Drew's Trouble with Cats and Roaches

To all,

Due to the interest in Parts 1, 2 and 3, I have continued this series. This chapter delves into 'filling in "on certain subjects glossed over in previous chapters (see I do read the comments). This leads to the potential of data dump. I will endeavor to not be a dick and just dump. I am learning, from the helpful comments given by you the readers.

Any aliens, real or imagined in this story are purely a construct of my twisted and warped mind. My attempts to enter a realm (writing), that has always eluded me, has been exciting. I hope you enjoy my continued tale of Drew Jr.

Drew was laid back in a hammock stretched out between two trees at the Cat refuge. Life had settled down for a couple of weeks after the battle, hospital, and celebration. He was enjoying the quiet solitude of the glade broken only by the distant sound of the frogs in the nearby pond. 'This quiet solitude will soon abruptly end when the Pride returns,' he thought.

But for the next hour or so, there was peace in the glade.

Or not.

He could hear swearing in an alien language coming from the maintenance shed.

Kay was at it again.

There could be no misunderstanding that Kay was having issues with her latest project. There was a sound, a high ping, of a box wrench dropped or thrown in frustration. More high-pitched swearing and out she came, shaking her head and stomping towards the cottage she shared with his Dad.

***

Drew closed his eyes, let the new tranquility of the glade envelope him and thought back to days, not long ago, but seemingly a 100 years ago, when the Pride arrived in-system and contacted Earth authority...

Drew was asleep in his command chair on the bridge. He hated the transition between space. He remembered the lectures of folding space upon itself like a piece of paper folded over itself. "Just pop through, they said. No big deal they said. Fuck Them!" Drew thought. As a 'normal' human it made him feel like he, himself was being folded upon himself, but now?

When Drew received his psychic enhancements, the first transition almost drove him insane. After that, as his psychic abilities grew, he had to be sedated or lose his mind. The jump to earth was a rough one, three transitions, one around a red giant. They seem to be the worst.

"Lord, we are ready to enter normal space." Thing One noted as she leaned over and injected the stimulant into his arm.

Drew hated the stimulant almost as bad as the transition. "Think of being peacefully in a semi-dream state to being rocketed into a race car in the middle of a race," he had once tried to explain to others. The Cats had little tolerance or understanding of subtlety and just shrugged at his concerns.

He came fully awake with a start and stared at the black screen in front of him. There was the light almost musical tone, the countdown to 'normal' space. He did his normal count down from 10. It was easier when he was a 'normal' human and just crew, huddled deep in the bowels of the ship. If you came into normal space inside a sun, or a small moon, it would be over before anyone could think. But here, in the command chair, he held all the responsibility and would watch the disaster, if it happened.

"3...2...1" and then a mental 'pop' and he was staring at a huge asteroid directly in their path. It was so huge that it filled the entire forward view screen.

"Oh fuck! Evasive maneuvers, NOW!" he screamed half climbing out of the command chair backwards. He then noticed the whole bridge crew staring at him in confusion. He also noticed that the ship was static, not moving.

Thing One and Two flew out of their chairs and prostrated themselves before their enraged Lord.

"We are sorry if we have displeased you my Lord. You told us to bring the ship into the rings of your 'Saturn" to hide the ship. We are directly under the opening we found that would fit the Pride ship. Please tell us what we have done to displease you my Lord" Thing One intoned.

Drew was stunned. After all this time, and here were the twins placating themselves and Thing Two offering her dagger if he wanted to take their lives for the 'insult' they must have given.

"Lord if I may?" came from Eddie at the science consol.

Drew just nodded his head.

"Pilot and Navigator, be calm. The Lord is not used to the advanced navigational abilities of our crew and technology. He was just surprised at the excellent piloting skills you have shown." Eddie paused as the two female crew were still shoulders down and asses up.

Drew leaned forward and spoke quietly, "I want you up at your stations. The only way I want to see you like this again, is in my quarters, wet swollen and ready to mate". The two flushed and scrambled to their positions. Drew straightened himself out in his chair. "The science officer is correct. The bridge crew has done an excellent job placing us where we need to be. I am pleased with your actions."

