention to them, and left the Thorians alone too as long as they did not pester us. The Thorians weren’t aggressive but were quite intellectual, and managed to invent many gadgets that we had little use for. We talk among ourselves with our minds, though the more distant of our colonies requires us to eat an herb to get into the correct state of mind for that. When pressed we can travel in the “In between” for equally as far, though it is bothersome. So far, we have no natural enemies and nothing preauthorises us except what you call The Most High. We have this inborn spirit of cooperation with the Supreme Being. We serve him and he is good to us. I must say, that after being here on Earth for the first time in thousands of years, that most of your ways of worshiping are pure nonsense to us. We will instruct you on that matter, as what you are doing at present are entirely unsuitable.”

“It was our own fault that the Djinarians got so powerful, being absorbed in our own affairs for so long. We had no idea that they were the bullies of the local space and in time, they would have ended all life but their own. So, we apologise for neglecting our duty as the most superior beings, except for the Maker. Perhaps he was just waiting to see if their wickedness would diminish at some point. No one can say that they did not get ample opportunity to change.

“So, after talking with the other leaders, we intend to inoculate several of their populations with a DNA retrograde virus. That is what our little swords do. They will eventually lose their ability to engage in space travel at all, but not before they infect the rest of their lawless breed. Perhaps in a Million or so of your years, they will evolve again but this time not as such pirates. “

The inhabitants of Earth were regressed numbers of times before, but this last time we simply gave up and left, having lost hope. We expected your planet to be destroyed by the Maker.

Mouselayer paused for a time and then turned to look at Katia with respect, and even affection.

“My people have been calling you princess Katia because we think that your sacrifice and work deserves an honorific. So hence forth, you are Princess Katia to all sentient beings. We also know that had it not been for the peaceful Thorians, their queen and this young pup Malok, you would not have come into existence as you now are. Henceforth, you will have the ability to mind talk with us as we talk with each other. We know that you and Malok have a primitive mind talk but yours is electromagnetic and ours uses the next level of existence.”

“Malok, your mother and her fleet are on the way here now. You will take whatever correction she administers like the higher being that you think you are.”

“Yes sir, I will do as you wish.”

“You most assuredly will and you will be better for it.”

“Mamadou, you are a kind and generous man, and we thank you for trying to protect little Katia. She is quite powerful in the ways of war, but within she is but a soft child and needs much nurturing.”

“Thank you sir, you are to be praised along with the Prophets, Inshallah.”

“Yes, well we have been looking into your belief systems here on earth and they have all left the true path. We’ll be working on that with your leaders and I am sure that many of them will be unhappy, especially those who say they are the chosen of God. The central belief of any acceptable belief system is that they honour God, and love one another. Anything else is false and leads to great folly. Any belief that does not meet that standard is no more, as of today. Some humans need to tremble in fear for the pain they have spread. The love of God goes to the faithful, and this time we will be here to insure justice and compassion for all. Those who refuse to give up hate and malice will have a very painful future.”

The meeting lasted well into the early morning, and then Malok, Mamadou and Katia with her Father went to bed in the Whale. When they wakened in the morning, the Whale was sitting alongside Katia’s parent’s house.

“Wake up Daddy, Mummy will be so happy to see us again!”

“Katia, dear, please be patient while I tie my bloody shoes”

“But Daddy, I am so excited to see what the day will bring!”

“Well, I must say dear Katia that I did not expect to live through the day yesterday. Those God awful bloody scorpions seemed bent on taking my life, they did!”

They all went into the house to waken Mummy and have a joyous breakfast, full English, as much as posible. There were shortages but not as severe as some would have thought. The networks were still not on line again, and there was no internet, but Mouselayer had shown up as soon as they went into the house.
“Good morning Princess Katia, I want you to know that the Djinarians are on the run back to their home worlds. They did much damage and billions were murdered. We will remain with you for a time to see to it that this planet is firmly established on the true path.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katia helped her Mum with the dishes after breakfast. Mamadou, Katia’s father, Malok and several of the Faeries sat in the back yard and talked of the future. Later, when the dishes were done, Katia found her way with a tray of tea and biscuits, to the back yard where the men were sitting.