"Pleased enough to spend time tonight..." Thing Two started before the conference room door opened and Meme walked in.

"Enough of that you two." She stated before starting an animated conversation with Eddie. Thing One and Two's ears went flat, they had a moment of hope.

"Comm officer, is there any change in Earth-side or near space communications?" Drew questioned

A very pregnant Tiffany turned and reported "No Lord, we have not been detected entering this system"

"Very good. Pilot place us in the location we discussed. Slowly please, I have had enough excitement for a short while." Drew directed. He suddenly felt a presence by his elbow and turned to find Meme.

"I really did start it with the two hellions flying this ship. "Drew commented.

"I am aware my Lord, their emanations are anything but subtle. But they are aware there is a waiting list for your personal time, and as much as they desire to enter back into the competition for pregnancies, it is not their turn." Meme stated without request for further comment.

Drew sat and just shook his head "competition for pregnancies?" he thought.

Drew turned his head, 'Comm, send out the drone as we discussed. And begin the broadcast of our message."

"Yes, my Lord," and Tiffany began to touch her screen. On the 3D display, a small object moved away from the ship and started to weave its way through the asteroid field that was Saturn's rings. It continued to weave its way farther and farther away from the ship.

Drew knew that the arrival of the Cat ship would be a surprise, but he was feeling the pressure of worry and concern over his decision to bring his Cat family to Earth. "Well the broadcasting of the message will tell how Earth will welcome these refugees." He thought.

***

The answer from Earth was not what Drew was hoping for. The drone was blasted from its hiding place on the edge of the rings. A massive search began to find the Cat ship. It was only North Alliance ships, so Drew had to surmise that the emergency frequency he was given as a merchant marine was limited to only the North Alliance military command. They sent out their own broadcasts threatening total annihilation unless the Cats gave themselves up. Alliance comments of "no quarter given" were sent as a follow up to the earlier threats.

Drew had Tiffany send out two additional drones to different sectors of the Rings and broadcast on all frequencies, the same message, desire of asylum. After a lengthy time, the Homogeny and then UN stepped in to offer a peaceful end to their travels.

Where they would be placed, was the next argument. Drew was shocked at the vehement anger from his old homeland of north America. The Northern Alliance wanted to place them in what amounted to a concentration camp. Drew wanted the same rights as other alien species that resided on earth.

A compromise was reached and surprisingly the North Alliance agreed to set aside a piece of land that would be a sort of Embassy. 1000 acres along what used to be the US and Canadian border. An old forestry station and training area that would allow the younglings to wander, run and hunt like their ancestors.

The only caveat was the Alliance wanted to embed a representative to keep an eye on the 'peace', a spy. Drew agreed, if the Homogeny or UN provided a matching representative.

Drew was not happy about any of it, but they had a home As an embassy on their soil, the Alliance guaranteeing secured borders and secured skies above. It came with a price, secrecy. The Cats presence on Earth would remain secret until the three major players, Alliance, Homogeny and UN, decided to tell the world that a new species lived among them.

That was, until the Roaches arrived and two humans, a Cat and Kay saved Earth.

That made things remarkably interesting, very quickly.

***

Drew's peaceful remembrances were interrupted by noise coming from his father cabin.

Kay was at it again.

From his father's cottage came a now familiar sound, Kay cuming. She had a serious tendency to roar when she came. While fascinating from an anthropological point, it was just damn strange knowing his dad was having sex, a lot of sex.

It had taken weeks for his Dad to heal enough to be able to have sex, and it seemed that Kay was trying to make up for lost time. The doctors were aghast that their patient was having sex inside their precious. High-tech exoskeleton.

Drew took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. "You go Dad," was all that Drew could think as he smiled. He was going to be doing lots of his own mating when the females returned after so many weeks.

He leaned back in his hammock in the solitude and continued to remember how this came about

He was back in the hospital, waking to chaos and argument. Tiffany and Kay squared off against a group of humans. When the dust had settled, he was still laid back in the hospital bed with a med-band around his leg, healing the battle damage. The hospital staff still had to deal with a very pissed off two-meter-tall kitty and her shorter companion that was laughing at the situation.

It took a while, and the assistance of his two feline companions, to finally see his Dad. He was in bad shape. If not for alien technology and alien meds, he would have died soon after ejection from the Elder ship. Vertebrae and other bones were crushed. Organs bruised and then they shut down. When Drew saw him, he was covered with so much tech, he looked like the old Vid Borg. They kept him in a semi-coma allowing things to heal at their alien inspired rate.

But the old man was stubborn, and with the nagging of Kay, he was soon up walking. He was enclosed in an exoskeleton that protected him and all the medical gear. Drew was not able to talk to his Dad until the gathering and celebration for the saviors of Earth. They had but a few moments before the speeches to hug and reaffirm their love. They talked of the changes, new families, and a future for them both together.

Kay had become a familiar fixture in Drews room, harassing the hospital staff and stealing his food. Kay and Tiffany had bonded over the protection of their spouses and the general confusion over humankind. Humankind, specifically the hospital staff, learned to treat the new feline visitors, with respect or fear, depending on their personal point of view. The screechy hospital administrator was not seen or heard from again, at least on their wing of the hospital.

***

Earth's xenophobia had just gotten worse since Drew was taken by the Pride. The new threat of annihilation by a race of giant roaches just heightened an already volatile flashpoint of human xenophobia. Finding another race of lethal beings living amongst them, just fueled rumors of the worst macabre sort.

It did not take long for Drew to tire of humanities self-absorption and general rudeness to Tiffany and Kay. His small-town upbringing had shielded him from meeting and dealing with the known alien races. Sure, there was always some asshole mothing off about his opinion on aliens, but there had always been those narrow-minded assholes in the world. But the talk was bad and getting worse. Even though those aliens had helped save Earth, the new xenophobia had a violent feel to it.

***

He was so happy to be back in their forest seclusion. He missed the comfort of the sounds and smells of the forest. But he had to admit, he was looking forward to the mayhem of the returning Pride. He knew that within a few days, things would settle down. The younglings would burn up the stored energy from their space travel by vanishing into the woods on their hunts and adventures. That would leave him and the females to mate and try to make new warriors to grow the Pride's numbers.

Drew had come to know the Pride as his family, and he missed his family.

But for the next short few hours, he could swing in his hammock, listen to the birds, and hear the rumblings of Kay.

"Rumblings" he thought, and smiled, shaking his head against the pillow in the hammock. 'I sure wish she just rumbled" he thought again. Kay was not shy about her desire for sex. It seemed to be either second or third on her 'to do' list after food and beer. And the beer just made her more amorous.

"How could one small creature make so much noise?" he thought.

***

The arrival of the Pride was heralded but the peculiar humming vibrations of shuttles mag-lev plates. Both shuttles came out of the clouds in tandem and spun to land at the prepared landing pads. The increase of noise, hum, and swirling air shattered the peace of the glade. The local natural denizens of the glade scattered in all directions.

The shuttles settled on their gravel pads with just light crunching noises. For a few minutes as the pilots went through their shut-down procedures, there was a moment of quite in the forest glade.

Drew had already swung out of his hammock and was suddenly joined by Tiffany. He turned his head to view her and her beauty. She had taken her ceremonial place by his right shoulder, a half of a step back. The place of a queen or mate next to her Lord. He heard the servos of his Dad's exoskeleton coming closer. And of course, the mumblings of Kay and her concerns for his Dad.

Also crossing the glade, were the two 'observers' of the UN and North Alliance. Spies, simple and straight forward. Spies on the capabilities of the new race, the Cats. Other Homogony races wanted to send additional representatives, but Drew had refused. He had openly given Kay the opportunity to talk to her race or any others that asked questions, but her common refrain when they asked her was 'fuck off'.

The first representative selected by the UN was an amazingly attractive woman named Elsa, from Sweden. Not only a blonde, blue eyed, 6' tall sample of Nordic beauty, but a past Olympian winter biathlete. Her specialty was xenoanthropology and Drew could tell she was a true scientist. An amazingly hot sexy scientist, but the science was what brought her to live with the Cats.