Mamadou looked up at her and smiled. Katia quietly moved over and sat in front of him at his feet. She’d changed to a pretty pink and mauve striped dress with black leggings, and her trainers.

“When will your mum, the Queen arrive Malok.”

“She is just entering your solar system now.

“How are you feeling habibti?”

“I am feeling really peaceful, after yesterday.” “Mouselayer, I am so surprised that your people were able to do all that you have done. I had expected a very long war, and for many more of my people to die.”

“Princess, I am quite happy to have come along with you. You do realise that you were the catalyst that caused all this to happen, do you not?”

“Thank you, but I am not feeling very war like right now. I am sick of fighting and of wars. I am sick of people hurting one another. Actually, it was Malok’s shooting me that started it all. I would never have done any of the things that happened, had he not done that.

One of the men finished saying, “and that means that we on Earth are most appreciative of your help Mouselayer.”

“Well, there is much to do. We think the threat of the Djinn is finished but we will stand guard here until we know it to be true. In addition, there are some issues in your society that need correcting. It will be painful for some, but we know that it must happen. Corruption, slavery, aggression and selfishness are huge problems here. What you call religions are mere shadows of what they should be, and we intend to insist that we will correct that. We know who this entity that you call God is, and we intend that everyone on Earth will find belief in him. Some of your people will actually be brought to full awareness of him, see him eye to eye. But those who have believed without seeing will be the blessed ones.

Mouselayer went on, “There is nothing metaphysical or spiritual about this knowledge. It is a genetic and psychodynamic issue. There are pathways in the human brain for talking to all other sentient beings. The Djinn had over the years, interfered in your genetic development and left much of humanity unable to use those senses, and made you less intelligent and war like. Their purpose was to keep you so busy with conflict among yourself that you had no time to discover them, and it worked for all but a very few.

For far too long, the misguided religious institutions have been allowed to inflict pain and abuse those who were supposed to be cared for. This has stopped as of now. Today, many of my people will be arriving and by tomorrow, every institution will have watchers.

When we have been here for a few weeks, we will begin to address the reasons for the primitive genetic state of humans. We know that there are causative factors and when we isolate them, we will address them. ”

“We’ve gone through all this and now you are going to make Earth a bloody police state.” Katia’s father stated. It was clear that he was upset, probably due to his ordeal.

“George, I am asking that you allow us a few weeks to work, and if you are not satisfied then, we will do our utmost to make amends.”

“Very well, Mouselayer, you seem to be a good chap. How are you on Hair of the Dog?” Beer was brought from in the house and some of the men and women drank it while Katia and Mamadou did not. Still, it was a happy crowd and they celebrated most of the day. The discussion between Mouselayer and George went on for hours, and very quickly Katia and Mamadou stole away for a walk down to the a little stream.

“Mamadou, somehow over the last months I have come to regard you highly. I do not know what I would do should anything happen to you. I love you Mamadou.”

“My dear Katia, I feel the same way about you. You are like a precious flower to me. We have not had a normal life to come to know each other. I must return to my people in Afghanistan. Would you accompany me?”

“Yes, I would be honoured to do so but please do not ask me to wear that blue thing over my head.”

“My dear, all I ask is that you do not dishonour us by dressing immodestly, and that you are respectful to those around you. I would also ask that you restrain yourself in matters of violence. Please allow me to handle those things, won’t you?”

“Yes, Mamadou, but please do not restrict me to only making your sons and daughters.” She giggled.

“Why Katia dear, I am not familiar with your Western customs, though I was educated here and in Egypt. Are you telling me that you would like to marry me?”

Katia could feel her tummy go all butterfly-ee and her face felt warm. “Mamadou this is a marriage proposal?”

“Why, I think it is, dearest.”

“Then the answer is yes, my love.”

“Let’s get married like really soon?”

“First, you must say Shahadda, and agree to be obedient wife. I will agree to care for you and meet all your needs.”

“Mamadou, we have a problem here. I believe in God, but I am not wearing that unfashionable blue sack over my head, and if anyone goes to beat me, he’s going to regret it, I told you that before.”

“Katia, if you will not become Muslim wife, I am forbidden to marry you.”

“Mamadou, you’d allow your religion to interfere with us? Then we are going to scrap it here. If you remember I died in Afghanistan while fighting terrorists! Did you not hear what Mouselayer said about belief systems here on Earth. There will be much change, and I have faith that what happens will please God but we must be patient.”

And they did fight; bitterly and long into the night. Mouselayer stayed in the distance while they tried to work things out, but in the end, Mamadou stormed off into the night and Katia retired to her bedroom weeping.

Mamadou insisted on returning home to his Afghanistan, “My people will be dismayed. I need to be there with them!” He got Malok to give him a ride there in the Whale. After all the round trip was less than an hour in the air. The panels that made the craft appear as a Whale were folded in and the craft had little problem, averaging just under 9500 MPH. He flew at around 200,000 feet to avoid a sonic boom that reached the earth. They had time to talk, and Mouselayer was along with them.

“Mamadou, what will you do? I know that you and Katia are very close.” Mouselayer asked.

“I do not know Mouselayer. She is the light of my life, but if she will not convert, it is Haraam (forbidden) to marry her.”

“I have noticed your closeness. And you both have been through so much. Perhaps you should just rest and take care of your people for a few weeks. I foresee many changes coming and I am sure that your two hearts will yet be one. There will be a great many changes in your country and the world. There will be no more fighting, and I will deal with those who do not lay down their arms, believe me.” Mouselayer gently soothed him.

Malok remained quiet, acting as if flying his craft was keeping him too occupied. In reality, he knew that Earth’s complicated religious structures were gone like the dinosaur, though many would scream with outrage. It might take years and many would have spiritual crises over the news. Some day they would understand that God was real, but not as the religious dogmas had made him out to be.

It had been months since Katia and Mamadou had seen each other. Mouselayer intentionally kept them both very busy as the world around them changed. The faeries had deduced how the Djinn had tampered with human genetics and now all babies born would be without those defects. In some humans, the damage was too severe and they would need to be watched and guided to prevent them becoming offended, or causing trouble with their fellow humans.

Katia was a special case in that Malok had already done a great deal of modification on her, and it was really not much of a problem to enable her to listen in and talk on the telepathic network that Mouselayer used. She was constantly driving or flying aircraft in the discharge of her various duties dealing with everyone from the UN to the various governments, to the various corporations. So finally after talking to Malok’s mom, the Queen and the rest of the faeries, a team of the faeries gave Katia the same gift of transport that they used. The faeries did not want to alter her appearance, so they implanted the flesh necessary behind her smallest breast, thus making them both close to the same size. She’d never have the same faculties as the faeries, particularly very long space hops, because she did not know how to search for a safe place for her to emerge. Still, she would be able to handily flit about on Earth and the local solar system. Of course the latter would require her to use a pressure suit because she would never have the brain capacity that the faeries possessed. The Moon was only a minute or two away for her and the shield around her retained enough air for her to breathe normally. But, Jupiter would take longer than any air she could carry would last. Katia soon discovered that depending on the difference between her mass and any object she might collide with, her path or the other object was deflected. The faeries did not seem interested in explaining the physics involved, and Katia’s two constant companions kept the nosier at bay.

The faeries decided to work within the present governmental framework, but a good many members of the government were in for huge surprises. Graft and corruption were swiftly banished, and for a while it appeared as if many governments would just vanish. By now there were millions of faeries flitting about and they were punishing everything from pork barrelling to simple theft.

In most areas, the local police were retained, the scum bags were culled, and what remained were truly good people if somewhat control oriented. There were no more traffic courts, or litigation regarding accidents and various other offenses. Soon, even the most aggressive drivers simply felt the consequences of getting caught were not worth it.

A few times, Katia herself showed up to deal with the recalcitrant. Months after she’d arrived back on Earth, certain Somali elements were still being bullies. In one village, they were getting ready to stone a young woman who had fallen in love with a foreigner, and as she bore in from high altitude, she simply ignited the land around the offenders before she sat down and freed the half buried girl. By the time she left, several of the Muslim raiders were dead, having resisted. As she left, two more faeries arrived to re-educate the local residents.

She also abolished borders, drug cartels, and those who grew rich by controlling the poor.