Her workout runs in the morning had started something within the Pride. First, the younglings were caught stalking her, and then cuffed by the older females. Other females started to go out with her as 'protection'. Then a gentle female competition began. It was thrilling watching the statuesque human racing through the woods, trying to keep up with muscular but svelte two-meter-tall female cats. That competition built a bond between the females of both races. The races were followed by rubdowns, and a new feature for the Cats, saunas.

The other representative, the selection of the Northern Alliance, was a complete asshole named Dick. After the first few days of his condescending tone, openly xenophobic attitude and generally negative disposition, Drew had close to enough. Dick was a world class dick. Drew learned he could not say the name 'Dick' without his own inappropriate inflection. So, he called him by his full name Richard.

***

As the receiving committee gathered waiting on the rush of the Pride, Drew could hear a comment. A comment that raised his hair.

"So, the space kitties return," Dick commented with more sarcasm than was warranted.

Tiffany's ears rotated, not a good sign.

"I have warned you about that phrase and attitude Richard," Drew reminded the Alliance representative.

"Oh yes, I am sorry, I have must have forgotten in the time they have been gone." He replied with more of a sarcastic tone.

Drew commented, "Should I let the 'kitties' teach you some manners? Your 'black belt' will last about 1 minute with one the younglings."

"Let not go to threats Drew. You know who my friends and connections are." responded Dick with a straightening of shoulders.

Drew was much more concerned about the automatic reaction of Tiffany to an insult. She growled and spoke, the translator reacted immediately "That is Lord Drew, human."

"Yes, yes, yes, LORD Drew." Dick stated with flippancy "No reason to riffle your fur Tiffany."

"That is QUEEN Tiffany, Richard. I know you have friends, and those friends helped me create this Cat refuge. But tolerance of your bad manners will be short lived once the Pride has returned and re-established in this territory."

Drew had turned partially to face Dick. He leaned towards the man, a man that refused to look him in his odd golden cat eyes. "Remember you little prick that my Dad and I are the saviors of Earth. That carries a lot more weight than being a pet spy for one of the many hate groups on Earth. It would be horrible if you were out on an evening walk and some wild animal carried you off...you are warned"

Dick spun and started to sputter. Drew looked past Dick to Elsa and smiled his most welcoming smile.

"It's so good to have the Earth representatives here to be part of the rejoining of the Pride. I hope you both will enjoy it as much as myself. There will be a celebration tomorrow, and you both are invited. I presume the younglings will have to blow off some energy this afternoon, so this evening should be just a lite meal. I need to introduce the new additions to the family and I need to reacquaint myself with my wives."

"We are not expected to participate in the orgy, I hope," huffed Dick.

"Richard, I am shocked, that your puritan ideals have survived all of this alien...what did you call it once...oh yes, alien invasion of Earth. Please keep in mind, that two alien species were there with Dad and me to keep Earth safe," Drew paused and turned to look at the shuttles, "behave or I shall take off my ban of the younglings playing 'practical jokes' on you." Drew ended with a smile.

"You wouldn't," Dick sputtered.

"Behave Richard, last warning," Drew ended the discussion.

***

There came a crack as both doors opened, and landing ramps extended. A boil of shorter furred bodies came out from both ships and started to fan out towards the forest. If not for the very threatening growls and vocals coming from the shuttles, the younglings would have made their escape. The younglings immediately froze and made their way back to form a pack in the middle of the glade in front of Drew and Tiffany. Tiffany and Drew shared a mental touch of mirth at the exuberance of youth while standing and staring at the younglings with calm stoic faces.

Queen Meme exited with her usual calm semi-regal manner, next came Eddie to stand next to Meme but off to his left shoulder was one of the younger females that gone into estrus just before the emergencies. The rest of females lined up in front of the younglings, in order of their internal Pride designations. Drew was surprised that there only a few babies. Meme noticed his concern and let him know they were sleeping in the nurseries on the ships and were being watched over by two of the nurses.

Last to exit the ship were the pilots Things One and Two, who jostled each other as they walked and then became more formal as they took their places. All bowed to their Lord and Drew could no longer hold back his mirth and laughed at the younglings.