(Hey, the author here. This may all seem too implausible and fanciful, but I likes it a bit. I’ll leave the serious funk and gore stuff to the more able. )

On night after a full days work, Katia sat back in a lounge chair in the back yard of her parent’s home. Peace seemed to be breaking out all over the world. People were productive and most were content. Sure there were the X-control monger corporate, and government plonkers who weren’t, but there were also those who had been on the public dole who were now productive within their own limitations.

Daddy seemed overly preoccupied with an engineering material that was simply amazing. It was many times stronger than the best steel, extremely light and did not require foundries or environmentally destructive activities. They’d already made plans to put in a submerged trans-Atlantic freeway.

She just did not feel that she had much to do any more, so her heart turned once again to Mamadou. Hours later, she hoisted herself aloft, after showering and changing clothes and touched down in Ankara. It did not take her very long before she had visited several places in the local Sook. She emerged wearing a classic, form fitting Ivory abaya of golden silk and richly embroidered. It even had an Almira Hijab with it, and made her look like a heavenly angel.

As she slowly cruised East from Turkey, she asked Mouselayer if one of his assistants could help her locate her Mamadou. He’d of course already done that. The lovelorn man had gone to ground in Moqor, near where they had originally met. Along the way, Katia had stopped in a local market and gotten a big blue blanket to wrap around herself. This was her final effort to find a peaceful existence where she and Mamadou could once again love one another. What she was about to do was not Western thinking at all. She just knew that she loved him.

She approached his position in the court yard of a local house slow enough that he did not hear her. She was still several feet off the ground when she stopped.

“Salaam Mamadou.”

He seemed stunned for a moment. “I heard that you were coming. I just did not know when.”

“I have missed you Mamadou; missed your touches, your gentle eyes, and your protection.”

“You are in no need of my protection, why did you come?”

“Mamadou, please, I wanted to see if there was any love for me left in your heart?”

“I never stopped loving you, habibti. Have you come to disgrace me in front of my people?”

“No, my love, I have come to try to be your wife.”

Mamadou turned around, seeming to be shocked at her appearance. His heart surged at here appearance. She was entirely covered by the Blue blanket, but with her face showing.
“Mamadou, is there a compromise that will yet allow our love to live? I will try to not embarrass you in your community and will try to follow you in our personal lives.”

“Katia, would you please drop that Blanket, most of my beliefs are irrelevant now. Islam and all other religion is dead. We have lost all our value systems and traditions, and have yet to understand how we are to worship our creator.”

“Not so Mamadou. The unsupportable is gone, but mutual regard, modesty, care, and charity remain. The admiration for who it is that created the universe is still with us. We must do our utmost to help those around us, and Mamadou, I need to be at your side so you can steady me. I grow so impatient with some of those who I encounter, and I would like you to take over much of my work, I am not strong enough and get too emotional. Don’t you dare laugh at me? You and others have warned me that striving with the men is too hard for women, and now I see the truth in it.” Katia then dropped the blanket, exposing her beautiful gown and Hijab.

“What am I seeing Katia? Is this complete capitulation?”

“If that is what you wish darling. I know the work must be done but I feel like I cannot do it alone. If I yield completely, will you not get bored with me?” Katia allowed herself to sink to the earth near his feet, on top of the fallen blanket. “Will you disgrace me in the way you treat me?”

He quickly stepped to her side and raised her to her feet. “Katia, I am sure that we will find a way for our love to survive. I have talked a great deal with Mouselayer and he has convinced me that our very rituals and rules were a disgrace to the one who created us. I just do not know how everything will be now, and would love to have you in my life so that we can face this together.”

“Do you think we could go meet with Mouselayer and Mummy and Daddy to work things out? I will not say your shahadda, but I will pledge my love for the creator, and promise to be loving and faithful to you. Will that be sufficient?”

“Katia my darling that is more than I deserve.”

In 5 years, the Earth was much more stable, and in a few decades, humanity would begin to explore the solar system. In 100 years, the Thorians would begin to provide them with the education to earnestly explore the rest of their galaxy, where they would find thousands of habitable planets.

Katia and Mamadou Touri would live to see a great deal.